The Best Back-to-School Books for Every Age

School can teach us who we are. These books will get kids of any age stoked to start back up.

There's something special about back-to-school season. It's a time for new supplies and new routines, and, for many, can kickstart adventures, discoveries, or reinventions. This list of new-ish children's books, mostly by creators of color, reflect a variety of school-related themes—community, friendship, and identity. They reinforce the most important lesson of all: from pre-K to high school, school teaches us who we are.

Related: Best Children's Books 2022

Preschool and Kindergarten

The Day You Begin
Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López (illustrator)
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Rafael López remind young readers that we all feel like outsiders sometimes—especially on the first day of school—and how brave it is to go forth anyway. In lyrical language, the book celebrates the courage to make new friends, hear new stories, and cast your own magic in the world.

Our Class is a Family
Shannon Olsen and Sandie Sonke (illustrator)
Olsen, a teacher and elementary education blogger, introduces the concept of the classroom as a second family—a place to make mistakes and be yourself. The book's rhyming text emphasizes kindness, empathy, and inclusivity among classmates.

Your Name is A Song
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Luisa Uribe (illustrator)
A girl becomes frustrated when her teacher mispronounces her unique name at school, and her mother shows her that all names have a beautiful melody. They create a song to celebrate the importance of cultural identity and the beauty of diversity, inspiring readers to embrace their own names and to honor and respect the names of others.

Related: The All-Time Best Books for Toddlers

Elementary School

New Kid
Jerry Craft
In this Newbery Medal winning graphic novel, 12-year-old Jordan Banks navigates the challenges and complexities of being a Black boy in a predominantly white private school: identity, friendship, and microaggressions in an unfamiliar environment. Funny and poignant, the work shines a spotlight on systemic racism and encourages readers to question societal norms and embrace the beauty of diversity.

Save Me A Seat
Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks
Varadarajan and Weeks' middle grade novel follows the parallel lives of Ravi, a recent immigrant from India, and Joe, a boy struggling with learning differences. Through alternating perspectives, chapters explore the challenges and triumphs these two characters face as they navigate school bullies and cultural misunderstandings—and discover the power of true friendship.

Related: Alternate Summer Reading List: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's Antiracist Book Recommendations

Middle School

The First Rule of Punk
Celia C. Pérez
A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book, The First Rule of Punk follows 12-year-old María Luisa O'Neill-Morales, or Malú, a spirited Mexican-American girl who rebels against her new school's strict dress code and finds solace in punk music. "I wanted to write a book for brown weirdos," the author said in an interview with NPR. "There is no one way to be anything. I just wanted to kind of get across that there are so many different ways to be Latino."

Indian No More
Charlene Willing Mcmanis and Traci Sorell
Drawing from personal experiences, McManis tells the story of an Umpqua girl named Regina Petit, who, in the wake of the Termination Act, is forced to leave her tribal land in Oregon and adapt to a new life—and new school—in Los Angeles. The book offers a nuanced exploration of identity, culture, and resilience, and invites readers to reflect on the lasting impact of government policies on Indigenous communities.

Merci Suarez Changes Gears
Meg Medina
In this Newbery Medal winning novel, 12-year-old Merci Suarez kicks off a new school year at an elite private school in Florida. As she grapples with changes in friendships and mean girls, academic pressures and her scholarship, she becomes increasingly aware of her grandfather's declining health—his forgetfulness and falls—and the impact it has on her tight-knit community.

Three Keys
Kelly Yang
Mia Tang, 12, faces new challenges and fights against injustice in this sequel to Front Desk. The book is set in the 1990s, when California's Prop 187, which would have banned undocumented immigrants from access to health care and public schooling, was on the ballot. Determined to fight back, Mia and her friends embark on a journey to rally the community, raise awareness, and stand up for what is right.

Related: Why Book Banning Is Bad For For Our Kids

High School

The Greatest Thing
Sarah Winifred Searle
Winifred's two best friends have transferred to a private school; she must now navigate high school on her own. Set in the Portland, Maine, area in the early 2000s, this graphic novel follows anxious and broken Winifred as she makes new friends: April, whose wealthy parents are emotionally absent, and Oscar, who struggles with depression. Despite the book's weighty themes, it is healing and empowering: the trio are each other's lifesavers.

It's Not Like It's a Secret
Misa Sugiura
Sana Kiyohara, 16, carries secrets small and big: she has a huge crush on her best friend, Trish, and she suspects her father is having an affair. When the family moves from predominantly white Wisconsin to much more diverse California, Sana realizes that the world is much more complex than she previously assumed. Sugiura deftly explores the intersecting issues of race, immigrant-family relationships, and queer romance.

Related: Alternate Summer Reading List: Dahlia Adler's LGBTQIA+ YA Book Recommendations

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