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Best Children's Books For Back To School

Whether your child is off to their very first day of preschool, kindergarten, or off to middle school, our sister company, Simon & Schuster has a book that’s perfect to beat those first-day jitters. Each of these wonderful books includes wisdom for returning to school, characters who work towards a goal, and cover basic anxieties – like making new friends or doing homework.

Amelia’s Back-to-School Survival Guide
By Marissa Moss

Amelia
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

A back-to-school must for girls, this book includes two favorite titles in the bestselling Amelia series! Sweet, honest, and relatable, Amelia’s stories really get to the heart of middle school and girls will consider her a friend as they read through these pages.

Marco Goes to School
By Roz Chast

Marco Goes To School
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

From beloved New Yorker cartoonist brings us an impossibly sweet and humorous picture book about Marco, an inquisitive bird on the way to his first day of school. If your child is worried about making friends during the first day, Marco is the perfect companion: he’ll help them see that friendships can come pretty easy if they try.

Spy School
By Stuart Gibbs

Spy School
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

In this hilarious and heartwarming middle grade novel, Ben Ripley must overcome his awkwardness to transform into a super cool secret agent while attending underground spy school. Perfect for readers of Carl Hiaasen’s Chomp or Hoot.

Frindle
By Andrew Clements

Frindle
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

In this classic children’s book, fifth grader Nicholas Allen attempts to defy his language arts teacher by inventing his own word. When he learns how words come about, he decides a pen is no longer a pen – it’s a frindle. It doesn’t take long before others adopt this new name and soon Nick’s teacher and parents want him to put an end to nonsense, but the word doesn’t belong to Nick anymore. In this quirky and funny novel, readers will be encouraged to think outside the box and explore the creative power of words.

The Homework Machine
By Dan Gutman

Homework Machine
Photo Credit Simon and Schuster

A hilarious book that’s perfect for reluctant readers – and especially boy readers – The Homework Machine will have your child laughing along with the unlikely foursome as they try to keep their biggest secret – the homework machine – to themselves.

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