10 New Back-to-School Books for 2025

Flat Cat Class Pet written by Tara Lazar, illustrated by Pete Oswold
SCHOOL
Flat Cat hitches a ride to school in his neighbor Willow’s hoodie, where he’s folded as a paper airplane, passed as a note, and used as the girl’s bathroom pass–it’s overwhelming and overstimulating! Then, when Willow forgets her homework, Flat Cat finds a gold star solution that leads to an unexpected transformation! Grab this book for back to school or anytime because Flat Cat is the coolest!

Kitty vs. Kindergarten written by Martha Freeman, illustrated by Eda Kaban
Kitty is not thrilled when the good, nice boy takes Kitty to Kindergarten. Kitty stays in the carrier until…the people leave and the gerbil comes around. ATTACK! After making a mess and playing with the kids, Kitty learns the reason for attending kindergarten–show and tell!

Today at School written by Jessica Young, illustrated by Renee Kurilla
It’s the first day of school for siblings Tomorrow and Yesterday, who are opposites. Tomorrow looks ahead to dreams, and Yesterday looks back at memories. At school, they meet Today, who helps them find a middle ground of noticing things in the present. Cute illustrations and a familiar setting may help kids understand this abstract concept.

Proper Badger Would Never Trash the Classroom! written by Lauren Glattly, illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.
BACK TO SCHOOL HUMOR
Want a hilarious new read aloud? Kids will love the tongue and cheek humor in this story about Badger’s school adventure where he most assuredly is NOT proper and gets up to all sorts of mischief, which of course is denied because he’s proper and would never do such troubling things like shred the butterfly net or glue a whistle to his snout, or eat the class pet. I also love the abundance of enchanting adverbs and the fun illustrations.

The Tour at School! written by Katie Clapham, illustrated by Nadia Shiereen
NEW KID SCHOOL
Written in second person with a fun personality, you get to show the New Person around, and this book will tell you everything you need to know, including starting with the bathroom (a great place for singing and peeing) and places like the library and an emergency meeting place. You must keep moving, or it will be boring, so just shout out the things as you go past them. Funny, helpful, and heartwarming with a sweet ending

Narwhal vs. Kindergarten written and illustrated by Vanessa Roeder
This is a clever story about the challenges a narwhal named Hugo faces because of his tall tusk. He pops balloons. He knocks over blocks. Hugo’s tusk gets into many tricky situations. He’s worried about playing baseball with his classmates, but realizes he’s not the only one struggling with mishaps and misunderstandings. His teammates help all the classmates find solutions, then he realizes his new friends will always help him.

Fish Don’t Go to School written and illustrated by Deb Pilutti
The fish costume Henry wears every day makes him feel safe, like a hug. He needs it for the first day of school, too. At school, he begins to make friends and feel more comfortable, so he takes off one piece of his costume at a time. After that, Henry only wears a vest made of scales. This sweet story shows a continuum of fear and bravery with support.

Big Kids written by K.L. Going, illustrated by Reggie Brown
You’ll love the model of a big kid buddy who makes a little kid feel welcome and safe at school. At first, the little boy is scared of the big kids and their big voices and big games. The illustrator plays with size in these pages, showing a tiny person and a gigantic person. The big kid buddy shows the little kid the classroom, where to hang his backpack, and how to check out books. Very sweet.

No More Chairs written by Dan Gill, illustrated by Susan Gal
In this story about friendship and racism with incredible artwork, we meet a teacher who explains why his classroom always has an extra chair. When he was a kid, his best friend was a Black boy named Archie. One day, they went to a birthday party of a white boy. When they arrived, the white mom told the boys that there weren’t enough chairs for the Black boy named Archie. Now, the teacher leaves an extra chair to make sure all are welcome. However, I thought the ending about speaking up was awkwardly done and didn’t tie into the story well.

On Our Way With Mr. Jay written by Chelsea Lin Wallace, illustrated by Thyra Meder
Come along with Mr. Jay as he takes the yellow school bus across town to pick up eighteen kids. But will he get them to school on time? Tension builds as the time on the clock ticks closer to the start of school, and lots of things happen. Lulu gets sick. A diorama gets rescued from a tree. Noodle the dog jumps on the bus to greet everyone. They get stuck in a traffic jam. Will they get there in time? You’ll cheer for heroic bus driver Mr. Jay as he works hard in a job he loves! Also of note is rhyme and repetition, and the soft watercolors.