Is your child entering kindergarten? Here are children’s books about kindergarten to help with the transition.
For my son, August and September means not only the start of a new school year, but the start of a new school: kindergarten.
Kids vary in how they anticipate kindergarten. Some can’t wait to attend his new school and is just about done with preschool. Others might face kindergarten with trepidation, wary of its newness: faces, routines, buildings.
Deep down though, all kids feel a jumble of emotions about kindergarten, no matter how much they appear to lean towards one. A child could be so excited for school but may still harbor some hesitation as well.
It’s all normal. Thankfully we can turn to our trusty friends on the shelves to see just how widely these kindergarten experiences vary. From clinging to the door because they don’t want to leave the house to realizing that teachers are also just as nervous as them, the characters in these pages remind kids that they’re not alone with kindergarten.
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Children’s books about kindergarten
Kindergarten, Here I Come! by D.J. Steinberg
The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing
Kindergarten Rocks! by Katie Davis
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
Countdown to Kindergarten by Alison McGhee
Welcome to Kindergarten by Anne Rockwell
Planet Kindergarten by Sue Ganz-Schmitt
The Berenstain Bears Go to School by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
The Twelve Days of Kindergarten by Deborah Lee Rose
My Kindergarten by Rosemary Wells
Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick
First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
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Get more tips about kindergarten:
- What Should a Kindergartener Know before the Year Ends?
- 15 Ways to Prepare for Kindergarten
- 7 Useful Ways to Teach the Alphabet, Montessori-Style
- Top Ways to Help Kids Remember What They Learn
- 4 Benefits of Teaching Kids Responsibility
Which of these are your favorite books about kindergarten?
I love the Bernstein bears! I feel like everyone’s kid is starting kindergarten right now! It’s going to so emotional when that time comes for me….do you have any book recommendations for US!? Come on! I need a book to help me too..! Lol
I know, right? “Kindergarten: How to Handle Your Child’s Inevitable Growth” lol.
My 2nd child doesn’t even want to start 3 year-old preschool – I don’t even want to think about kindergarten! I am interested to read other readers’ comments about how the transition went for them.
Me too! My son is so far excited although I’m sure at least those first few weeks will be a challenge, adjusting to all its newness. For all of us!
I love the Miss Bindergarten series – such fun illustrations!
We have had pretty smooth transitions to kindergarten so far. I’m hoping our luck holds with child #3 starting this Tuesday!
Ooh best of luck with that, MaryAnne! Yeah I like so many of the Bindergarten books but for brevity I just included one. But they are all fun reads 🙂
I love using books to ease concerns about new things. Great list!
I’m typically one to run for the bookshelves for aids in behavior training and such, but we haven’t done any of this for our oldest’s transition to Kindergarten (only a week away…agh!) I think what helped the most was that we attended an open house the previous fall and talked the school up beforehand. Ever since then, there’s hardly been a week when she hasn’t asked when she’s going to move on up to her new school. That said, our youngest is a bit more cautious, so I’ll be keeping these books in mind when it’s her time!
I wish I took advantage of our school’s open houses 🙁 I admit I didn’t, and the next best thing we did was walk around campus on a weekend. Of course we couldn’t go in, but at least my son was able to see the buildings and the playground. Thankfully he’s really excited about going, phew!