Or should we say “Backpack Book List?”
Back-to-school season is in full swing! Some students are already back in school, others are heading into their new classrooms in the coming days. Some kids eased right back into the routine, others are still navigating their way.
With that in mind, we dug into the CYBILS archive to find some books that tapped into those first-day-of-school feelings. What we particularly love about this list is that they are books meant to be shared and read aloud!
NOTE: This book list contains affiliate links for Bookshop.org and Amazon.com. Book cover images also link to Amazon.com.
2018 Picture Book Nominee
All Are Welcome
by Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Readers follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. One where students from all backgrounds learn from and celebrate each other’s traditions. A school that shows the world as we will make it to be.
2020 Easy Reader Finalist
The Best Seat in First Grade [I Can Read Level 1]
by Katherine Kenah, illustrated by Abby Carter
HarperCollins
Sam brings his hamster buddy on the class field trip to the science museum…but disaster strikes when George jumps from Sam’s pocket into the museum’s Hamster Habitat.
2019 Picture Book Nominee
Butterflies on the First Day of School
by Annie Silvestro, illustrated by Dream Chen
Union Square Kids
Rosie can’t wait to start kindergarten—she’s had her pencils sharpened and her backpack ready for weeks. But suddenly, on the night before the big day, her tummy hurts. Rosie’s mom reassures her that it’s just butterflies in her belly, and she’ll feel better soon. Much to Rosie’s surprise, when she says hello to a new friend on the bus, a butterfly flies out of her mouth!
2021 EMG Graphic Novel Finalist
Chunky
by Yehudi Mercado
Katherine Tegan Books
Hudi needs to lose weight, according to his doctors. Concerned about the serious medical issue Hudi had when he was younger, his parents push him to try out for sports. Hudi would rather do anything else, but then he meets Chunky, his imaginary friend and mascot. While Hudi’s parents keep trying to find the right sport for Hudi, Chunky encourages him to pursue his true love—comedy.
2020 EMG Graphic Novel Finalist
Class ACT: A Graphic Novel
by Jerry Craft
Quill Tree Books
Eighth grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying “You have to work twice as hard to be just as good.” His grandmother has reminded him his entire life. But what if he works ten times as hard and still isn’t afforded the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted? To make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids. He wants to pretend like everything is fine, but it’s hard not to withdraw, and even their mutual friend Jordan doesn’t know how to keep the group together. As the pressures mount, will Drew find a way to bridge the divide so he and his friends can truly accept each other? And most important, will he finally be able to accept himself?
2019 Early Chapter Book Winner
Frankie Sparks & the Class Pet (Frankie Sparks, Third-Grade Inventor, Book 1)
by Megan Frazer Blackmore, illustrated by Nadja Sarell
Aladdin Books
The best thing EVER is happening in Frankie Sparks’s third grade class: They are getting a class pet! Frankie thinks that a rat—just like the rats in her beloved Aunt Gina’s lab—would be the perfect fit. But her best friend, Maya, doesn’t think a rat would be great at all. They are kind of gross and not as cool as a hermit crab, which is Maya’s top choice. Using her special workshop, can Frankie find a way to convince her teacher and her best friend that Team Rat is the way to go?
2018 Middle-Grade Fiction Finalist
Front Desk
by Kelly Yang
Scholastic Press
Mia Tang has a lot of secrets.Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they’ve been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed.Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language?It will take all of Mia’s courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams?
2022 YA Graphic Novel Finalist
The Greatest Thing
by Sarah Winifred Seale
First Second
It’s the first day of sophomore year, and now that Winifred’s two best (and only) friends have transferred to a private school, she must navigate high school on her own. But she isn’t alone for long. In art class, she meets two offbeat students, Oscar and April. The three bond through clandestine sleepovers, thrift store shopping, and zine publishing. Winifred is finally breaking out of her shell, but there’s one secret she can’t bear to admit to April and Oscar, or even to herself―and this lie is threatening to destroy her newfound friendships.
2022 EMG Graphic Novel Finalist
Invisible: A Graphic Novel
by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, illustrated by Gabriela Epstein
GRAPHIX
Can five overlooked kids make one big difference? There’s George: the brain. Sara: the loner. Dayara: the tough kid. Nico: the rich kid. And Miguel: the athlete. And they’re stuck together when they’re forced to complete their school’s community service hours. Although they’re sure they have nothing in common with one another, some people see them as all the same . . . just five Spanish-speaking kids. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help . . . or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.
2019 EMG Graphic Novel Finalist
New Kid
by Jerry Craft
HarperCollins
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
2020 EMG Spec Fiction Nominee
Middle School Bites 3: Out for Blood
by Steven Banks, illustrated by Mark Fearing
Holiday House
Tom (11YO) was bit by a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie right before the first day of middle school. It was a weird and crazy day. And he didn’t even get excused from sixth grade! Now he’s being hunted down by the werewolf that bit him. Should Tom join a wolf pack? Then the vampire that bit him returns with a warning: the werewolf is dangerous. Perhaps Tom should stick with sixth grade–even if it’s mostly talent show disappointments, detention, and chicken-turkey-salami-roast beef sandwiches.
2022 Middle-Grade Nonfiction Nominee
Take a large group of kids in puberty, send them to a new school, and add a generous dose of tests, homework, and hormones, not to mention diverse personalities, bland food, and unpleasant odors. That’s middle school, and it can be a little . . . weird. Yes, there are cool things about middle school, like more independence, new friends, and new activities. But there’s baffling stuff too, like harsh judgment, the whole “popularity” thing, and, of course, drama. With insights from hundreds of students, this guidebook explores the halls of middle school, especially the odd behaviors that lurk in the shadows.
2020 YA Graphic Novel Nominee
One Year at Ellsmere
by Faith Erin Hicks
First Second
Was boarding school supposed to be this hard?
When studious 13YOJuniper wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ellsmere Academy, she expects to find a scholastic utopia. But living at Ellsmere is far from ideal: She is labeled a “special project,” Ellsmere’s queen bee is out to destroy her, and it’s rumored that a mythical beast roams the forest next to the school.
2022 EMG Spec Fic Nominee
Secret of the Shadow Beasts
by Diane Magras
Dial Books
It’s hard being torn away from home to be the new kid at a school for monster slaying, but even if the other kids all know each other already and have been fighting monsters longer, you can still become part of a fiercely loyal found-family (and save lots of lives).
2022 YA Fiction Nominee
She Gets the Girl
by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a whole lot of flirt. She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other hand…not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows she’s in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She just…hasn’t actually talked to her yet. Alex and Molly don’t belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup, discovers Molly’s hidden crush as their paths cross the night before classes start, they realize they might have a common interest after all.
2022 EMG Graphic Novel Finalist
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel
by Johnnie Christmas
HarperAlley
Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees—until she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she’s forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta’s training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school’s failing team around.
022 YA Fiction Nominee
The Truth About Everything
by Bridget Farr
North Star Editions
Gut a fish. Rewire a truck. Survive the collapse of the US government. That’s what 15YO Lark learned during “homeschool” with her conspiracy-theorist-doomsday-prepping parents. If only she’d also learned the fundamentals of human biology or even how to read. When Lark gets her first period and realizes how much she doesn’t know, she ignores her fears of everything outside their rural Montana farm and secretly attends school for the first time. At high school, Lark discovers the world is very different than she has been told. Lark uncovers the holes in her parents’ beliefs and realizes that she must decide her own truth. It won’t come without sacrifices as Lark discovers, when the school ends up as one of the most positive forces in her life.
2022 EMG Graphic Novel Nominee
Twin Cities: A Graphic Novel
by Jose Pimienta
Random House Graphic
Being twins means having a best friend forever . . . But when one goes to middle school in Mexico and the other across the border in California, can that bond withstand the distance? Luis Fernando is staying local in Mexicali, Mexico, while Luisa Teresa crosses the border every day so she can go to a private school in Calexico, California. As they try to embrace new experiences close to and far from home, the twins hit obstacles: like making new friends and navigating school pressure without the other one for support. Fernando and Teresa finally have the chance to stand on their . . . isn’t that what the always wanted?
2022 EMG Spec Fic Nominee
You Only Live Once, David Bravo
by Mark Oshiro
HarperCollins
Middle school is the worst, especially for David Bravo. He doesn’t have a single class with his best (okay, only) friend, Antoine. He has to give a class presentation about his heritage, but he’s not sure how—or even if—he wants to explain to his new classmates that he’s adopted. After he injures Antoine in an accident at cross-country practice, he just wishes he could do it all over. He doesn’t expect his wish to summon a talking, shapeshifting, annoying dog, Fea, who claims that a choice in David’s past actually did put him on the wrong timeline… and she can take him back to fix it. But when their first try (and the second, and the third) is a total disaster, David and Fea are left scrambling through timeline after timeline—on a quest that may lead them to answers in the most unexpected places.