Tucsonans with young people in the house don’t need a calendar to know the first day of school is just two weeks away.
There are backpacks to buy, forms to complete, carpools to arrange. Do last year’s T-shirts still fit?
It is an exciting time, to be sure, but many children will find it troubling, too.
New adventures come with new challenges, new uncertainties and fears of each new unknown. Kids who are new to the school or new to the community may find the start of a school year especially hard.
To help them, the Tucson Festival of Books asked festival volunteer Kathy Short — a University of Arizona professor and the director of the World of Words children’s library at the College of Education — to recommend an assortment of recently released books for kids. These selections remind us courage comes in all shapes and all sizes … and the most important lessons we learn at school sometimes have nothing to do with reading, writing or arithmetic:
“School is Wherever I Am” by Ellie Peterson is a picture book that explores learning as an adventure that happens both in the classroom and out in the world beyond … as long as you have an open mind and an open heart. The book conveys the importance of lifelong learning and the need to welcome opportunities for learning wherever they occur.
“The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name” by Sandhya Parappukkaran is a picture book, set to be released in January, about a boy named Zimdalamashkermishkada who is starting at a new school. He knows everyone will trip over his long name and decides to shrink it to Zim, but it doesn’t feel right deep down, hitting more like a denial of his family heritage from India.
“Falling Short” by Ernesto Cisneros is a middle grade novel about two Hispanic friends who are navigating the challenges of middle school, divorced parents and basketball. Marco, who is smart and super short, is persuaded to try out for basketball, while Isaac — a natural athlete — struggles academically. Both need each other’s support as friends … even if they fall short of their goals.
“Gibberish” by Young Vo is a picture book that visually portrays the terrifying experience of starting school in a new country. Speech bubbles full of gibberish and classmates drawn as cartoon characters gradually transform through friendship into a place of belonging and reality.
“A History of Me” by Adrea Theodore and Erin Robinson is a picture book about a young girl who feels racially marked at school. She is the only Black person in her class. Her mother shares family stories that reflect the courage and strength passed down to her from generations and perspectives on the changing opportunities she has available.
“Jennifer Chan is Not Alone” by Tae Keller is a middle grade novel about a new girl who breaks the most important rule of middle school: you have to fit in to survive. Jennifer’s belief in aliens marks her for painful bullying and Mallory is initially too afraid to intervene, until Jennifer disappears. A thought-provoking exploration of doubt, fear, forgiveness and friendship.
“Merci Suárez Plays It Cool” by Meg Medina is a middle grade novel, set for release in September, about Merci’s eighth-grade year as she faces school drama and changing family dynamics and figures out who she can trust. It is the final book in a trilogy about Merci’s middle school experiences and her responsibilities within an intergenerational Cuban-American family.
“My First Day” by Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien is a gorgeous picture book from Vietnam. The story tells of a child who must steer a small boat down the Mekong River to attend the first day of school. Because it is rainy season, he must conquer many obstacles and fears of the unknown as he paddles to school.
“The One Thing You’d Save” by Linda Sue Park is a collection of narrative poems in the voices of middle school students who are asked by their teacher to imagine their house is on fire. Their family and pets are safe, and there is time to save only one more thing. What would it be? The poetry uses the Korean structure of sijo verse to create a variety of voices and decisions and to issue an invitation to readers.
“Vinyl Moon” by Mahogany L. Browne is a young adult novel about a teen who moves to a new school after a violent incident and addresses her wounds in a class where teens read Black writers and mix music. The chapters interweave poetry and prose, portraying teens unpacking their traumas and finding their joy through literature and relationships.
