The beginning of a new school year brings a fresh start and also some nerves about getting into a new routine. Here are some books to help ease nerves and some adult fiction books to take you back to those school days, all available at the Chatham Area Public Library.
For young readers, Lena’s Shoes are Nervous by Keith Calabrese tells how Lena and her father help Lena’s shoes, which are a little nervous about starting kindergarten, to be brave. In The Shape of Home by Rashin Kheiriyeh it’s Rashin’s first day of school in America. Everything is a different shape than what she's used to: from the foods on her breakfast plate to the letters in the books. The new teacher asks each child to imagine the shape of home on a map. Rashin knows right away what she'll say: Iran looks like a cat! What will the other kids say? In Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters by Rachel Vail, the start of third grade doesn’t feel right to Justin. He didn't get the teacher he wanted, he's not in the same class as his best friend, and his little sister, Elizabeth, is starting kindergarten at his school. And to top it off, he's lost his favorite stuffed animal, but he can't tell anyone, because technically he's too old to still have stuffed animals. Right? Read the book to find out if Justin adjusts to third grade. Hello, Nebulon! by Ray O’Ryan follows Zack as he moves from Earth to the futuristic planet Nebulon in 2120. Eight-year-old Zack is nervous about starting school and meeting people.
Fourteen-year-old Amanda and her best friend Lena start high school looking forward to playing on the varsity soccer team in Brendan Halpin’s Shutout. But when Lena makes varsity and Amanda only makes junior varsity, their long friendship rapidly changes. In The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe, Norris Kaplan, a Black French Canadian high school student, moves to Austin, Texas. Making friends has never been a priority for him so he simply observes and categorizes the people he meets to amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs. Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris. But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life -- along with the people who have found their way into his heart.
These adult fiction books take place in schools, but will be enjoyable even if you’re not in the back-to-school mode. Class Mom by Laurie Gelman follows Jen Dixon, not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom. She already has two college-age daughters, so this is her second time around. Seen as a “wise” candidate for the job of class mom, her methods don’t please the other parents. Throw in an old flame from Jen’s past, a hyper-sensitive “allergy mom,” a surprisingly sexy kindergarten teacher, and an impossible-to-please Real Housewife-wannabe, and the job really becomes much more than she signed up for. Murder at the PTA by Laura Alden is a cozy mystery; plenty of mystery, minimal gore. After Tarver Elementary School's unpopular principal is murdered, PTA secretary and mother of two Beth Kennedy puts aside bake sales and class trip fund-raisers to catch a killer. And when members of the PTA become suspects, she realizes solving this murder will not be as easy as ABC. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, a literary fiction book set in Italy, is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. The story begins in the 1950s, in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow, one going the more educated route, the other the domestic route, their paths repeatedly diverge and converge. Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other.
No matter what stage of life you are in, pick up one of these books for your next read. These books and many more are available at the Chatham Area Public Library.