Back to school reading ideas

Little Brown Bear Won't Go to School

Jane Dyer

Little, Brown, $15.95, ages 4-8

In this delightful book, the young bear waves to Mama and Papa from the steps of his school and then sneaks off to the Miss Flo Diner next door as soon as his parents are out of sight. However, his career as a waiter is short-lived because he doesn't know how to write so he can't take the customers' orders. Jobs at a construction site, barber shop and knitting store have similar results. Then Little Brown Bear finds himself wandering back past school, peering in the window to see his friends having a good time. He tiptoes into his classroom and his teacher immediately offers him yet another job: passing out paper so he and his fellow students can learn their ABCs. "I can do that!" says an elated Little Brown Bear.

Babar Goes to School

Jean de Brunhoff

Abrams, $9.95, ages 3-6

On the flip side, Babar, the elephant "born" 72 years ago in Jean de Brunhoff's first book in the long-running series now led by his son Laurent, learns that school is a little more challenging than he remembered when he accompanies his children to class one day."Is it always this loud on the bus?" he asks at the beginning of the book, and then he is scolded for talking out of turn. A more empathetic Babar is ready to return to life as a grown-up at the end of the long day. "It's a much easier job for me," he says.

Biscuit Loves School

Alyssa Satin Capucilli

HarperCollins, $9.99, ages 3-6

One school's doors open for a puppy who tags along with his human best pal. And when young readers open the book's doors - OK, they're flaps - they'll find lunch boxes full of yummy snacks, building blocks and more books. But what will I actually learn in school?' a youngster might ask. Pat Schories illustrated.

Junior Goes to School

Samantha Berger and Lisa Humber Viscardi

Abrams, $10.95, ages 3-6

A pig protagonist has a bevy of back-to-school jitters in "Junior Goes to School" since he doesn't know what the first day will bring - and neither do readers until they spin the wheel of words that fills in blanks. What would happen if he is picked up by a turkey instead of a bus or if a fish bowl replaces his computer screen, Junior wonders in the book illustrated by Daniel Moreton.

What to Expect at Preschool

Heidi Murkoff

Harper Festival, $3.50, ages 2-5

This book is more of a self-help book for the pint-size set than a picture book but it nonetheless answers questions - such as "Who will I play with?" and "What's a teacher?" - in a manner that should excite kids, not scare them, about heading off to school. Illustrations by Laura Rader are colorful and upbeat, filled with faces that would fit in at any local nursery school.

The Twelve Days of Kindergarten: A Counting Book

Deborah Lee Rose

Abrams, $14.95, ages 3-6

For children who go back to school with visions of the Christmas vacation dancing in their heads, this book should hit the right tune. Children start the first day of kindergarten with "the whole alphabet from A to Z" and work their way up to "12 eggs for hatching," shown as part of a science experiment. The fun items they use in between include seeds for planting, coins for counting and fish for feeding. Illustrated by Carey Armstrong- Ellis