All Are Welcome in Your Classroom
Meet new people; make new friends!
Encourage students to choose kind this school year as you welcome them back to the classroom with a cast of thoughtful characters. Reading about characters who experience and manage difficult emotions can help children identify their own emotions and better understand how to deal with those around them in a kind and meaningful way. Help students to be socially and emotionally aware all year round with our Social Emotional Learning Guide!
All Are Welcome By Alexandra Penfold; illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yamulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other’s traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.
Quiet Please, Owen McPhee! By Trudy Ludwig; illustrated by Patrice Barton
Owen McPhee doesn’t just like to talk, he LOVES to talk. He spends every waking minute chattering away at his teachers, his classmates, his parents, his dog, and even himself. But all that talking can get in the way of listening. And when Owen wakes up with a bad case of laryngitis, it gives him a much-needed opportunity to hear what others have to say.
From the author-illustrator team behind The Invisible Boy comes a bright and lively picture book that captures the social dynamics of a busy classroom while delivering a gentle message about the importance of listening.
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When it comes to show-and-tell, Sam is in it to win it. But no matter how hard he tries, one of his classmates is always showing him up with a slightly better costume or a slightly cooler object to share. His teacher says it’s not a competition, but just once Sam would like to be the best–which is why he’s so excited when Take Your Octopus to School Day is announced. Sam is pretty sure he’s the only kid with a real live pet octopus to bring, and Thurgood, his eight-tentacled best friend, is excited too. Together, they prepare Thurgood’s travel tank and get ready for a school day like no other. . . . What could possibly go wrong?
The 12 Days of Kindergarten By Jenna Lettice;illustrated by Colleen Madden
On the first day of kindergarten, a new student finds ONE classroom cubby of his very own. On the second day, he sees TWO yummy snacks. The third day? THREE friends! Each of the first 12 fun-filled days of kindergarten are illuminated in this cumulative rhyming storybook based on “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
Pre-kindergartners and their parents and teachers will love spotting all the fun things to find in the classroom. It’s a great way to calm first-day-of-school jitters by talking about what to expect once school is under way. And the book includes stickers—perfect treats for the first 12 days of school.
Elmore By Holly Hobbie
Elmore is a porcupine desperate to make friends. But it is hard to seek closeness with others when you’re covered with spikes that shoot off your back every so often. Elmore suffers rejection and heartbreak, but the goodness of his forest community ultimately shines through as the animals find a way to connect with this prickly bundle of love.
Holly Hobbie is the creator of the beloved Toot & Puddle series and now brings us a character for the next generation. Just as charming, funny, and good-hearted as her little pigs, Elmore the porcupine will snuggle and prickle his way securely into the picture-book canon.
