It’s almost back to school for many so let’s jump right in to some books to help that transition go as smoothly as possible.
As always, thank you to San Antonio Living for having me on again.

(Books can be found at your local libraries and bookstores. To order from Amazon, check out my store.)

For the elementary/pre-K group:

My New Teacher and Me: creative kid, Billy meets his very inside the box thinking teacher on the first day of school and has to learn how to navigate and learn. Weird Al has an amazing knack for rhyming prose and check out his Word Crimes video if you have a chance.

I Will Be Fierce: young girl approaches her school day like a fairytale quest. As she rides her noble steed (school bus) to the castle (school) to build bridges (friendships), and visit the mountain of knowledge (library).

Truman—told from the POV of the pet turtle who’s waiting for his person to come home from school. Talks of his adventures of the day, experiencing the unknown (different areas of the house), paralleling his person’s school day.

This is the Day You Began (in English and Spanish) sometimes, walking into a classroom is scary because no one looks like you. This sweet story talks about how to be brave even when we’re not feeling it and finding common threads with classmates and meeting people halfway.

For the Middle/High School group:

6th Grade Nickname Game—author of Schooled, great stories of middle school social hierarchy. This is about a few kids who always give “fun” nicknames to classmates, but when a new kid gets one and doesn’t take it well, the main characters have to realize that it’s not always fun for everyone.

Save Me a Seat: new kid at school and kid who’s best friend moved away establish a friendship when they both have a common enemy. A bully at school.

Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year—middle schooler moves to Minnesota when his father gets sick and needs treatment

Frats: by Twisted Sister lead singer. Young man navigating middle school in the early 1970’s

97 Things To Do Before You Finish High School

How to be a Person: good points for character building and to understand what someone would want to see in a friend and how to be a better one

Win Every Argument: some parents and teachers may hate me for this one, but it’s important how to have a productive discussion vs an argument that gets no where

For the parents, I’ve included some books we didn’t get to last month and it’s Read a Romance Book month.

It Happened One Fight: set in 1930’s, an enemies to lovers situation where the lead actor who’s prone to play tricks on the cast and crew, has a real pastor on set for a wedding scene and the two lead actors are unintentionally married.

Unfortunately Yours: A marriage on convenience, contemporary romance where rivals agree to tie the knot to help each other and realize there’s way too much chemistry (I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher, Avon.)

Stuck with You: contemporary, friends to lovers romance that’s sexy and heartfelt with wonderful flawed characters that you’ll fall in love with. (I received an advanced reader copy from Boldwood Books, publisher.)

(All books can be purchased at bookstores including Amazon.)