(A version of this article appeared in Kingston Neighbours Magazine, August, 2023.)
WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!
Almost every parent asks this heartfelt question sooner or later. Certainly all of our children’s milestones are full of feelings, but perhaps none more so than when they start kindergarten. How’s it possible our tiny newborns are now big kids with backpacks, heading off to school?!
If you’re facing this milestone soon, don’t worry. I have you covered. Here are my favourite books to help make the transition to kindergarten easier for everyone.
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten, by Joseph Slate — In this rollicking, rhyming alphabet book, the story’s characters are all young animals whose alliterative names start with a different letter of the alphabet. For example, Matty Lindo is a moose and Zach Blair is a zebra.
The animals are getting ready for the first day of school, and so is their Border Collie teacher, Miss Bindergarten. (Seriously, what better animal to have as a kindergarten teacher than a dog known for its intelligence, high energy and herding instincts?)
Miss Bindergarten can easily be reread multiple times for multiple purposes. It’s ideal for introducing children to school day routines, for example. It’s also excellent for teaching letter and animal recognition, and its rhyming patterns helps teach phonological awareness — the ability to recognize and play with the units of sound in spoken words — which is a critical pre-reading skill.
Further, as your child progresses through kindergarten, there’s a Miss Bindergarten book for almost every occasion, including: Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten, Miss Bindergarten Takes A Field Trip with Kindergarten and Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the Last Day of Kindergarten. Enjoyable and educational reads, I recommend them all.
The Pigeon Has To Go To School, by Mo Willems — There are many laugh-out-loud funny Pigeon books by Willems, including the Caldecott Honor Award book, Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! In this story though, our lovable and sassy Pigeon asks the serious question on many children’s minds, “Why do I have to go to school?
Sure, this book is great to teach young children about the elements of comics, including panels and dialogue balloons. However, what kindergarteners and their parents will most appreciate is how Pigeon hilariously works through his anxiety about school, asking:
“What will the other birds THINK of me?”
“Will FINGER PAINT stick to my feathers?”
What’s up with those heavy BACKPACKS? I’m a fragile bird.”
His freak-out and then sudden change of heart is classic Pigeon. Willems’ young fans will especially appreciate the twist ending with a throwback to an earlier book.
So if you have a nervous but excited soon-to-be kindergartener, or you are a nervous but excited parent asking “Where did the time go?!”, check out these favourite books of mine. Reading them together will reassure, comfort and delight everyone at this momentous time. Best of luck, kindergarteners and parents; you’ve got this. Until next month, happy reading!
Lisa's Book Corner 
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