I hope your school year is off to a great start! In my home, just because the transition has been relatively smooth (I’m keeping my fingers crossed!) doesn’t mean we’ve stopped reading books (like Llama Llama Misses Mama, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, The Kissing Hand) that help ease first-day jitters. We’re also reading books that aren’t overtly about school anxiety; they happen to be set in school and are fun to read. A frequent request at bedtime in our house is Marco Goes to School, a new picture book by the celebrated New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast.

After his debut star appearance in Too Busy Marco, the little red bird with an overactive imagination is back in an entertaining school-themed adventure. When his human mother first raises the subject of school, Marco is puzzled (“‘Skool?’ What is ‘skool’? Can I eat it?”). But he good-naturedly sets off to learn new things in this place called school. At first, he’s lonely and entertains himself in the school yard by hula-hooping with an abandoned hair tie and folding a gum wrapper into a hat. But soon he’s joined by other students, including one friendly boy named Henry, and a teacher named Mrs. Peachtree, whose lessons (“Monday, Tuesday, Chewsday, Chumday, Humday, Doo-Dah-Day”) go right over his head as he daydreams about becoming the first bird to land on the moon.  At nap time, all he can think about is his newfound mission: “Must get to moon.” At playtime, he gets his classmates to help him build a moon-high block tower, but when his plan comes crashing down, he realizes that he’s “just a small bird with a big dream.” Not to worry, though. Mrs. Peachtree comes to the rescue with a fun game of “block basketball” and Marco accomplishes something ultimately more satisfying than a loony lunar voyage: He makes a new friend on his first day of school.   

The message about friendship is sweet and comforting for those anxious about starting school. But make no mistake: Full of droll humor and Chast’s signature watercolors, Marco Goes to School is first and foremost a fun read. Kids will be giggling over the hilarious speech bubbles and the ditzy bird’s antics, and wondering what Marco will dream up next.

What are your favorite school-set picture books?

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Sandra Lee Rella, mother of two budding bookworms, is a freelance editor and writer, and a former children’s book review editor.