You would think after all of my first days of school that I would not get that sinking feeling in my stomach when it is time to begin the school year again; I should be a first day of school expert. But I get the dark, scary feeling. Every year. My back-to-school-blues started about a week ago when we arrived home from our mini family vacation, and the box with the uniform shirts I had ordered for Mr. Star Wars was on the front porch.

Because so many of us experience the same emotions on the first day of school, there are a lot of good chapter books about starting school. And, it does not matter if you are returning to the same school or starting a new school altogether. We all get nervous. Reading about a character who has the same worries you do helps make the transition to the new classroom a little easier. Is there somebody at your house worried about your first day of school? Try a few of these titles to help ease the anxiety.

• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
• The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern
• Julia and the Art of Practical Travel by Lesley M. M. Blume (at the end)
• Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
• Superfudge by Judy Blume (beware the Santa Claus reveal)
• The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (April character)
• Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
• A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
• The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
• Hound Dog True by Linda Urban
• Midnight for Charlie Bone Jenny Nimmo
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
• The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy Barrett (Sherlock Files series)
• Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
• The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm (the grandfather)
• Maggie Malone and the Mostly Magical Boots by Jenna McCarthy and Carolyn Evans
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio
• Tarantula Shoes by Tom Birdseye
• The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
• Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea (Jessica character)
• Knightly Academy by Violet Haberdasher