Mae’s First Day of School by Kate Berube

It’s been a while since I’ve been in formal education, but the start of the academic year in September still feels like the “true” New Year to me, in a way that January 1^st never has. This year is an especially big one in our house, as the youngest human in the house will be starting reception class, so we’re sailing toward September on a heady mixture of excitement and fear, and naturally picture books about starting school have been a big part of addressing and managing those big feelings.

Mae’s First Day of School, written and illustrated by Kate Berube, is a great way in to conversations about starting school. It’s Mae’s first day of school, but Mae isn’t going. Her parents focus on the fun things that will be at school like class pets, big libraries and exciting play times, but Mae isn’t convinced. She’s worried about making friends, not being able to write, and missing her parents and decides that she won’t go. While her mother is distracted talking to the other parents of new starters, Mae squirrels up a tree and refuses to come down.

Before long, Mae hears a rustling and another little girl appears. Her name is Rosie, and she’s not going to school either. They share the biscuits from their lunchboxes and talk about their fears about starting school for the first time, and as they do, they hear another rustling. A tall lady climbs the tree, and she’s pleased to hear that Mae and Rosie aren’t going to school, because she’s not planning to go either. She’s Ms Pearl the class teacher, and she’s worried about the children not liking her, spelling words wrong on the blackboard and missing her cat…. More biscuit eating and chats about the big feelings ensue, but happily all three decide to come down from the tree and go in together by the time the bell rings.

My kids love this book. I think it speaks to something in human nature that it’s easier to reflect on the fears and weaknesses of a character or another person than your own, and the beauty of Mae’s First Day of School is that Mae’s character is believable and her fears are so relatable. When the children see Mae’s fears being echoed by Rosie, and even the class teacher, they get a sense that these are things that we all worry about, and that we’re all in the same boat. It’s cathartic without being heavy handed, and like Mae, they feel a little bit better about starting school at the end of it.