Here is what I have noticed at my house this past week: apple and pear trees heavy with fruit; acorn-bearing squirrels scurrying up tall evergreens; and a woolly caterpillar inching its way down the driveway.
I know that the calendar says it’s still summer, but all of the signs point to fall — right down to the Halloween candy stocked on grocery store shelves. The transition from summer to autumn happens to be one of my favorite things about this time of year. Pumpkin-flavored lattes, cozy sweaters, fires in the fireplace: Bring ’em on!
However, there was a time in my life when September’s approach caused more dread than delight. Like those six-month checkups at the dentist, the first day of school was unavoidable and unnerving. Even if I knew that by the second or third day of school I’d settle into a familiar routine, I would always experience a deep unease in the pit of my stomach the night before the first class. Bah humbug. (I have to admit that even now, I still feel a bit dispirited come Monday mornings).
One way to dissipate dispiritedness, I find, is to read. Now that school has started for most of Clark County, students, especially the little ones who are experiencing teachers and homework for the very first time, might enjoy — and be more able to relate to — books about school. To help harried parents, the following is a list of recently published school-themed picture books available from the library.
