Oliver and Amanda by Jean Van Leeuwen

Oliver and Amanda; Amanda Pig, First Grader by Jean Van Leeuwen is a great story for kids just starting a new grade or school for the first time.

I had always loved stories about animals who could talk when I was little. So when I saw this book on the shelf that was covered in little, colorful pigs I thought that it would be a great one to read.

The story starts with a little pig, Amanda, who is starting her first day of first grade and her friend, Oliver, is scared that they won't be able to find their room, that the big kids will be mean to them at recess, and that their teacher will be mean. Amanda runs into some obstacles but she always seems to get through them and she even ends up learning how to read.

I would recommend this book to Kindergarten to first grade because it is a good one to show children that school can be fun and even if some scary things come about that you can easily overcome them. It actually talks about real life situations that you will encounter at school, like getting a ball taken away and getting lost in a new place but all of it just encourages Amanda to keep going and make school the best that it can be.