It's already time to dust down the school uniforms (only to find they've been outgrown since July) and start the school run again. Naturally, children have anxieties as well as looking forward to seeing friends again and reading about school is one way of tackling them. Numerous children's books feature school life, so here are just a few offering a variety from the enviable to the unbelieveable but all guaranteed to provide food for thought.
Going to School (Usborne First Experiences, £3.99) is an ideal introduction to the concept of starting school or nursery, with all the usual activities and sights you'd meet on the first day. It includes sufficient content and humorous touches to attract and retain interest and is perfect for children aged 2 to 6.
Being accepted is the issue handled by Chrysanthemum (Kevin Henkes, Hodder, £4.99). A small mouse with a very big name - Chrysanthemum - is excited about starting school, until she finds that everybody else there is called Ken, Sue, Jo or Tom. Only when her teacher reveals her long, flower-like name, does the teasing stop and Chrysanthemum blooms again. An absorbing and reassuring book about feeling different, this is ideal to share with 4- to 7-year-olds.
Few of us are good at everything and in Bernard's Prize (Dick Cate, Walker Books, £3.99) Bernard is dreading the school sports day - is it really worth taking part when he knows he'll always come last? While he may never win a prize for his sporting prowess, Bernard's artistic skills are ultimately rewarded in this uplifting read for children of 6 and over.
Ghosts of Golfhawk School (Tessa Potter, Hodder Wayland, £3.99) is a spine-tingling tale for 7- to 11-year-olds with a rather grisly theme. When the new girl claims to see visions of children from the past, her contemporaries aren't convinced - until they discover that the school was once an orphanage hit by the deadly cholera disease. A tense and haunting title from the Tremors series for readers with a taste for the gruesome.
Schools don't come a lot stranger than that of The Demon Headmaster (Gillian Cross, Puffin Books, £5.99). Dinah Glass is astonished to find her new school populated by Stepford-style model children where playtimes are spent reciting dates and figures to each other. Adapted into a successful TV series, this is a highly entertaining read for 9- to 12-year-olds.
Dosh (Robert Swindells, Puffin, £4.99) is a gritty tale of extortion for those of 13 plus. Set in and around a school in fictional Cottoncroft, anyone with a Saturday job or paper-round is forced to pay a weekly levy to an organisation called "Push". Students finally stand up to the racketeers and in doing so discover a seedy, dangerous and highly illegal side to the group's activities.
• Book Trust offers a wide range of booklists on subjects including bullying, bereavement and divorce. For details call 0906 516 1193 (10am - 1pm, calls cost £1.50 a minute).
