The 2024-2025 School Year is here!
Are you and your family feeling prepared for Back-to-School season?
QPL has got you covered! Learn about our Back-to-School programs, resources, book recommendations, and much more.
Back-to-School Guide
Queens Public Library is here for kids, parents, caregivers, and educators with our extensive Back-to-School Guide!
This year's Back-to-School Guide includes:
- Library Resources and Databases for Students
- Early Learning, School Aged, and Young Adult Booklists (which you can also find below)
- Articles about Preparing Children for the Back-to-School Transition and Teen Mental Health
- The 2024-2025 NYC Public School Calendar
- and much more!
You can download QPL’s 2024-2025 Back-to-School Guide in four languages:
Back-to-School Programs
Join us in-person at the Library for fun giveaways and get ready for the new school year.
Learn More about our Back-to-School programs.
Kick Off to Kindergarten & Toddler Learning Centers
You’re never too young to start your educational journey!
QPL’s Kick Off to Kindergarten (K2K) program enables young children (ages 3-5) to develop their early literacy skills—and begin a lifelong love of reading! Meanwhile, their parents and caregivers will receive guidance to become confident in their ability to support their child’s development. Classes are offered virtually and in-person, with translation support in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.
Designed to serve the needs of toddlers (approx. ages 18-38 months) and their caregivers, QPL’s Toddler Learning Centers (TLCs) are hosted at multiple Queens Public Library locations across the borough. While your children play in a safe, nurturing environment and participate in guided activities, early learning professionals will offer you advice about speech development, nutrition, early literacy, gross motor development, and much more.
Our Fall 2024 K2K and TLC programs are starting soon; visit our Early Learning Services webpage for more information and to register.
College Readiness
Hey QPL Teens! Make sure that you’re getting ready to tackle your college applications, take your college entrance exams, and much more!
Queens Public Library’s College Readiness team is here to help you on your college admissions journey. On Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the school year, the Library hosts virtual programs led by experts in the college access field.
In addition, the College Readiness team also hosts in-person programs at the Central Library Teen Center, the Cambria Heights Teen Center, and the Far Rockaway Teen Library during school breaks.
We also offer college coaching services to students, parents, and guardians who want personalized help navigating the college admissions process. College coaches can help 9th-11th grade students get ready early for college admissions, help 12th grade students complete their applications at every step of the way, and help families find ways to pay for college.
For more information about these programs and resources, visit the QPL Calendar or contact the College Readiness team at college.readiness@queenslibrary.org.
Brainfuse HelpNow: Live Online Tutoring Available Every Day
Brainfuse HelpNow offers personalized academic and homework help, in both English and Spanish, for children in Grades K-12.
Find expert support in core subjects (math, reading, writing, science), a Language Lab for language learners, a 24/7 Writing Lab, SAT prep and practice tests, and much more.
Plus—live online tutoring is available every day from 2-11pm!
All you need to access Brainfuse HelpNow is your library card. Visit the Brainfuse HelpNow webpage to learn more.
Back-to-School Booklists
Here are some books from the Library for early readers, school-age children, and teens that will help kids deal with first-day-of-school anxiety, and get them excited for the classroom and beyond!
Early Learning
The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Illus.)
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The First Week of School by Drew Beckmeyer
Olu's Teacher by Jamel C. Campbell and Lydia Mba (Illus.)
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Book | eBook | Audiobook (Read-Along)
El Cucuy Is Scared, Too! by Donna Barba Higuera and Juliana Perdomo (Illus.)
Book | eBook | Español
The Yellow Bus by Loren Long
My First Day by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên
Book | eBook
Back to School, Backpack! by Simon Rich and Tom Toro (Illus.)
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López (Illus.)
Book | eBook | Audiobook (Read-Along) | Español
School Aged
The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney
Book | eBook | Audiobook | Español | Libro Electronico
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The Liars Society by Alyson Gerber
All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
Book | eBook | Español
Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee and Dung Ho (Illus.)
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Book | eBook | Audiobook | Español
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Book | eBook | Audiobook
A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits) by Lisa Yee and Dan Santat (Illus.)
Young Adult
Study Break: 11 College Tales from Orientation to Graduation by Aashna Avachat (Editor)
Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth and Little Chmura (Illus.)
New York City SHSAT Prep 2022 & 2023 (eBook) by Kaplan Publishing
Goodnight Homeroom: All the Advice I Wish I Got Before Going to High School by Samuel Kaplan, Keith Riegert, and Emily Fromm (Illus.)
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang
575+ Practice Questions for the Digital PSAT/NMSQT by The Princeton Review
SAT Power Vocab by The Princeton Review
The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Surviving Middle School: Navigating the Halls, Riding the Social Roller Coaster, and Unmasking the Real You by Luke Reynolds
Book | eBook
SHSAT Prep Books 2024-2025: 4 Practice Tests by Test Prep Books
