The school year is officially in motion, and while parents everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief, we at Bicycle Pie are finding our own rhythm again too. To celebrate the season of fresh starts and new routines, we sat down with preschool teacher and director Heather Reynolds to discover which stories she’s sharing with her little learners as the year begins.
“We Don’t Eat Our Classmates” by Ryan T. Higgins
“I used to read ‘The Kissing Hand,’ but it was way too long,” says Reynolds. So Reynolds turned to “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates” this year, a story about a young dinosaur named Penelope Rex who can’t help but eat her classmates, which in turn makes it hard for her to actually make friends. It’s difficult to imagine Penelope Rex being nervous for the first day of school. “It’s a fabulous book to prepare children who are going to be separated from their parents for preschool for the first time,” Reynolds tells us. “After reading it in the class for a few years, I started passing out copies at our ‘Meet the Teacher’ night!”
“The Color Monster” by Anna Llenas
In this story, children learn about their feelings using colors with a monster who helps young readers identify their emotions and feel more in control of them. The Color Monster wakes up feeling confused, angry, happy, calm, sad, and scared all at once. To help him, a little girl shows him what each feeling means through color. “I wanted to give the children in my class an interactive way to discuss positive and negative feelings,” explains Reyonds. “I made a color monster and different colors to put on top of the monster, along with things that inspired the color to emerge. Each child was then able to either add a color or layer on the object that caused the feeling.”
“Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson
This has become a beloved Halloween story in recent years and for good reason. It’s a wonderful rhyming story about a witch who loses her hat, bow, and wand but is joined by a dog, a bird, and a frog who help her retrieve them. As they fly together, the broomstick breaks, and they meet a dragon who wants to eat the witch. Ultimately they scare off the dragon, and the witch thanks her friends as they all contribute to her cauldron. “I own most if not all of Julia Donaldson’s books that Axel Scheffler illustrated,” says Reynolds. “When Christmas time approaches, we will be reading ‘Stick Man’ by them as well.”
“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” by Mo Willems
Mo Willems’ children’s book introduces us to a very persuasive pigeon with one big dream—driving a bus. When the bus driver steps away, he leaves readers with one important job: don’t let the pigeon drive the bus. What follows is a hilarious back-and-forth as the pigeon pleads, bargains, and charms, keeping kids laughing while drawing them into the story. This award-winning classic invites children to look, listen, and join in on the fun.
“The Rabbit Who Listened” by Cori Doerrfeld
“This is a super sweet story that shares different ways of coping,” says Reynolds. In the story Taylor’s block creation is destroyed (something that is relatable to everyone in nursery school), which leaves him devastated. Animal friends kindly offer to help fix everything, but it’s the quiet rabbit who simply sits with Taylor and patiently listens that helps the most.
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Heather Reynolds is both a devoted mom and the director of her preschool classroom. With a professional background in social work and special education evaluations, her path shifted when she discovered a true calling for early childhood education at her own son’s preschool—where she’s been nurturing young learners ever since.
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