One hundred is a big number when you’re little! In any classroom that painstakingly tracks each school day with a tally mark, sticker, straw, or popsicle stick, reaching the 100th day of school is momentous. Here are 10 picture books perfect for commemorating the occasion and inspiring 100th day fun:
Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten
by Joseph Slate, illustrated by Ashley Wolff
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No one does kindergarten like Miss Bindergarten, and she pulls out all the stops for the 100th day in this rhyming classic. As the big day nears, students eagerly prepare collections of 100 items, while Miss Bindergarten shops for supplies, decorates the classroom, and plans special 100-themed activities. Children will be drawn to all the details in the illustrations, and they will likely want to try out some of Miss Bindergarten’s fun activities themselves.
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Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School
by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Pete Oswald
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Follow Harry through the first hundred days of first grade! Made up of one hundred short chapters, readers will see Harry as he overcomes the first-day-of-school jitters, takes care of the class pet (an adorable guinea pig), makes new friends, and so much more. Your own first grader will love seeing the similarities to their own time in school.
(On sale: 7/2/2024)
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100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli
by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Lian Cho
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This giggle-inducing read follows 100 dragons, all named Broccoli. Throughout the book, each dragon goes on a silly and wacky adventure that will thrill and delight young readers. As your little one reads along they will also be introduced to counting and math concepts. Who knew learning math could be so fun?!
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The Night Before the 100th Day of School
by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Mindy Pierce
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The star of this story is a bit of a procrastinator — he waits until the night before the 100th day of school to begin worrying about what he’ll bring for his collection of 100 items. Finally, an idea strikes: 100 ants! Of course, bringing 100 insects to school is sure to end in a creepy-crawly disaster that kids will love to imagine.
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The 100 Hats of the Cat in the Hat
by Tish Rabe, illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu
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To celebrate the 100th day of school, the Cat in the Hat visits Sally and Dick in their classroom and introduces the students to tools and tips to make counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing a breeze! Perfect for the 100th day of school and all year long!
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100 Monsters in My School
by Bonnie Bader, illustrated by Bryan Hendrix
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This early reader stars a girl who has some unusual peers. On the 100th day of school, each vampire, ghost, and werewolf classmate has a unique collection of 100 things to share. From two sets of 50 bats, to ten groups of ten fangs, each character’s collection helps children learn about a different common combination to make 100. But what will the girl choose for her collection? Contributions from her friends at snack time help her out (and offer plenty of ideas for kids’ own 100th Day snack mix recipes).
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Fergus and Zeke and the 100th Day of School
by Kate Messner, illustrated by Heather Ross
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Classroom mice Fergus and Zeke want to do everything the students do. But when the kids start coming up with fun projects to celebrate the 100th day of school, Fergus and Zeke can’t seem to find a way to join in the fun. Will these two ever find a way to celebrate? Find out in this perfect introduction to concepts like brainstorming and problem-solving.
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Rocket’s 100th Day of School
by Tad Hills
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Rocket works hard to collect 100 special things in preparation for the 100th day of school: pinecones, heart-shaped stones, sticks, and more. As the day nears, he adds up his collection and realizes he’s come up short. What happened to the five acorns? Rocket’s solution to his problem is as sweet as he is. Kids ready to explore addition to 100 will love adding up items along with Rocket.
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Miss Mingo and the 100th Day of School
by Jamie Harper
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Miss Mingo the Flamingo loves coming up with new and exciting ways to celebrate the first hundred days of school with her diverse class of animals. Centipede does one hundred jumping jacks, Octopus helps make a sculpture out of one hundred paper cups, and all the animals love making silly faces for one hundred seconds! Throughout, kids will learn fascinating facts about each animal and maybe get inspired for their own celebrations!
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Young Cam Jansen and the 100th Day of School Mystery
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Susanna Natti
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Every class in Cam Jansen’s school is having a “Letter Party” for their 100th day celebration, and she and her friend Eric are in charge of retrieving the pineapple juice and pizza from the cafeteria for their room’s Letter P event. Only, the pizza is missing! Luckily, Cam, with her photographic memory, is on the case. It would be fun to create a 100th day memory challenge inspired by Cam’s uncanny ability to “click!”
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2024.
