The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson is the story of a young girl who feels different from her new classmates. It is the story of discovery as she realised that actually she has things in common with others and if she just begins to accept her differences then so too will her classmates and they may even become her friends.

A great book for the first day of school with activities that include a find-a-word, drawing pictures of a perfect holiday and a perfect summer, an activity to build camaraderie between classmates by finding things they have in common, a world mapping activity and a a graphing activity to find out other people's favourite things.