Twindergarten, by Nikki Ehrlich

Dax and Zoey are biracial twins (with a white mom and black dad) are are starting kindergarten, but in different classes.  Dax is initially quite afraid of being separated from his sister, but it turns out that Zoey is the one who has a lot of difficulty being away from Dax on the first day of school.  In the end, Dax makes Zoey a card and Zoey starts to relax into school, and all is well!

This is a simple story with delightful details and presents school in a positive light.  My son is a couple years away from kindergarten (and is frightened at the prospect of being in a big kid school every single day), but seems to find this book soothing.  Dax, Zoey, and their classmates are presented as thoughtful, fun, and kind (a contrast to books which seem to highlight the worst aspects of kids... ahem llama llama).

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Lola at the Library, by Anna McQuinn

We received Lola at the Library recently as a gift.  I'd seen this book around and been a bit resistant to picking it up; honestly - it looked a bit boring.  But my son and I loved it!  Lola's trip to the library mirrors ours in many important ways and nearly every page lead to a discussion about how our trips to the library are either the same or different.  Lola (a young black girl) returns all her library books every week, but my son likes to hold on to his favorite ones for many, many, many weeks (our library has a liberal renewal policy).  Lola and her mom walk to the library, but we usually take the bus.  We also get a snack at the library (though not every week)!  The second we finished reading my son asked to read the book a second, then a third time.  At 4, he's probably at the upper age range of this book - but it's one I expect we'll be reading a lot.

I can't vouch for them, but it looks like the same author/illustrator pairing has come out with several books about Lola and her little brother Leo.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)