The world of picture books has such AMAZING resources for our young readers. It truly was difficult to only pick a handful and share today, but I’ve narrowed down our absolute favorite picture books for Preschool and Kindergarten.
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We Are in a Book was the first Elephant & Piggie book that we discovered. We must have read that book 100 times. Then we soon realized Mo Willems had more books; and ever since then, we’ve been hooked, especially my Kindergartner. Our weekly trips to the library usually mean he is over at the early reader section, scouring the shelves for any Elephant & Piggie book he can bring home to read. These are SURE to be a favorite with young kids. If you live near us, good luck finding any at the library. đ
Duck on a Bike is such a cute book that is sure to bring smiles as you read. It is a somewhat predictable text, but still has a cute story line and illustrations. Don’t miss the last image of duck inspecting a tractor because it is the perfect springboard for more writing, like my son did with his own book, Duck on a Tractor.
The Mixed-Up Chameleon is one of those books that gets kids laughing, but at the same time learning that they are special just the way they are. They don’t need to be like someone else to be special. They are uniquely designed with a purpose. This made for GREAT discussions when I used to teach Kindergarten. As with many of Eric Carle books, you can expect to find the repetitive language and amazing images.
The Pigeon books were introduced to me as classroom teacher about 9 years ago. Since his original, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, the pigeon has made several more appearances, even popping into his other books! As with any Mo Willems’ book, this series will be a family favorite, especially among the younger crowd. Our favorite is probably The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, although Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late comes in as a close second!
Before becoming a classroom teacher, I was a music teacher of toddlers through 5th grade. What an experience! One of the favorite songs requested over and over by my preschoolers was Goin’ on a Bear Hunt, especially the Greg & Steve version. I was thrilled to match the song with the book, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Books like this are FANTASTIC for any young child, but especially those active ones who need to move. This one is still a favorite in our home, as is the song!
Rhyming Dust Bunnies was introduced to our family about 2 years ago and is one of those, “Read it again, mommy!” books. And it’s perfect for practicing those rhyming words. The sequel, Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny!, is equally as funny and enjoyable with lots of rhyming fun.
Want a stinky way to practice the alphabet? I Stink! is the perfect addition for this. I even included it on our 26 Alphabet Books list. Plus, what kid doesn’t think it’s totally hilarious to include dirty diapers and puppy poo in an alphabet book? My kids all giggle their way through. The text {the physical words} is also written in such an engaging way with lots of onomatopoeia fun!
This has been another favorite song in my years as a music teacher, K/1 classroom teacher, and now as a homeschooling mom. Raffi, the amazing song artist for the young child, sings this song on one of my kids’ favorite CD’s, Singable Songs for the Very Young. The book, Down By the Bay, makes the perfect companion to the song. In my Kindergarten classroom, we would sing and “read” the book at the same time. We even had fun making up our own rhymes, encouraging that phonological awareness so needed for reading.
Do you have any naughty, little monkeys in your home or classroom? How about if you had 26 of them? While mom and dad are out on a nice date, 26 little monkeys destroy the house in rhyming format from A to Z. So cute! Although we’ve read Naughty Little Monkeys many times, my daughter just made the connection between the letters, the monkey’s names, and the activities each monkey does. This is a great ABC book on so many levels and who can resist 26 cute monkeys?
I don’t think I could have mentioned a picture book list for Pre-K/K without mentioning Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom. It’s such a classic book for letter learning, plus it’s just plain old fun to read and chant together. đ
If you don’t have Mix it Up! or Press Here by Herve Tullet, you just HAVE to put them on your child’s Christmas list/birthday list! These interactive books are innovative, fresh, and playful. My kids LOVE these books! Kids get to touch, tap, press, and rub to mix it up.
There’s just something magical about The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. So much has to be inferred in this text, which makes for some great questioning. “How do you think the mouse feels now?” or my favorite question of all, “Who do you think it talking TO the mouse?” Kids enjoy the open-ended feeling of the story line and getting to fill in the gaps themselves. If you enjoy this one, I’d HIGHLY recommend Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear!
If you want to get kids moving, read Caps for Sale. This little peddler lies down for a harmless afternoon nap, or so he thinks while monkeys steal his caps. How will he get them back from the copy-cat monkeys? Before you read the end, see if your child can guess. Even after several reads, kids will still enjoy being copy-monkeys, just like the monkeys in the tree.
The Stray Dog is one of those books with a clearly defined problem and solution story line, making it a great text for teaching or introducing the plot structure found in lots of fiction texts. Will the stray dog be caught or will the family come back to make him their own pet dog? This book has a lot going on in the pictures to help kids fill in the story, too, making it a great text for inferring as well.
The Napping House is a very special book to our family because Nannie {grandma} loves it so much. I have seen her curl up with my kiddos many-a-time to read it. This is another book with plenty to infer and figure out from the images. The illustrations are rich with color, too. Each page truly tells its own story.
ONE BONUS BOOK {NEW TO US}: My Kindergartner is getting The Book with No Pictures as a Christmas gift this year. Although this may not technically be a “picture book” {because it’s a book with no pictures}, the words themselves build pictures for kids and it’s hilarious! My son has seen a snippet of the author, B.J. Novak, reading the text online and was literally rolling on the ground laughing. It just arrived in the mail one week ago and I’ve read it cover to cover. Hil.a.ri.ous. I can’t wait to see his face when he opens up this one!
What picture books would you include on your favorite list?
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~Becky
Hi Becky. I would like to make some recommendations to add some social-emotional books to your list. Feelings are one of those things that we don’t talk about much, but I feel we should speak about how we feel more often! I was actually just thinking this earlier today, about making my recommendations of a preschool/TK (Transitional Kindergarten— which I taught this year!) book list! You have given me some motivation. Thanks!
I would love to see a preschool list of books about feelings and emotions.