Great books for preschoolers

As a parent, you are your child’s first and most influential teacher. From a very early age, reading together is one of the best ways to share time with your child. Nothing builds a child’s desire to read better than being held in a lap and cuddled as you read a story.

Lap-time reading fosters feelings of warmth and security. It also expands your child’s view of the world and his vocabulary (the number of words he knows). You can read to your child anywhere – in the waiting room at the hospital or in the living room of your home. By setting aside time every day for reading, your child will see that you love books and reading. Studies show that this is one of the best ways to help your child develop a love of reading.

Let your child pick a story. Then, cuddle up together to enjoy the power and magic of the printed word.

Great books for preschoolers

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
2. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
3. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
4. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
5. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
6. The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
7. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
8. The Little Red Hen by Barry Downard
9. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
10. Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman
11. Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
12. Peak-A-Boo by Roberta Grobel Intrater
13. More Pies! by Robert Munsch
14. The Rain Came Down by David Shannon
15. Stay Awake, Bear! by Gavin Bishop
16. I Love You Because You’re You by Liza Baker
17. Night Dancer by Marcia Vaughn
18. The Body Book by Shelley Rotner
19. The Tale of Tricky Fox by Jim Aylesworth
20. Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker
21. 26 Letters and 99 Cents by Tana Hoban
22. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
23. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
24. Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack
25. Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
26. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury
27. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
28. Ten in the Bed by Penny Dale
29. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
30. Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann
31. Pollywog to Frog by Will Terry
32. Going to the Zoo - Want to come too? By Sarah Treu

Adapted from materials from the National Education Association, www.nea.org/readacross/, from Scholastic, www.scholastic.com, and from Choose the Right Books for Kids.