100+ Beloved Picture Books to Read with Your Pre-K/Kindergartner
Like so many of us I have a special place in my heart for classic picture books. When I started to put together this list it just kept growing and growing and honestly it was hard to stop. I have an up and coming kindergartner this year and I am always getting asked about my early childhood favorites…and boy do I have a lot of favorite books for this age!
This list is really great for the kindergarten years, but so many of them will be loved during the pre-school and into the early (and even late) elementary years too. I mean, I’m an adult and love them, ha! That’s why so many of these are considered classics though. I think you’ll recognize most of these titles, but I threw in a few of our personal family favorites too. If you happen to just be starting a home library collection - you can’t go wrong by getting any of these. Also, since most of these titles are really popular, you should be able to find a lot of them at your library. If you need a downloadable list to take with you, share with a friend, or keep near your bookshelves I’ve got one right here for you.
Aesop’s Fables by Aesop
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Angry Bee by Jared Austin
Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman
Baby Beluga by Raffi
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
Bear’s New Friend by Karma Wilson
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Biscuit Visits the Doctor by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
The Children’s Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Hanks
Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis
Classic Bedtime Stories by Scott Gustafson
Classic Fairytales by Scott Gustafson
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Color Blocked by Ashley Sorenson
The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barkley
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Curious George by HA Rey
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg
The Elephants Come Home by Kim Tomsic
Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor
Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall
Five Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson
Four Seasons: The Story Orchestra by Jessica Courtney Tickle
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
The Gingerbread Man by Gail Yerrill
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Park
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Gossie by Oliver Dunrea
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill
Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli
Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff
I Love You to the Moon and Back by Amelia Hepworth
In The Hall of the Mountain King: The Story Orchestra by Jessica Courtney Tickle
I Spy Spectacular by Jean Marzollo
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot
A Jedi You Will Be by Preeti Chibber
The Leif Thief by Alec Hemming
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Little Bear by Else Homelund Minarik
Little Blue Truck by Alice Shertle
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, & the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Make Way for the Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet
The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
Mother Goose Treasury by Cottage Door Press
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Old Macdonald Had a Farm by Jane Cabrera
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Piece That Is You by Gayle Holdman
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire
Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinksy
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry
Seed by Seed by Esme Raji Codell
The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi
Sing a Song of Seasons: Nature Poems by Fiona Waters
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Strega Nona by Tome DePaola
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright: Animal Poems by Fiona Waters
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf
There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea by Jennifer Ward
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly by Lucille Colandro
The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen
Winnie The Pooh by AA Milne
What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobe Yamada
The Wheels on the Bus by Jane Cabrera
Where’s Spot by Eric Hill
Where’s Waldo by Martin Handford
Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
You Are Special by Max Lucado
Happy reading!
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