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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