Book Recommendations for Preschoolers & Young Readers
Collecting children’s books is one of my favorite hobbies (not to mention a wonderful investment for my two little girls). Our days are spent reading. We read before bedtime, while eating breakfast, under the trees at the park, and while in line at our bank’s drive thru. It calms the mood of our home and I can already see the amazing affects of reading. My girls have great imaginations, knowledge, patience, and vocabulary. And most importantly of all, my relationship with them is greatly enhanced because of reading.
Books are the perfect gift for a child of any age for any occasion. Each of my nieces and nephews receive a new book for their birthdays and I have such fun picking out each and every one.
Every Christmas my girls leave out their backpacks and Santa fills them up with books.
There is quite a great selection of children's books out there. It can get a bit confusing to choose because there are so many! And, let's be honest. A lot of children’s books are almost downright painful for the parent to read. And even though we adore the classics, there are only so many times a kid or a parent wants to read the same books over and over.
The Preschool/Early Grade School age is one of the hardest to buy for. This is the age when children have grown out of board books but aren’t yet into the endless number of chapter books you can get for older kids. So this list is dedicated to that age range!
Hopefully this list will give you a few that you have not heard of, some you may have forgotten about, and some I am sure you already love!
Authors
When I find an author that we just love, we hurry and pick up any book they release. We normally always love them, (but there are always some exceptions). Here are some of my favorite authors.
Illustrators
Finding a children’s illustrator that I love is just as good as finding an author. I typically like the authors they work with and every book they are a part of is wonderful!
-Polly Dunbar (who actually just released her own series of children’s books as the author called Tilly & Friends)
Imagination Boosters
Children’s books that are all about imagination are some of our favorites. Books that get my daughters daydreaming are the best.
-Could You Would You, by Trudy White
-Tiny & Hercules, by Amy Schwartz
Nature
Reading books to your children about nature will help develop their love for the earth, which is such an important love for everyone to have.
-Gus is a Tree, by Claire Babin and Olivier Tallec
-Traces, by Paula Fox and Karla Kuskin
-Rain Play, by Cynthia Cotten and Javaka Steptoe
-A Tree is Nice, by Janice May Udry and Marc Simont
Celebrities
Let’s be honest. Some of the children’s books that celebrities put out are just awful! Jamie Lee Curtis really is the exception. She has such a great talent for writing just the way our kids would!
-It's Hard to be Five! by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
-Strawberry Freckleface, by Julianne Moore and LeUyen Pham
Poetry
A lot of the time, the girls enjoy reading poetry even more than a regular book! Poems are easy to fit into a busy day.
-Where I Live, by Eileen Spinelli and Matt Phelan
-Here's a Little Poem, by Jane Yolen, Andrew Fusek Peters, and Polly Dunbar
-Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up and A Light In the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
Biographies
Biographies. Yes, your preschoolers ARE old enough for biographies and it helps get them ready for school! This series has a ton of biographies about everyone from Amelia Earhart to Dr. Suess. They all contain fantastic pictures as well.
-Rookie Biographies by Scholastic.
Alphabet
Alphabet Books. There are SO many out there and I promise we have read almost all of them. Here are our favorites:
-Kipper’s A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure, by Mick Inkpen
-Alphabet: Alison Jay’s ABC, by Alison Jay
-Eric Carle’s ABC (The World of Eric Carle), by Eric Carle
Nightime
Sometimes it is soothing to read Good Night Moon every night. But sometimes the kids want something new for a bedtime story!
-Peace at Last, by Jill Murphy
-Napping House, by Audrey Wood and Don Wood
-The House in the Night, by Susan Marie Swanson and Beth Krommes
-I Love You Stinky Face, by Lisa Mccourt and Cyd Moore
-Love You Forever, by Robert N. Munsch and Sheila McGraw
-Good Night Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann
Classics
Lastly, the classics. In my mind, those are:
Are you aware of how many books they actually published? And how many you probably have never read? Go to your library and see if they have any of the less familiar titles from these authors. We still haven’t read all of their books. You will be amazed at how many they have!
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Read more from Vanessa Brown at www.INeverGrewUp.net, www.UtahsNaturalKids.com and www.AKickIntheBuzz.com
