Top 14 Books For Preschoolers Updated 04 /2024

The questions, the comments, the "helping," and, of course, their true love of reading a good book are all part of the fun of reading aloud to young children. We think it's important for kids to read a lot of different, high-quality books in preschool, so we like to keep our shelves well-stocked and updated often. For 50+ of our favorite things in the last few months, keep reading!

Baby Bear Counts One, Baby Bear Sees Blue, and Where, Oh Where is Baby Bear? by Ashley Wolff

It's the beautiful linocut illustrations that really make this trio of concept books stand out. There are many sweet bear stories. They are also great for teaching kids about bears and their habitats, which is why they are so popular.

Mrs. Peanuckle’s Alphabet series by Mrs. Peanuckle

Everything about this series is so cute. Each book moves through a nature-themed version of the ABCs with interesting facts about bugs, birds, vegetables, fruits, trees, or flowers. All the while, the mixed-media art is bright and cheery.

Bear is Awake!: An Alphabet Story by Hannah E. Harrison

We love preschool books that teach kids about the alphabet and have a great picture story. As the story about a hungry bear goes on, it's fun to see how kids react. A stands for "awake."

The Peas Series by Keith Baker

Children love the alphabet and learning about different jobs, which is why the original title in this series, Lmno Peas, has been a long-time preschool favorite for many years. They also couldn't be any cuter. As our Pre-K kids start to pay attention to lowercase letters, we love having the new book, LMNO Pea-Quel, on hand.

Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi! by Art Coulson

During the Cherokee National Holiday, Bo helps his uncle Ben make handmade marbles to sell at the booth his family has. He needs to find a container that is just the right size to show them off at the booth. Our favorite preschool book in the Storytelling Math series is this one because it helps kids think about volume, capacity, and area. The ideas in the back of the book are all things that can be done in the classroom.

Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins

It's one of the most creative preschool books you'll ever find, and it's sure to get your kids talking. It starts out simple but gets more complicated as the book goes on, making it a good book for kids of different ages. From letting kids play with loose parts to making a class version of it with cut and glued shapes, there are many ways to make this game even better.

Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer

Almost every preschool class studies families at some point, and this book is a must-have to help kids see the world through the eyes of everyone. Illustrations are bright and fun, and they show many different types of family structures in a sweet way.

Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer

People all over the world start preschool with the goal of being kind, and this title is full of optimism and age-appropriate examples. Kids will love it when you show them this and then show them how kind they are.

House: First Words Board Books by Michael Slack

You can use these little label books, which each show what's in a room in a home, for so many different things. Share them with kids to get them talking about their own homes, or as examples for kids to use when they write their own label books for their own homes. Putting the little books in the box is like putting together a puzzle. This is a great thing for kids to do on their own when they're having some alone time.

Penguin Bedtime Classics illustrated by Carly Gledhill

You won't find any fairy tales like this here! Classic stories are pared down to a few simple, but still interesting, sentences in this board book collection that fill in the gaps with diverse, new-feeling illustrations.

Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won

As soon as the animal friends start giving each other hats, they all seem to be very unhappy. It has a lot of chances for kids to speak up and point out things in the pictures, as well as a sweet message about friendship. This is one of our favorite read-alouds. Follow-ups to Hooray for Books! Hooray for Today!

Dig, Dump, Roll and Wheels by Sally Sutton

With Roadwork, Construction, and Demolition, Sally Sutton made us fall in love with books all over again. These two more recent books have a guessing game structure, which makes them great for reading aloud to kids who love construction and vehicles.

Abracadabra, It’s Spring! by Anne Sibley O’Brien

Changes in the seasons can feel like magic, and the fold-out pages of these books really show that. Children can guess what special thing about that season will be shown under the flap on each spread.

What Color is Night? and What Sound is Morning? by Grant Snider

These poetic titles are all about the different colors of night and the sounds that start the day off in a different way than they do at night. Bedtime and early morning are prime times for preschoolers, of course, so these are great preschool books. Look and listen carefully and describe the colors and sounds in your school environment with these activities as a starting point.

What’s the Weather? by Shelley Rotner

It was hard to pick just one of Shelley Rotner's beautiful photo essays because we love them all so much. This title is especially good for classrooms that are talking about the weather.

Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party by Kimberly & James Dean

Pete the Cat is clearly the best friend a preschool class could have. We love this new favorite, next to our favorite Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, for talking about pizza and other things that start with the letter P. Preschoolers can't stop laughing about Pete's friends' weird topping choices.

Pizza Day by Melissa Iwai

It's never enough to have just one book about pizza. This realistic story about a family who grows their own vegetables and makes their own pizza sauce gives kids a lot to talk about. There is no doubt that after you read this, it's time for some pizza-making of your own!

Every Color Soup by Jorey Hurley

Soup is a close second to pizza when it comes to preschool cooking and food talk. A single color word on each page of this title is matched to a soup vegetable. It's elegant because it's simple. Our favorite way to do this is by painting whole sheets of paper, then cutting them up into "soup" pieces.

Beehive by Jorey Hurley

Not at all! We couldn't choose just one book by Jorey Hurley! On each page, only a few words are shown, but they teach a lot about how bees make honey.

Good Morning Yoga and Good Night Yoga by Mariam Gates

Yoga storytime is one of our favorite ways to use yoga in the preschool classroom, and these are two of our favorite ways to get or calm down our youngest yogis.

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