Use this booklist to help ‘grow’ your child’s language and
literacy skills. Motivate your child to love books and reading.
Help build early literacy skills. Reinforce that reading is a valued
habit and skill in your home by reading aloud to him, and
showing him that you read, too.
In this pamphlet, you will find tips on using books to build
vocabulary, increase narrative skills, and reinforce word play
with your child.
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Suggested Books for
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Print Motivation: learning to love books and words Print motivation serves as the building block for all other early literacy skills. If this
skill is not in place, children will struggle to acquire the other early literacy skills they
need to be successful in school.
Reinforce reading as an important family value. Read together often. Provide a
literature-rich environment with books, magazines, and a place to curl up.
Narrative Skills: storytelling and relating events From an early age, children learn to predict what will happen next in a story. Narrative
skills include the ability to sequence, ask and answer questions, and follow directions.
As you read together, encourage your child to predict what will happen next in the
story. When the two of you spend time together, ask him open-ended questions so that
he can tell you a story. Narrative skills use both verbal and listening skills.
Tullet, Herve
Press Here Using no special effects, a series of dots
multiplies, grows, or changes color by
pressing, tilting, or blowing on the
previous page.
Wiesner, David
Tuesday Frogs rise on their lily pads, float through
the air, and explore nearby houses while
inhabitants sleep. This wordless book
gives children the chance to tell the story
in their own words. Can they guess the
ridiculous surprise ending?
Willems, Mo
We are in a Book! (Elephant & Piggie) Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of
reading. But what happens when the book
ends? Each book in this series provides a
model of true friendship.
Wilson, Karma
The Cow Loves Cookies While all the other animals on the farm
enjoy eating their regular food, the cow
chooses to eat the one thing that she loves
best. Children will be ready to chant along
with you that “The cow loves cookies.”
Jeffers, Oliver
The Way Back Home Stranded on the moon, a boy meets a
marooned young Martian with a broken
spacecraft. The two new friends work
together to return to their respective
homes. After reading this book, make up
stories about what will happen to continue
the friend’s story.
Klassen, Jon
I Want My Hat Back
A bear loves his hat, but he hasn’t seen it
anywhere. Or has he?
Litwin, Eric
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy
Buttons Pete the Cat loves the buttons on his shirt
so much that he makes up a song about
them. Even as the buttons pop off one by
one, he still finds a reason to sing. What
happens when all the button are off his
shirt.
Nesbitt, Kenn
More Bears! When an author starts writing, children yell
that they want more bears in the story.
Palacio, R. J.
We’re All Wonders
Augie is an ordinary kid: he likes to bike,
play with his dog, eat ice cream, and play
ball. But he doesn’t look ordinary. When
people see him, they stare, point and laugh,
or talk about him behind his back. Can
Augie show the other kids that he is just
like them – a wonder?
Barton, Byron
The Three Bears While three bears are away from home,
Goldilocks ventures inside their house,
tastes their porridge, tries their chairs, and
finally falls asleep in Baby Bear's bed. This
is a very simple re-telling of the classic
fairy tale. After reading the story to your
child, have him tell it to you.
Brett, Jan
The Turnip Badger Girl is delighted to find the biggest
turnip she has ever seen growing in her
vegetable garden, but when the time comes
to harvest the giant root, she is unable to
pull it up without help from family and
friends. Each time the group tries to pull
the turnip, have your child guess what each
character will say next. Will the characters
get the turnip to come out of the ground?
Galdone, Paul
The Little Red Hen The little red hen finds none of her lazy
friends willing to help her plant, harvest, or
grind wheat into flour, but all are eager to
eat the cake she makes from it.
Galdone, Paul
The Three Billy Goats Gruff As the goats trip trap over the troll’s
bridge, each Billy Goat Gruff repeats the
experience in turn, lending for a chilling
adventure that is chiefly repetitive in
nature. Children will have fun telling the
story, impersonating the evil troll, and
chanting along throughout the story.
Matheson, Christie
Tap the Magic Tree Through a series of directions, the author
leads the reader to grow the tree through a
variety of seasons. You and your child will
enjoy growing tree after tree together!
Numeroff, Laura
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie This cumulative story takes the reader
through a cycle of requests from a mouse.
Have your child predict what happens after
each of the mouse’s requests.
Pinkney, Jerry
The Lion and the Mouse
Wordless books present the perfect chance
for your child to tell the story and build
narrative skills. Take turns telling the
story. Swap out familiar words with fancier
ones. Have fun as you read together.
Pett, Mark
The Boy & the Airplane A wordless picture book in which a boy
comes up with an inventive solution for
getting his toy airplane down from the
roof. As you read through the book, have
your child predict how the main character
will get the plane off the roof. Compare the
first page and the last page and ask your
child what transpired.
Wood, Don
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe
Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear Little Mouse loves strawberries, but so
does the bear. How will Little Mouse stop
the bear from eating his freshly picked,
red, ripe strawberry? Stay tuned for the
funny joke played on the listener!
Print Awareness: understanding text and books
Print awareness includes opening a book from the proper side, noticing signage, fonts,
understanding punctuation, page orientation, and reading dialogue.
When you read to your preschooler, trace the flow of text across the page with your
finger. Teach your child to read from left to right, from top to bottom. Read street signs
and store signs together so that he realizes that you, too, use reading in your daily life.
Novak, B.J.
The Book with No Pictures
In this book with no pictures, the reader
has to say every silly word, no matter
what.
Pace, Anne Marie
Vampirina Ballerina Vampirina faces a number of challenges
such as not being able to use the mirror,
or having to practice only at night. Follow
along with the flow of text from top to
bottom, left to right, to practice page
orientation with your young reader.
Shannon, David
No, David! A young boy is depicted doing a variety
of naughty things for which he is
repeatedly admonished, but finally he gets
a hug. David hears “No!” a lot in this tale.
Have your child point to the no each time
it comes.
Sierra, Judy
The Sleepy Little Alphabet The sleepy letters of the alphabet get
ready for bed.
Wells, Rosemary
Yoko Finds Her Way When Yoko gets lost in the airport, she
uses her sign-reading skills to find her
way back to her mama. After reading the
book once, have your child help Yoko by
telling her what the signs say.
Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta
Duck, Duck, Moose!
Duck and Duck are busy getting ready for
a party. Their friend Moose keeps getting
in the way. This book only uses two words,
duck and moose. You can have your child
say “moose” each time it appears in the
text.
Ehlert, Lois
Wag a Tail A trip to the dog park makes for an
entertaining and social day for pups, while
providing a literature-rich environment for
the reader in the way of dialogue bubbles
and dog park signs.
Hutchins, Pat
Rosie’s Walk In this nearly wordless book, young
readers learn page orientation by following
Rosie on her walk.
McClements, George
Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray
Incident Varying font types set the mood as the
author tells the tale of the evil Baron von
Baddie.
Letter Knowledge: recognizing letters and shapes Children notice that each letter has a distinct shape. As letter knowledge builds, children
associate sounds with these symbols. Over time, children come to understand that
groups of letters make up words.
Challenge your child to a letter scavenger hunt. Look for letters on signs and license
plates. Once he names a letter, ask him for its sound. Identify capital and small letters.
Mahy, Margaret
The Alphabet Keeper The Alphabet Keeper keeps all the letters
caged in the dark, but one day they escape
and use clever word play to outwit the
keeper. Play I Spy as you read the story to
challenge your child to recognize the
letters.
Martin, Bill
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom An alphabet rhyme/chant that relates what
happens when the whole alphabet tries to
climb a coconut tree.
McMullen, Kate
I’m Cool McMullen mixes fonts and colors in this
story about the coolest truck of all: a
zamboni.
Numeroff, Laura
The 10-Step Guide to Living with Your
Monster With a number of varied fonts within the
artwork, Laura Numeroff uses plenty of
signage within this story about the care and
feeding of your pet monster.
Scarry, Richard
Richard Scarry’s ABC Word Book Most pages begin with the upper and lower
case letters. The featured letter is
highlighted throughout the double-page
search-and-find spread. Children can
browse the busy illustrations leisurely,
getting to know the letters and their
sounds. Of special interest are the special
consonant sounds, CH, TH, and SH.
Fleming, Denise
Alphabet Under Construction If you have a building enthusiast in your
house, this alphabet book will fill the bill!
A little mouse creates the letters of the
alphabet in many different ways. Use the
books not only to learn letters, but also to
sound out the phrase that accompanies the
pictures.
Gravett, Emily
Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear As a bear juggles and plays, he explores
concepts of color, shape, and food using
only five simple words.
Harper, Charise Mericle
Go! Go! Go! Stop! Little Green only knows one word: Go! It's
the perfect thing to get the construction site
moving, but how will they stop?
Heo, Yumi
Red Light, Green Light This board book features 10 lift-the-flap
traffic signs for little ones to ‘read’.
MacDonald, Suse
Shape by Shape Turn the die-cut pages to discover colorful
shapes,
which
come
together to
reveal a
creature
from long
ago.
Phonological Awareness: playing with sounds Chanting, singing, and rhyming encourage word play. No matter which language you
speak, children recognize sound patterns in speech and play with them to discover and
form new words.
Clap out sound patterns and refrains as you read together. Delay responding to a final
rhyme to see if your child finishes it. And read plenty of poetry and nursery rhymes!
Boynton, Sandra
Moo, Baa, La La La! Silliness ensues as the farm animals rollick
in an infectious rhyming romp.
Cabrera, Jane
Old MacDonald Had a Farm In this and her other picture books, Jane
Cabrera uses bright, appealing illustrations
to introduce children to classic nursery
rhymes and songs.
Rosen, Michael
The Bus is for Us! In rhyming text, exuberant children
express their travel preferences while
ultimately agreeing that the bus is the best
ride of all because it is designed for
everyone to share. Have your child guess
the different modes of transportation from
the rhyme.
Seuss, Dr.
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Engage your child in word play while
listening to this Dr. Seuss tale featuring all
sorts of ridiculously
fantasical beasts. See if
your child can complete
the rhyming word from the
next line of the story.
Encourage making up new
words, even nonsense
words to reinforce this fun
and inventive literacy skill.
Shaw, Nancy
Sheep in a Jeep Five sheep pack up their jeep for a picnic
with comical, but sad results. A great book
to chant to, or even set to music. Point out
words and tap out the syllables as you
rhyme.
Shields, Carol Diggory
Martian Rock Martians travel the universe in this silly,
rhyming book.
Sutton, Sally
Roadwork This picture book, with its rambunctious
rhymes and noisy fun, follows machines as
they clear a pathway, roll tar, and sweep up
at the end.
Viorst, Judith
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day With his day starting off badly, young
Alexander meets challenge after challenge
with the observation that today is ‘a
terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!’
Chant the book’s
refrain aloud with
your child. Clap it
out with him. Best
of all, when he
discovers the
back-up plan of
moving to
Australia, tap out
the word to
reinforce the
sounds.
Vocabulary: naming things and learning new words The human brain grows more quickly between ages three and five than any other time
of life. By the age of five, a child raised in a literature-rich environment may develop a
vocabulary of up to 5,000 words. So feed your preschooler lots of WORDS!
Play games that build his word count. Name objects as you walk along. Use synonyms
to boost vocabulary. Use extravagant adjectives to describe what you see.
Hoban, Tana
26 Letters and 99 Cents One side is an alphabet book. The other
side is a lesson in numbers. Children will
learn both small and capital letters along
with numbers and currency.
Portis, Antoinette
Not a Stick An imaginative young pig shows some of
the many things that a stick can be. This
book offers an opportunity to learn new
words as the pig re-imagines the stick.
Brainstorm some other things that a stick
could be.
Martin, Bill
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You
See? Children see a variety of animals, each one
a different color, and a teacher looking at
them. Sing this story to the tune of
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star for a bedtime
song.
Shaw, Charles G.
It Looked Like Spilt Milk This simple, predictable story encourages
readers to name objects and shapes, while
also building narrative skills.
Wilson, Karma
Bear Sees Colors While taking a walk with Mouse, Bear
meets many other friends and sees colors
everywhere. The rhyme in the book gives a
hint to the color before you turn the page.
Introduce rhyming words to help your
child guess the color.
Coat, Janik
Rhymoceros A blue rhinoceros unabashedly subjects
himself to undignified elements in order to
demonstrate sixteen pairs of rhyming
words, from "caring" and "daring" to
"stinky" and "inky." Practice rhyming with
your child. Even if the word is not a real
word, give lots of praise. Recognizing the
sounds and matching the rhymes are the
important exercises.
Coffelt, Nancy
Big, Bigger, Biggest Cofflet has created a fun story that is a
thesaurus of superlatives for preschoolers.
The language is silly and perfectly
expressive. You and your child can choose
your favorites and add them to your
everyday conversations.
Crews, Donald
Freight Train Rich with vocabulary building
opportunities, this simple book relates
trains, colors, even motion. Take
advantage of the rhythmic nature of train
sounds to enhance your reading
experience.
Curtis, Jamie Lee
Big Words for Little People A big sister teaches her younger siblings
some important words, like responsible,
persevere, and respect.
Hall, Michael
A Perfect Square You and your child can name items as the
perfects square breaks apart, changes into
shapes, and forms creative collages.