201 BEST READ ALOUDS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN

Children exposed to many books from birth to preK reap countless benefits.  The advantages for children who are read to, early on and often, include higher literacy, better vocabulary, improved concentration, longer attention span, stronger academic performance and healthier social and emotional  development.   As if that wasn’t enough to convince us to read to our kids, research shows that word mastery in adulthood is directly correlated to the acquisition of words in the earliest years of childhood.   And although speaking to babies and very young children is vital in building language skills, picture books offer the inclusion of uncommon spoken words that are important to increasing their fast-growing vocabulary.  

In all, reading to our children fosters positive and nurturing parent-child relationships which contribute to the overall wellness of our kids in academics, social settings, and brain development.  This list started out as a list of 50 Family Favorites and that grew to 101.  Finally, I put my foot down and drew the line at 201 Family Favorites and Not One More! (okay,   one more...)  That makes a terrible title.

There are many, many wonderful books that did not make the list.  My kids greatly influenced the list with their all-time favorites and I tried to keep the list dedicated to books that I read consistently to all 6 of my children and that are included in our home library.  

Mom Pro Tip: consignment shops, yard sales, mom2moms, and homeschool co-ops are absolutely great ways to add to your home library.  Homeschool moms graduating their last schooler often sell or give away epic numbers of books.  If you are looking for specific books and don't want to pay full-price, try amazon's used books option.  I've had a lot of luck there - some duds, but mostly their used books are in excellent condition at reasonable prices.
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If you are interested in learning more about the stories below, simply click on the photos or title links.  I am an amazon affiliate and avid amazon shopper.  I have purchased many of the listed books through amazon's new and used book options to grow our home library.  

HERE IS OUR LIST OF FAVORITE FAMILY READ ALOUD BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN!  GET READY, GET SET, READ!
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​BEST BOARD BOOKS!

1. Guess How Much I Love You We absolutely love this sweet story about Little Nutbrown Hare and his daddy as they express their love for one another in a way every child can relate to. I think I bought this book as much for me as for my kids!

2. Where Is Baby's Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book Every child loves a good lift-the-flap book. J-Dragon, my baby#6, is currently enjoying lifting every flap in every book over and over again. I don't think he's paying much mind to the actual story. That's okay. All aspects of a good book should be celebrated.

3. Moo Baa La La La

4. Barnyard Dance! (Boynton on Board) My kids loved to gleefully act out the dances and animal noises. This is a wondrous little book for toddlers.

5. The Going-To-Bed Book My kids and I all memorized this book and have lots of fun reciting it together! We also like to stop at the pages and choose which animal represents each member of our family!

6.

There are countless diy kids crafts that go along with Carle's classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Check out instagram and pinterest for the best ideas!

7. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Board Book)

8. Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book

9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

10.

You mention "food" or "eating" and my kids are 100% on board!  Eating the Alphabet is a fun book and I love Ehlert's illustrations!

11. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

12. Have You Seen My Cat?: A Slide-and-Peek Board Book (The World of Eric Carle)

13.

Counta Block is an "interactive" book that allows kids to actively engage in a fun and tactile way by flipping numbers and guessing what's coming up next.  My 4-year old liked this book so much that it now has a duct taped spine.  The highest compliment for a children's book!

14. Alphablock

15. First 100 Words Lift-the-Flap: Over 35 Fun Flaps to Lift and Learn This lift-the-flap version came out in 2013 and is soooo fun!

16. Where's Spot?

17. Busy Day Bunnies: A Carry Along Treasury (Carry Along Books)

18.

OUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES'

I pair this wonderful story, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, with a family nature walk.  We dress up our youngest in a bear outfit and we set off on our very own family bear hunt!

19.

​Robert Munsch books are hilarious, inventive, addictive and beautifully illustrated.  My children each have a different favorite story and we've read them all countless times.  This series is not for toddlers - targeted more for preK and kindergarten.

20. The Paper Bag Princess (Munsch for Kids)

21. Stephanie's Ponytail (Munsch for Kids)

22. Thomas' Snowsuit (Munsch for Kids)

23. Mortimer (Munsch for Kids)

24. I Have to Go! (Munsch for Kids)

25. Children find pig tales so charming and this one really delivers.

26. Something Good (Munsch for Kids)

27.

28. David's Father (Annikin)

29.

One of the many aspects that I love about Munsch stories is how very adventurous, bold, and fearless all the girl characters are.  They are great reads for boys, too, but they have a special girl-power charm to them that my girls absolutely love!

30. A Promise is Promise (Munsch for Kids)

31. Murmel, Murmel, Murmel (Annikin)

32.

Whenever we spy a Curious George story that we don't have in our home library, we snatch it up and add it to our collection.  I remember reading my very first Curious George story when I was a little girl and it was absolutely one of the most special book experiences of my earliest years.  I hope to do the same for my children.

33. Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory

34. Curious George Goes to a Costume Party

35.

Pssst... the little seagull in Curious George Goes to the Beach, plays a sweet role in the story!

36. Curious George Goes to the Hospital

37. Curious George Goes Camping

38.

My family of 8 loves pancakes!  We love the classic vanilla pancakes but we also like to dress up our pancakes in different flavors, colors, shapes and sizes.  And they're not just for breakfast, either!  Personally, I think they taste best for dinner.

39. Curious George Takes a Train

40. Curious George and the Puppies (Curious George 8x8)

41. Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon (Curious George 8x8)

42.

I am a New Yorker at heart so Curious George in the Big CIty has a special place in my heart!  

43. Curious George and the Birthday Surprise

44. Curious George and the Firefighters

45. Curious George in the Snow

46.

​A sweet and slightly wacky bedtime story, Curious George Dreams.

47. Margret & H.A. Rey's Curious George Feeds the Animals (Curious George 8x8 (Quality)) (Paperback) - Common

GOLDEN BOOKS FOR THE W-I-N!
I cannot say enough great things about this series.  I am an old school kinda mom when it comes to the Golden Books and I prefer the older stories to the newer releases that are tied to the Disney movies.  The following list is the Golden Books that we currently have in our library and I recommend each one with two thumbs up!

48.

The Poky Little Puppy is about curious puppy siblings and reminds us of our own adventurous and curious brood.

49. The Monster at the End of This Book

50. Another Monster at the End of This Book (Sesame Street Ser.)

51. The Shy Little Kitten (Little Golden Books)

52. The Shy Little Kitten (Little Golden Books)

53.

When my oldest son was a little tot, he got to play the role of the miller in a production of "The Little Red Hen" and from that day forward, this story became one of my favorite Golden Classics.

54. The Little Mermaid (Disney Princess) (Little Golden Book)

55. Dumbo (Disney Classic) (Little Golden Book)

56. Richard Scarry's The Bunny Book (Little Golden Book)

57. The Fox and the Hound: Hide and Seek (Little Golden Book)

58.

My husband and I are both musicians and so Animal Orchestra was an absolute must for our family.  When my eldest was three, she could pick out the instruments that were playing solos in a symphony and she could identify all the musical instruments in this book (and there are many!)

59. Baby Animals (Little Golden Book)

60. I Love You, Daddy (Little Golden Book)

61. Where Do Kisses Come From? (Little Golden Book)

62.

63. Tootle

64. Toy Story (Disney/Pixar Toy Story) (Little Golden Book)

65. Lady and the Tramp (Disney Lady and the Tramp) (Little Golden Book)

66.

I couldn't find a good link for the book edition of The Great Mouse Detective so I linked the amazon prime movie version.  The movie  is what spurred me to get the book version.  My family enjoyed both, equally.

67. The Saggy Baggy Elephant (Little Golden Book)

68. Tawny Scrawny Lion (Little Golden Book)

69. The Amazing Mumford Forgets the Magic Words *This book is no longer available as a new book. The vintage copies are pretty pricey - best to borrow a library copy or if you're lucky, like me, you'll spot a copy at a consignment shop!

70.

The Good Humor Man is a nostalgic book filled with the most magical ice cream flavors.  Have some popsicle sticks, glue, markers, and construction paper at the ready to make some fun flavors of your own!

The MADELINE series. Consignment shops are a great book resource if you are looking to add to your home library.  I scored this complete set for a fraction of the new sale price.  Children's consignment shops usually carry new to slightly worn copies of books for pennies or $1-$5 for hard copies and pop-ups.  You can't beat the prices.

71. Madeline

72. Madeline's Rescue

73. Madeline in London

74. Madeline and the Bad Hat

75.

How many times have I you affectionately called your kids "monkeys"?...  Me too!  The Five Little Monkeys is a sweet and original series about siblings and their every day shenanigans.  

76. Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car (A Five Little Monkeys Story)

77. Five Little Monkeys Bake a Birthday Cake (A Five Little Monkeys Story)

78. Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do (A Five Little Monkeys Story)

79. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (A Five Little Monkeys Story)

80. Don't Wake Up Mama! (A Five Little Monkeys Story) The used copies are under $1 on amazon!

81.

82. Peter Hatches an Egg Great Easter book but I read it to my kids anytime they like!

83.

84. Three Cheers for Tacky (Tacky the Penguin) Be yourself and celebrate uniqueness!

85. The Three Little Pigs (Paul Galdone Classics)

86. A fun twist to the original classic.

87. The Gingerbread Man (Easy-To-Read Folktales)

88. The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Paul Galdone Classics)

89. The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Mulberry Books)

90.

91. Sherlock Chick and the Peek-A-Boo Mystery (Parents Magazine Read Aloud Original)

92. Bunny Trouble Here's another Easter book we read year-round!

93.

​This series of 26 AlphaPets books is great, if you can get your hands on the whole set, for a reasonable price.

94. Thomas the Tank Engine and the School Trip (Step Into Reading - Level 2)

95.

96. Down at the Docks (Thomas & Friends)

97. The Special Delivery (Thomas & Friends) (Pictureback(R))

98.

99. My daughter fell in love with the cover!

100.

Some versions of this classic tale, Jack and the Beanstalk, have more elaborate illustrations but I like this version because it is prek-friendly in terms of the visuals.  Some versions are downright scary!

101.

I don't know what it is about the Olivia books but whenever I see one of the sleek, minimalist covers, I get the urge to clean my house...  

102. Olivia Saves the Circus (Classic Board Books)

103. Olivia the Spy

104.

105.

We went to a book reading and signing by the author of The Book That Eats People many years and several babies ago.  It's a quirky and fun tale that stands out from a crowd of good stories!  My kids enjoyed "hiding" the book and burying it under heavy piles.

106. Pirate Pete's Giant Adventure

107. Big Dan's Moving Van

108. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful.

109. Detective Dinosaur Lost and Found (I Can Read Level 2)

110. Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business

111. More Caps for Sale: Another Tale of Mischievous Monkeys

112. "Let the wild rumpus start!"

113.

We have a collection of these beloved Berenstain Bears books.  This one is our family favorite.  I love that this series focuses on timeless morals that can benefit kids from all walks of life.  

114. The Berenstain Bears on the Moon

115. The Bear Detectives

116. The Berenstain Bears' Nursery Tales

117. Berenstain Bears Grow-It! Mother Nature Has Such a Green Thumb! (First Time Books(R))

118. The Berenstain Bears' New Baby

119.

120. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV

121. The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)

122. The Berenstain Bears: Kindness Counts (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)

123.

The Forgiving Tree is handy for a family of any size but especially for big families where feelings can often get hurt and squabbles can happen on the daily.

124. The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores

125. The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners

126. The Berenstain Bears Show Some Respect (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)

127.

128.

I love creating and passing along family traditions.  One of our family traditions is to replace the main character of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie with the names of my children whenever I read this series by Laura Numeroff.  

129. We, as a family, find piggy books irresistible!

130. If You Give a Moose a Muffin

131. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books)

132.

I appreciate how Shel Silverstein doesn't talk down to his young audience but rather shares his profound and massively creative mind with them through his unique stories, poetry, and drawings.  

133. Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings

134. A Light in the Attic Special Edition with 12 Extra Poems

135.

136.

Children have BIG feelings and emotions and they often need our help navigating the more negative ones.  Read alouds are a great way to explore a wide range of feelings and emotions in a relaxed environment when young ones are more receptive to hearing about how best to handle big feelings.  Little Critter books get the thumbs up from this family of 8.

137. Being Thankful (Mercer Mayer's Little Critter)

138. Just Go to Bed (Little Critter) (Pictureback(R))

139. Just Me and My Mom (A Little Critter Book)

140. Just a Mess (Little Critter) (Look-Look)

141.

142. All by Myself (Little Critter) (Look-Look)

143. Just Me and My Little Brother (Little Critter) (Pictureback(R))

144.

We've had lots of new babies join our growing family and we've had lots of "new baby" books join our growing home library, including Mercery Mayer's The New Baby.

145. It's True (Little Critter Inspired Kids)

146. Little Critter: Just a Big Storm

147. Just My Friend & Me

148.

149.

I am a sucker for a good book cover.  The Story of Ferdinand is a charming book about a gentle hearted bull.  #youdoyouferdinand

150.

I am allergic to cats but I absolutely adore Skippyjon Jones!  He reminds me of all of my children, with his big imagination and hilarious adventures.  I hope to read this series with my own grandchildren, someday.

151. Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble

152. Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse

153. Skippyjon Jones, Class Action

154. Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones

155.

The Story About Ping is about a young duck who lives on a boat on the Yangtze River.  He gets separated from his master and his very large family and encounters kindness in the form of a young boy who also lives on the river.

156. Tikki Tikki Tembo

157. The Five Chinese Brothers (Paperstar)

158.

Which of the brothers' unique gifts would you want and why?  The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy.

159.

Little Bunny Follows His Nose - such a FUN book with scratch and sniff pages!  I wish more books were published with scratch and sniff pages for curious bookworms!  My only regret is the stickers eventually lose their delightful smells.

160. Berenstains' A Book (Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners)

161. The Berenstains' B Book (Bright & Early Books(R))

162.

163.

164.

This volume has all four of our favorite Frog and Toad stories.  It is reasonably priced and has survived the rugged "stress tests" of  our family of 8!

165. Beatrix Potter the Complete Tales (Peter Rabbit) I'll list them individually down below.

166. The Tale of Peter Rabbit

167. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (Peter Rabbit)

168. The Tale of Mr. Tod (Peter Rabbit)

169.

170.

Fish is Fish is an endearing tale about a fish who yearns to  experience what it's like to live on land amongst all the interesting creatures.  Check out the fun crafts on instagram and pinterest that correlate to this lovely story.

171.

Blueberries for Sal is a Caldecott Honor Book about a little girl who goes blueberry picking with her mother and runs into a mama bear, doing the same.  If you enjoy canning, this is a sweet book to read with your kids.

172. The Snowy Day The first snow was a magical time for city kids, like me.

173. One Tiny Turtle: Read and Wonder

174. Cookie Soup (Sesame Street Good-Night Stories) (Sesame Street Good-Night Stories)

175.

176.

The Elephants' Ears is a sweet tale about how the African and Indian elephants came to be in their homelands.  

177. Giant Children

178. Don't forget to watch the movie!

179. What a Day It Was at School!

180.

Mirette on the Highwire is a beautifully illustrated book about a young girl who wants to learn to walk the high wire.

181. Kipper's Toybox

182. Moose's loose tooth

183.

184. Bear Snores On (The Bear Books)

185. A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree

186.

The illustrations are few but the stories are so rich and lovely.  The littlest ones get squirmy if they sit for too long and there aren't flaps to flip or pictures to see so I like to read this to my older preK and kindergartners during breakfast and lunchtimes as they sit quietly and munch away and listen.

187.

Our family received the deluxe pop-up version of The Little Prince as a gift but there are also paperback versions available.  My older kids still flip through this one from time to time because the pop-up engineering is so amazing.

188.

No read aloud books list for young kids would be complete without Dr. Seuss!  This story, My Many Colored Days, is lesser known - I like the way emotions are expressed through colors.

189. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

190.

I have read Mr. Brown Can Moo!  Can You? and made the sound effects countless times over the years with all of my children and it never gets old.  It is such a fun book and timeless book!

191. Hop on Pop (I Can Read It All By Myself)

192. Fox in Socks (Beginner Books)

193. If I Ran the Zoo (Classic Seuss)

194.

Go, Dog. Go!  was written by P.D. Eastman and edited by beloved Dr. Seuss.  This is a very "beginning reader" friendly book and all of my children enjoyed reading whole sections of this story all by themselves!

195.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! also makes a great graduation present for older students!

196. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All by Myself)

197. Green Eggs and Ham

198.

199.

200. The Cat in the Hat

201.

Our family library copy of Dr. Seuss Pops Up! has seen better days but I have no regrets because my children enjoyed exploring this volume countless times over the years and the love and attention shows nicely.

202.

I don't know why William Steig's book, Amos & Boris, isn't more well known.  It is a touching and marvelous example of true friendship and meaningful human connection.  And it is beautifully written and illustrated in a way to touch a young person's heart.  My son's words when we finished the book, "Oh Mom!  Is there a part 2?  There's gotta be a part 2, it's so good!"  I agree.  

YOU MADE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE LIST!  YOU ARE AWESOME!  I hope you and your family enjoy reading the books as much as my family has!