Holiday Gift Guide: Best Books for Preschoolers
- December 5, 2012
- by Melissa Lawrence
Hello, fellow parents!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there’s nothing better than getting all cozy at home and reading to your kiddie — it really is one of those special times I savor. And after five kids, I definitely have my favorite books.
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Here are my picks for the best children’s books from 3 to 5 years old (also check out my favorites for babies and toddlers). These make easy, super affordable gifts for kids! And if you’re looking for last-minute holiday ideas, they make wonderful kids’ stocking stuffers!
What are your favorites, or the favorites of your young readers?[/bq]- The Pigeon Wants a Puppy ($9.36) and Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! ($10.80) Mo Willems’ books are amazing. He is just such a fabulous writer and illustrator and we love all his books, they’re so human and funny – these are just two of our favorites and another one you might not know about is Leonardo, the Terrible Monster. It’s a hilarious story of a monster who just isn’t scary and learns how to be a friend. We love him in our house.
- Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose ($13.57) I think every house should have a classic copy of Mother Goose and I love the editions with the old classic illustrations. These nursery rhymes are so musical and imaginative – love them for this age group and beyond.
- Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever! ($10.82) and Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever! ($10.82) Especially if you’re on a budget with your home library, I think you can not get any more bang for your buck than with Richard Scarry’s books. “Best Storybook Ever” has 82 wonderful stories and “Best Word Book Ever” has pages upon pages of informative, instructive material for kids done in such a fun and imaginative way through characters. I feel that each of these books taught my kids so much about the world and we had so much fun with them.
So those are my picks…what are yours? Comment below!
Comments
Kathy
Well we love books!! I might fill up your page with all the books we love…
My daughter LOVES being read to. We belong to the Dolly Pardon Imagination LIbrary adn they send toddlers 1 book a month (or every 6 weeks) anyway she has gotten some books that personally I would never have bought because I didn’t think she would enjoy them but they have become her favorite.
She loves Boom-A-Chick-a-Rock and Rooster Can’t Cockadoodle Do. They are for more older children so that is why I would never have bought them but she loves them and laughs and the right times. We actually had to hide the rooster book because she wanting us to read it over and over again and we kind of wanted to take a break lol.
Another book she absolutely loves is Little Bear, I bought a series of books at a library sale and this has become a favorite. I have some old Little Bear VHS tapes from the 80’s and she will watch him too. I have heard a lot of moms rave about the Pigeon series so I am giong to have to look into them
Hope I didn’t ramble too much!
rebecca shockley
We have lots of great books we like to read, our absolute favorite would be
Giggle, Giggle, Quack.
This next book I came across at the library and was immediately curious just because of the title – Walter the Farting Dog, OMG funny, kids loved it too!
The last favorite of ours would have to be The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Lauren Martin
One of our favorites is When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic! It is so much fun to read and my kids laugh out loud even though we have read it a thousand times!
Angela
Good night moon
Has probably got to my all time favorite
Along with Dr Seuss
I love the fact that my 7 & 6 yr olds have started to really enjoy reading
Anonymous
Good night moon
Has probably got to my all time favorite
Along with Dr Seuss
I love the fact that my 7 & 6 yr olds have started to really enjoy reading
We just started to love reading
Good night moon
Has probably got to my all time favorite
Along with Dr Seuss
I love the fact that my 7 & 6 yr olds have started to really enjoy reading
Karen Medlin
a few of our favorites we like to read are The Giving Tree, Guess How Much I love You, and Moo Baa La La
Sharon
You can never go wrong with Mother Goose.
I love Guess How Much I Love You and Dr.Seuss books- the ABC book
Janice
I love any book about the aphabet. I love the Disney classics too. One of my favorite preschool book is Pat the Bunny, they even have puzzles to go with the book
Alana Prange
Hi! I want to add a list of books that were favorites every year I taught preschool (7 years). Not sure if any of these have been mentioned- some are quite popular & some maybe less heard of, but very worth investing in.
1. ‘King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub’ by Audrey & Don Wood (Caldecotte Honor book)
Also by same: ‘Silly Sally’
Audrey Wood (author) & Don Wood (illustrator) are one of my favorites book writing duos for preschoolers.
2. ‘Peaceful Piggy Meditation’ by Kerry Lee Maclean
3. ‘How Full Is Your Bucket’ (for kids) by Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer, illustrated by Maurie Manning (*This book is for k-2nd grade, but I found the lesson and activities in it completely do-able with 4 year olds)
4. ‘The Big Orange Splot’ by Daniel Pinkwater
5. ‘Mouse Paint’ by Ellen Stoll Walsh
6. ‘Elmer’ by David McKee
7. ‘Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale’ by Mo Willems (has written lots of great children’s books) another of his is ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus’
8. ‘We’re Going On a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen
9. ‘Cook-A-Doodle-Doo!’ By Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
10. ‘Shortcut’ by Donald Crews
11. ‘Mr Gumpy’s Motor Car’ by John Burningham
12. ‘Subway Sparrow’ by Leyla Torres
13. ‘Mouse Tails’ by Arnold Lobel
14. ‘The Rainbow Fish’ by Marcus Pfister
Dana
Some of our favorites are the Biscuit books series and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Aura
My kids also really enjoy the Knuffle Bunny books. We’re big fans of Sandra Boynton’s silly rhymes and my baby’s current obsession is from the little miss/ little mr. books, Mr. Noisy. The best collection of books I have found to be “The 20th Century Children’s Book Treasury”