www.5forlife.ca

Books Every Child Should Hear Before

Starting School.This booklist includes

100 suggested titles to read to young children

to help develop their early literacy skills.

100

www.5forlife.ca

Adapted with permission from the Okotoks Library

This is a selected list of 100 exceptional picture books which will entertain, educate and inspire young children again and again.

Make time to snuggle up and share these books with the children in your life. Reading

to your child every day will help develop the skills they need to arrive at school

ready to learn to read and

write.

Encourage your child to turn the pages and to

name objects in the pictures.

100

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Some Dogs Do by Jez Alborough

Stanley’s Party by Linda Bailey

Stella, Star of the Sea by Marie-Louise Gay

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Strega Nona: Her Story by Tomie dePaola

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Pam Adams

Tuesday by David Wiesner

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker

Wheels on the Bus: A Book with Parts That Move by Paul O. Zelinsky

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

Yoko by Rosemary Wells

The End by David LaRochelle

Epossumondas by Coleen Salley

Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor

Fire Truck by Peter Sís

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

George and Martha by James Marshall

Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster

The Hoppameleon by Paul Geraghty

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

If You’re Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre

I’m Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen

The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen

In My Backyard by Margriet Ruurs

It’s a Secret! by John Burningham

The King’s Taster by Kenneth Oppel

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis; David Soman

Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Madlenka by Peter Sís

The Mightiest by Keiko Kasza

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Moose Tracks! by Karma Wilson

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

No Sleep for the Sheep! by Karen Beaumont

No, David! by David Shannon

Olivia by Ian Falconer

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

One Some Many by Marthe Jocelyn

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Pancakes for Supper! by Anne Isaacs

Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke

Rain by Manya Stojic

Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins

Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt

Silly Suzy Goose by Petr Horácek

100Abuela by Arthur Dorros

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

The Best Pet of All by David Larochelle

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler,Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina

Caramba by Marie-Louise Gay

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson

Chester by Mélanie Watt

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

Chicken Little by Ed Emberley

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

The Complete Adventures of the Mole Sisters by Roslyn Schwartz

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

Eddie’s Garden: And How to Make Things Grow by Sarah Garland

Elmer by David McKee