Books to read to your  5– or 6-year old

Pre-K and Kindergarten Greatest Hits

 All titles link to the Maine Minerva search page.

Digging up Dinosaurs jE Ali

Aliki

Briefly introduces various types of dinosaurs whose skeletons and reconstructions are seen in museums and explains how scientists uncover, preserve, and study fossilized dinosaur bones.

 

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing jE Bur

Burningham, John  (Authors Website)

Mr. Gumpy accepts more and more riders on his boat until the inevitable occurs.

 

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel jE Bur

Burton, Virginia Lee (Authors Website)

Mike Mulligan proves that although his steam shovel may be outdated, it is still useful.

 

Stellaluna jE Can

Cannon, Janell  (Authors Website)

After she falls headfirst into a bird’s nest, a baby bat is raised like a bird until she is reunited with her mother.

 

Are You my Mother? jE Eas

Eastman, P.D.

A baby bird is hatched while his mother is away. Fallen from his nest, he sets out to look for her.

 

Mushroom in the Rain jE Gin

Ginsburg, Mirra  (Authors Website)

How can an ant, butterfly, mouse, sparrow, and rabbit all take shelter from the rain under the same mushroom when originally there was room only for the ant?

 

Jamaica’s Find jE Hav

Havill, Juanita  (Authors Website)

A little girl finds a stuffed dog in the park and decides to take it home. Finders keepers, losers weepers? Jamaica discovers a better way!

 

Eat Up, Gemma jE Hay

Hayes, Sarah

Baby Gemma refuses to eat, throwing her breakfast on the floor and squashing her grapes, until her brother gets an inspired idea.

 

Bread and Jam for Frances jE Hob

Hoban, Russell 

Frances decides she likes to eat only bread and jam at every meal-until to her surprise-her parents grant her wish.

 

The Doorbell Rang jE Hut

Hutchins, Pat  (Authors Website)

Each time the doorbell rings, there are more people who have come to share Ma's wonderful cookies.

 

Mama, Do You Love Me? jE Joo

Joosse, Barbara  (Authors Website)

A child living in the Arctic learns that a mother's love is unconditional.

 

Anansi and the moss-covered rock jE  Kim

Kimmel, Eric  (Authors Website)

Anansi the Spider uses a strange moss-covered rock in the forest to trick all the other animals, until little Bush Deer decides he needs to learn a lesson.

 

 

The Ugly Vegetables jE  Lin

Lin, Grace  (Authors Website)

A little girl thinks her mother's garden is the ugliest in the neighborhood until she discovers that flowers might look and smell pretty but Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all.

 

Frederick jE Lio

Lionni, Leo  (Authors Website)

Frederick, the poet mouse, stores up something special for the long cold winter. 

 

Amanda Pig, Schoolgirl jE Lee

van Leeuwen, Jean  (Authors Website)

Amanda Pig's first day of school is every bit as wonderful as she always hoped it would be.

            

 

What James Likes Best jE Sch

Schwartz, Amy

A little boy goes with his parents on an express bus to visit twins, in a taxi to visit Grandma, and in a car to see the county fair, then walks next door with his mother for a play date

 

Horton Hatches the Egg jE. Sue (Audiobook)

Seuss, Dr.  (Authors Website)

When a lazy bird hatching an egg wants a vacation, she asks Horton, the elephant, to sit on her egg-which he does through all sorts of hazards until he is rewarded for doing what he said he would.

 

Nate the Great jE

Sharmat, Marjorie 

Nate the Great solves the mystery of the missing picture.

 

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble jE

Steig, William 

In a moment of fright, Sylvester the donkey asks his magic pebble to turn him into a rock but then cannot hold the pebble to wish himself back to normal again.

 

I Went Walking  jE

Williams, Sue

During the course of a walk, a young boy identifies animals of different colors.

 

Hide & Seek  jE

Wong, Janet S  (Authors Website)

In this counting book, a child and parent play hide-and-seek while they bake cookies.

 

Farmer Duck jE  Mar

Waddell, Martin 

When a kind and hardworking duck nearly collapses from overwork, while taking care of a farm because the owner is too lazy to do so, the rest of the animals get together and chase the farmer out of town

 

George and Martha jE Mar

Marshall, James  (Authors Website)

Several episodes in the friendship of two hippopotamuses.

 

One Morning in Maine jE McC

McCloskey, Robert 

It's a big day for a little girl when she discovers her first loose tooth and makes a trip to the grocery on the mainland.

 

Pig Pig Grows Up jE McP

McPhail, David   . (Authors Website)

Only when faced with a dire emergency does Pig Pig finally react like a grown-up and admit he is not a baby any more.

 

Good Night, Gorilla jE Rat

Rathmann, Peggy  (Authors Website)

An unobservant zookeeper is followed home by all the animals he thinks he has left behind in the zoo.

 

Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea jE Ryl

Rylant, Cynthia  (Authors Website)

Follows the seaside adventures of Henry, Henry's father, and Henry's big dog, Mudge.

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