What are the best books to start you preschooler out reading?

Question

She knows all her letters, but its time to start moving into reading. She can pick out words like mom, dad, no etc

Answer 1

The vocabulary-building, one word to the page books.

A picture of a dog and the word "dog"

That kind.  Build her vocabulary.  Encourage her to "read" these to you.  It sounds as if she already has a start.  Encourage this.

Start accumulating books with short, happy or silly stories (the cat in the hat is too long for starting out)  Read to her constantly.  Any time she is winding down and willing to sit for a story and any time that you want her to wind down.  Try to do this with her in your lap and you pointing at each word as you read.  Be prepared to read her favorite story a thousand times.

It's good for her to see you read.  I have early memories I have of my father reading books in the evenings.  As a child I associated reading with pleasure because Dad read books simply because he wanted to, not because he had to (school assignment or work related)

Answer 2

Many Dr. Seuss books are great!  The ones that came to mind are "Go Dog Go", "1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish".  These are simple with few words on each page but colorful, and fun.  Dr. Seuss has many books that are for many different reading levels.  Other books I would try would be lift the flap books or pop up books.  How exciting it is to have your book not only tell a story but entertain small children and make reading fun from the beginning and make them want to continue reading.  Good Luck!

Answer 3

Dr. Seuss - Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham

This is one list from my website. I have several others.

Adventures with Arnold Lobel (Small Pig, Mouse Tales, and Uncle Elephant) by Arnold Lobel

Adventures with Arnold Lobel (Mouse Soup, Grasshopper on the Road, and Owl at Home) by Arnold Lobel

Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson *

Blaze and Thunderbolt by C. W. Anderson

Blaze and the Mountain Lion by C. W. Anderson

Blaze and the Lost Quarry by C. W. Anderson

Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony by C. W. Anderson

Blaze and the Forest Fire by C. W. Anderson

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban *

A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell Hoban

Bed Time for Frances by Russell Hoban

Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban

A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban

Billy's Picture by H. A. Rey - Billy Bunny is attempting to paint a picture with lots of unsolicited help from his friends who have their own ideas about what he should paint.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey *

Caps for Sale Esphyr Slobodkina *

Cecily G. and the 9 Monkeys by H. A. Rey

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams *

Corduroy by Don Freeman *

Corduroy at the Zoo by Don Freeman

Corduroy Goes to School by Don Freeman

Corduroy Goes to the Library by Don Freeman

Corduroy Goes to the Doctor by Don Freeman

Corduroy Goes to the Fire Station by Don Freeman

Corduroy Goes to the Beach by Don Freeman

Corduroy:  Lost and Found by Don Freeman

Corduroy's Busy Street by Don Freeman

Corduroy's Sleepover by Don Freeman

Curious George by H. A. Rey *

Curious George Takes a Job by H. A. Rey

Curious George Rides a Bike by H. A. Rey

Curious George Gets a Medal by H. A. Rey

Curious George Flies a Kite by H. A. Rey

Curious George Learns the Alphabet by H. A. Rey

Curious George Goes to the Hospital by H. A. Rey

Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Dr. DeSoto by William Steig *

Earl the Squirrel by Don Freeman - Earl 's mother thinks he is spoiled and should start assuming some responsibility.

Floss by Kim Lewis *

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel *

Frog and Toad All Year Long by Arnold Lobel *

Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel

Gregory's Shadow by Don Freeman

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion *

Harry By the Sea by Gene Zion

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff *

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff

If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff

If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Joffe Numeroff

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Joffe Numeroff

If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Joffe Numeroff

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper *

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

No Roses for Harry by Gene Zion

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey

A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig - Sylvester learns to be careful with his wishes.

Whiteblack, the Penguin Sees the World by H. A. Rey - Whiteblack needs some new information for his radio program and sets out to explore.  He finds all sorts of adventure.

Answer 4

In the beginning readers section of the bookstore or even places like Target, you'll see books like "Step Into Reading" or "Dive into Reading" these are books that start at a pre-kindergarten level and go up to 2-3rd grade. They are very good because they often have great stories, are simple and kids can relate to the message even at an early age. Some are even non-fiction.

One of my favorites is Balto but there are literaly hundreds of these book. They typically will have sight words, some of them have cards in the book with the sight words on them so that you can continue to drill your child on their new vocabulary and you can get a variety of subjects, manner, new siblings, flowers, summer, dentist, doctor the list is endless.

Answer 5

My own child just turned five and we've just begun a "reading program"...a book called "Teaching Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann.  He's about halfway through it and is reading rather well when he chooses to.

There are a series of books out there called the Sunshine Readers.  You can usually get them from your library.  

I have found that some of the simpler Dr. Seuss books are a hit with my son...but he's a fan of Dr. Seuss as well...so that takes me to...what does your child like?  My son chooses a topic or series of books from the library and that allows for meaningful reading...but I also choose some easy readers at his level as well.  There are a series of books called We Both Read and there's a parent's page and a child's page.  We have found success with those because he really just wants us to read yet... don't stop reading to her!  

Another tip that we stumbled across LOL  One night I was encouraging Aaron to read me a book and he was getting tired and didn't want too so my husband piped up and said... As many books as you read mommy I'll read to you.  He read 3 books to me that night before he got tired.  Of course I chose those books so he could be successful and the ones he chose for Daddy to read were like Yertle the Turtle and other long books.  :-)  

Good luck and remember to have fun!

Answer 6

I have answered similar questions in this forum previously, and my advice remains the same. I advise you to look for books that rhyme or have a rhythmic pattern. This is the key to building reading fluency in children. It's no accident that children will often ask to have their favorite stories read to them again and again--these books, from the classics to the contemporary feature repetitive or rhythmic text that begs to be read aloud time after time. Also, pop-up books and lift the flap books can be very attractive to children of any age but in particular emergent readers. I've included some below. For the age range you indicate, I highly recommend books by Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, Sandra Boynton, Bill Martin Jr. and of course, Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss). There are thousands of books that you might select, but let me recommend a few that you may not be familiar with:

"The Long-Nosed Pig" by Keith Faulkner; ill. by Jonathan Lambert [pop-up book]

"The Wide-Mouthed Frog" by Keith Faulkner; ill. by Jonathan Lambert [pop-up book]

"Shark in the Park" by Nick Sharrat [Fun!]

"Bark, George" by Jules Feiffer [Hysterical!]

"T is for Terrible" by Peter McCarty

"Some Dogs Do" by Jez Alborough [I could read this book every day for the rest of my life--so positive do I think its message is].

"Duck in the Truck" by Jez Alborough

"Louella Mae, She's Run Away" by Karen Beaumont Alarcón; ill. by Rosanne Litzinger

"The Wolf's Chicken Stew" by Keiko Kasza

"Rosie's Walk" by Pat Hutchins

"The Teeny Tiny Woman: An Old English Ghost Tale" by Barbara Seuling [There are many versions of this story but this is my favorite].

"Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale" by Mo Willems ["Knuffle Bunny Too" was published earlier this year

"Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems [There are other books about the Pigeon and his adventure--this is the best].

"Leonardo, the Terrible Monster" by Mo Willems

"Edwina, the Dinosaur that Didn't Know She Was Extinct" by Mo Willems

"Sheep in a Jeep" by Nancy Shaw; ill. by Margot Apple

"Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina

"Millions of Cats" by Wanda Gag

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

"Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown; ill. by Clement Hurd

"Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!" by Sandra Boynton

"The Missing Piece" by Shel Silverstein

"The Missing Piece Meets the Big O" by Shel Silverstein

"The Very Quiet Cricket" by Eric Carle

"Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On" by Lois Ehlert

"Banana Moon" by Janet Marshall

"Dinosaur Roar" by Paul & Henrietta Stickland

"How Loud Is a Lion?" by Stella Blackstone; ill. by Clare Beaton

"Clickety Clack" by Robert & Amy Spence; ill. by Margaret Spengler

"One Red Dot" by David A. Carter [pop-up book]

"Blue 2" by David A. Carter [pop-up book]

"600 Black Spots" by David A. Carter [pop-up book]

"Arrowville" by Geefwee Bodoe

"Duck on a Bike" by David Shannon

"No, David!" by David Shannon [Check out David's other adventures, too].

"Ella Sarah Get Dressed" by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

"Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin; ill. by Betsy Lewin

"How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" by Jany Yolen; ill. by Mark Teague

"How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?" by Jany Yolen; ill. by Mark Teague

"How Does a Dinosaur Eat His Food?" by Jany Yolen; ill. by Mark Teague [There are several other books about dinosaurs from this author and illustrator].

"The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds

"Ish" by Peter H. Reynolds

"The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt; ill. by Tony DiTerlizzi

"Imogene's Antlers" by David Small

"Just Like Heaven" by Patrick McDonnell

"The Gift of Nothing" by Patrick McDonnell

"Hug Time" by Patrick McDonnell

"Un Gato y un Perro" by Clare Masurel

"Bear Snores On" by Karma Wilson; ill. by Jane Chapman

"I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" by Kevin Sherry

"The Little School Bus" by Carol Roth; ill. by Pamela Paparone

"Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs" by Carol Roth; ill. by Pamela Paparone

"Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs" by Tomie dePaola

I've read the above picture books numerous times with great cheer (and some tears) from many audiences. Click on my profile and e-mail me. I would be happy to correspond with you and make further suggestions. I'd also encourage to stop by your local library and chat with the children's librarians there to get their recommendations. Finally, I'd suggest you find a copy of Jim Trelease's "The Read Aloud Handbook." http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/ It's an invaluable resource for parents, godparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Another good source of information is "Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children," published by The New York Times and edited by Eden Ross Lipson.

Answer 7

repetitive books -check with your local librarian and tell them what you are looking for - they will help you.

Answer 8

With pictures, their interesting stories, ethical and modern,     so that they remember and try to learnt it...........

Answer 9

the bob books are the best books you can start with for a preschool child.

Answer 10

I had good luck with the little paperback "Bob Books" series from Scholastic.  Ask a teacher friend who gets Scholastic Book club order forms in her class; she will likely know what you are talking about.  The little books focus on one vowel sound throughout the story and have very few words.  By the time we had made it about halfway through this series with my 3-4 year old daughter, along with my reading and pointing out words to her in all her other favorite story books, she really took off onto reading on her own, and could read almost anything she picked up before she started kindergarten at age 5.

Good luck!

Answer 11

Professor Stephen Hawking - A Brief History of Time

Answer 12

cat in the hat.

Answer 13

All of the answers I've read thus far involve YOU choosing books for her.  You do not give her the opportunity to develop her own interests.  Take her to a book store or a library (I prefer the library) and let her browse the books.  Libraries give her the opportunity to choose a large number of books to take home and browse.  Having her own library card is also a great way to encourage, support, and promote independence.  Also, let her see you browsing the isles.  Modeling the behavior you want her to display is a natural way  to encourage reading.  In addition to you reading to her, let her read to you.  Don't be concerned with her getting the words right.  Allow her to read the pictures...I could go on; however, I think this is enough to get you started...B.L.S. Director-Early Learning Center/Mother of 3 sons who all enjoy reading.

Answer 14

too early to read. children do not have the capacity to truly start reading until the age of 7-8. there are however the 5 percent of "true early readers" if she knows her alphabet she will be able to understand the sounds each letter makes and why. she can pick out mom and dad because you probably drilled it into her head. all children start to read by rote. which is memorization.