The big kids are all back in school now, but let’s not forget about the preschoolers! They’re learning too — learning exciting things things, like counting and drawing and reading. Here are five great books to teach and inspire those preschoolers as they begin their journey of learning.
Just Like I Wanted
Written by Elinoar Keller & Naama Peleg Segal
Illustrated by Aya Gordon-Noy
In this cheerful story, a young girl is determined to draw the perfect picture. But staying in the lines is hard to do! When she makes a mistake, she considers crumpling up the drawing and starting over — but instead she decides to use the scribble to create something new. Soon her imagination takes her on a wild adventure as she fills her picture with wild horses, daring pilots, delicious candy, and flying pirate ships.
With energetic mixed-media collages that perfectly suit the story, this book will inspire readers to embrace their mistakes and unleash their creativity.
Little Big
By Jonathan Bentley
This playful book captures just how tough life can be when you’re little. With little legs, it’s hard to win races. With little hands, you can’t open the cookie jar. And when you have a little mouth, nobody listens to you. Sometimes it seems like all your problems would be solved if you were just a little bigger. But sometimes, little is exactly the right size.
Featuring delightful artwork and a relatable and timeless message, Jonathan Bentley’s book will resonate with readers both big and little.
Read an Eerdlings guest post by Jonathan Bentley about growing with his characters as he wrote his first book.
Roger Is Reading a Book
By Koen Van Biesen
All Roger wants is some peace and quiet so he can read his book. Unfortunately, the girl in the apartment next door has hobbies of her own — very loud hobbies! But when Roger gives the girl a book of her own, she discovers that reading can be just as much fun as playing basketball or banging a drum.
This playful and engaging read-aloud from an award-winning Belgian author shows readers that shared activities can lead to rewarding friendships.
Personalize your own version of Roger Is Reading a Book with this great craft from National Reading Month.
The Yes
Written by Sarah Bee
Illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura
The Yes is a cheerful orange creature who sets off to explore the big wide Where. But the Where is home to the Nos, who travel in packs and discourage the Yes at every turn. They tell the Yes that the tree is too big to climb, the bridge is too rickety to cross, the woods are too scary to explore. But even just one Yes is stronger than countless Nos.
Fans of Dr. Seuss will fall in love with the bright illustrations and clever wordplay, and the heartwarming message about overcoming obstacles makes this book the perfect graduation gift.
Two Little Birds
By Mary Newell DePalma
Two little birds hatch and grow until one day, they see an amazing sight: hundreds of birds, all flying together in one direction. They decide to join in, and so begins an amazing and sometimes dangerous journey that they never could have imagined. Eventually they return home — and the cycle starts over again.
This simple story, nicely complemented by warm and colorful illustrations, subtly celebrates the wonder of migration. Two Little Birds is a perfect book for introducing young children to nature’s small miracles.
Like these books? Check out our entire featured collection of great read-alouds for preschoolers!
Inspector Dewey is a great read, we got it recently and the kids beg for it! It’s by Kristen Heimerl. She is a cat lover and we are also in our house. Cat characters are a fav of ours, and Dewey is super clever so the littles love it!