I recently found a post by Emily at Homespun Light about a list of 100 Books Your Child Should Hear Before Starting School. My oldest son just barely turned 3, so will not be starting school for a few years, but it’s never too early to get started! We’ve read less than 30 of them, so it’s nice to turn here for my trip to the library on Friday. The ones we’ve read are in Bold, and the ones I really like are in red.
1. Where’s My Teddy? by Alborough, Jez
2. Miss Nelson is Missing by Allard, Harry
3. Happy Birthday, Moon by Asch, Frank
4. Ten, Nine, Eight by Bang, Molly
5. Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Barrett, Judi
6. The Three Bears by Barton, Byron
7. I Like Myself by Beaumont, Karen
8. Madeline by Bemelmans, Ludwig
9. The Mitten by Brett, Jan
10. Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Bridwell, Norman
11. Stone Soup by Brown, Marcia
12. Goodnight, Moon by Brown, Margaret Wise
13. Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by Burningham, John
14. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Burton, Virginia Lee
15. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle, Eric
16. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Christelow, Eileen
17. Miss Rumphius by Cooney, Barbara
18. Freight Train by Crews, Donald
19. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Cronin, Doreen
20. Today I Feel Silly by Curtis, Jamie Lee
21. Strega Nona by De Paola, Tomie
22. Bed Hogs by DiPucchio, Kelly
23. Are You My Mother? by Eastman, P. D.
24. Feathers For Lunch by Ehlert, Lois
25. Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Emberley, Ed
26. Olivia by Falconer, Ian
27. Lunch by Fleming, Denise
28. The Magic Hat by Fox, Mem
29. Corduroy by Freeman, Don
30. Millions of Cats by Gag, Wanda
31. The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Galdone, Paul
32. Barnyard Song by Greene, Rhonda
33. Is Your Mama a Llama? by Guarino, Deborah
34. A First Picture Book of Nursery Rhymes by Harbour, Elizabeth (Illustrator)
35. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Henkes, Kevin
36. Where’s Spot? by Hill, Eric
37. Bread and Jam for Frances by Hoban, Russell
38. Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue? An Adventure in Color by Hoban, Tana
39. Miss Mary Mack by Hoberman, Mary Ann
40. Rosie’s Walk by Hutchins, Pat
41. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson, Crockett
42. Splash! by Jonas, Ann
43. Jump, Frog, Jump! by Kalan, Robert
44. The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Kasza, Keiko
45. The Snowy Day by Keats, Ezra Jack
46. The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Kent, Jack
47. Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock by Kimmel, Eric
48. Leo the Late Bloomer by Kraus, Robert
49. The Carrot Seed by Krauss, Ruth
50. Over in the Meadow by Langstaff, John
51. The Story of Ferdinand by Leaf, Munro
52. Tacky the Penguin by Lester, Helen
53. A Color of His Own by Lionni, Leo
54. Frog and Toad are Friends by Lobel, Arnold
55. Froggy Gets Dressed by London, Jonathan
56. Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Martin, Bill
57. All By Myself by Mayer, Mercer
58. Guess How Much I Love You by McBratney, Sam
59. Make Way for Ducklings by McCloskey, Robert
60. Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! by McPhail, David
61. Martha Speaks by Meddaugh, Susan
62. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Neitzel, Shirley
63. The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Noble, Trinka
64. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Numeroff, Laura
65. Amelia Bedelia by Parish, Peggy
66. The Kissing Hand by Penn, Audrey
67. The Rainbow Fish by Pfister, Marcus
68. The Little Engine That Could by Piper, Watty
69. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Potter, Beatrix
70. Good Night, Gorilla by Rathmann, Peggy
71. Curious George by Rey, H. A.
72. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Rosen, Michael
73. The Relatives Came by Rylant, Cynthia
74. Grandfather’s Journey by Say, Allen
75. Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Scarry, Richard
76. Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak, Maurice
77. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
78. Duck on a Bike by Shannon, David
79. Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Sharmat, Mitchell
80. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Shaw, Charles
81. Caps for Sale by Slobodkina, Esphyr
82. Imogene’s Antlers by Small, David
83. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by Steig, William
84. And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Stevens, Janet
85. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Taback, Simms
86. Who’s Counting by Tafuri, Nancy
87. Pigsty by Teague, Mark
88. Polar Express by Van Allsburg, Chris
89. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Viorst, Judith
90. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Waber, Bernard
91. Farmer Duck by Waddell, Martin
92. Mouse Paint by Walsh, Ellen Stoll
93. Noisy Nora by Wells, Rosemary
94. Knuffle Bunny by Willems, Mo
95. I Went Walking by Williams, Sue
96. A Chair for My Mother by Williams, Vera B.
97. The Napping House by Wood, Audrey
98. Owl Moon by Yolen, Jane
99. Seven Blind Mice by Young, Ed
100. Harry, the Dirty Dog by Zion, Gene