The 9 best kid’s books to help preschoolers fall in love with reading

Reading with your child can help them out in a huge number of areas. It helps nurture their imagination, strengthens their comprehension, promotes brain development, teaches them about language and emotions, and is a great way to spend time together.

But there are so many different stories out there — each with important life lessons or morals to share — so it’s almost impossible to identify one ‘best’ book for preschoolers. Instead, we’ve compiled a list of our all-time favorites, as well as some top tips for preschooler reading, for you to enjoy…

How to read with preschoolers

While reading with your preschooler, spend time on each page. Let them see the pictures and the writing, and allow them to really soak up the story. Ask probing questions as you go — about the words, the meaning, the illustrations, even the title. This ensures they’re following along and taking it all in.

Top tips for reading with preschoolers

You’ve got a limited window of time to help your child fall in love with reading. The following tips will help you raise a literature-loving bookworm…

• Let your child choose the book you read, that way they’ll be way more likely to engage and enjoy it. Visit your local library or bookshop together and browse the shelves.
• It’s ok if the book looks a little advanced or contains words outside their vocabulary. They don’t need to understand every single word, it’s more about the story as a whole.
• Kids love to read the same book over and over — and that’s ok! Preschoolers learn from repetition, so it’s good to read the same thing a couple (or a hundred!) times. 
• A great way to reinforce their learnings is by completing a worksheet together after finishing a book. It doesn’t have to be too detailed, but giving them some questions about the story is a good way to make sure they’re comprehending it all. Then, create a mini verbal book report together.

Now that you know how to engage your child with reading, you’ll need to go book shopping. The following list of books for preschoolers features some of our absolute favorites — and we think you’ll love them, too…

9 of the best books for preschoolers

‘Caps For Sale’ by Esphyr Slobodkina

This humorous and warm book is an instant favorite with every child. It’s a tale of a hat-seller and a group of mischievous monkeys wanting to get a hold of his hats. The book is filled with colorful illustrations, repetition, and rhyming words. It also teaches a great lesson about problem resolution.

‘Hide and Seek’ by Taro Gomi

This book is really a work of art — filled cover to cover with beautiful illustrations. Everyday objects are “hidden” inside other things, like a toothbrush in a crocodile’s smile, and the reader is encouraged to find them all. It’s a perfect book for two- and three-year-olds, and helps develop their eyesight and critical thinking skills. Plus, it’s just great fun.

‘Play This Book’ by Jessica Young and Daniel Wiseman

This interactive picture book is definitely not one to read just before bedtime. It encourages children to make music and play instruments, just with their hands and mouths — strum the guitar, slide the trombone, crash the cymbals, and more! It’s got rhyming text and charming, colorful illustrations. It teaches your kids to love music, while also giving them a creative (albeit noisy!) outlet.

‘Spoon’ by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

A charming little book, this story follows a spoon who thinks everybody has it better than him. He wishes he were a knife, a fork, or even a chopstick. When all his friends remind him just how special he is, it ends on a happy note. With cute illustrations that kids will love, it serves as a great reminder about what makes us all individually special.

‘Welcome to our World’ by Moira Butterfield & Harriet Lynas

This picture book is an incredible introduction to our world and everyone living in it. It’s about children from all walks of life, and shows that while everyone is different, we all have a lot in common. The story contains information your kids will love to learn, like how to say hello in different languages, what children in other countries eat for breakfast, and how they dress and live.

‘The Kissing Hand’ by Audrey Penn & Ruth Harper

This is a book to melt your heart. A little raccoon is meant to start kindergarten, but he’s really scared and doesn’t want to go. His mom shares with him a family secret called the kissing hand — which is a reassurance of her love, and that she’s always there with him when things get scary. It’s the perfect book to read with any preschoolers who are having fears about starting school.

‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts

Ada Twist is a budding scientist, who comes up with all types of hare-brained schemes and has an extremely vivid imagination. She’s full of creativity and uses science as a way to understand the world around her. Her story encourages children to ask questions about their world and environment — like why are there hairs growing inside your nose? — and teaches determination and problem-solving. It’s also a great reminder for all kids that girls can be scientists, too.

‘Grump Groan Growl’ by Bell Hooks

This book is a great bedtime story, with calming, rhythmic prose that’ll soothe your kid off to sleep. It’s all about having bad moods, and the story reminds children that it’s okay to have a lot of feelings. By the end, they’ll have learned that it’s better to let your emotions out in a healthy way instead of keeping it all in. The illustrations are captivating and hilarious, as well.

‘Rhyme Crime’ by Jon Burgerman

Be warned: this is the kind of book that a preschooler will love to read over, and over, and over.

It’s full of rhymes, puns, and wordplay, telling an engaging and funny story that is coupled with colorful illustrations. There’s even a mysterious ending your children can try to solve before it’s revealed.

Reading should be loved by everyone, young and old

Read regularly with your child from a young age, and you’ll be setting them up to be a book lover for life!

Then, as they get older, you can boost their comprehension and enjoyment even more by finding some cool worksheets to go along with your book choice. Soon enough, there’ll be no stopping them at all!