Books for Kindergarteners

Ranked #3,619 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #137,765 overall

Books to Read to Kindergarteners

Kindergarten is a pivotal year in learning to read and getting kids interested in books. While our children were in Kindergarten, my wife and I would read to our Kindergartener almost every night. We let them pick out the book they wanted us to read to them and encouraged them to read parts of the books back to us.

Below are some of the books my kids loved to read. It doesn't matter if they pick the same book every night as repetition is a key component to learning to read. What matters is they learn to love to read books.

If you find these fifth grade books too simple or too challenging, please check out these 1st grade books or Scholastic Dinofours books.

Where to find award winning children's books

Loading

How to get a Kindergartener Interested in Books

The right start for your Kindergartener

These are probably basic and intuitive, but here's some of the best advice I have seen when it comes to getting a kindergartener interested in books.

1. Read their favorites - If they like something continue to read it, even if you don't. Children in Kindergarten will be more interested if they are reading books about their favorite characters. Disney books for example, follow the same basic story as the movies.

2. Repetition - It's ok to read the same book over and over again. Repetition is the key to almost anything.

3. Let the kindergartener try to read on their own. It's ok to let them try to read on their own, some are ready, and some are not. Positive encouragement is key to continue their reading success.

4. Reading a book is sometimes just looking at the pictures. If a child is sitting in the middle of the floor looking at a book. Leave them be, they are interested in a book and this will encourage reading on their own later.

5. As you read, ask "What do you think is going to happen next?"
Important!

Repetition is important

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

How often do you read to your Kindergartener

How often do you read to your Kindergartener

Let us know how often your are reading to your child in Kindergarten

Loading poll. Please Wait...

How to encourage reading even while driving

A great game to play in the car to encourage learning letters and sounds.

Let's face it we all spend a lot of time in the car with your child. Use this time to play a game that begins to teach your five year old the beginning and ending sounds of words.

The game can be any category you want, for example, food.

Someone starts by naming a food. Hamburger. Hamburger ends in R, so the next person has to name a food that starts with R, like Rice.

E. The next person might say Egg.
G. The next person might say Grapefruit

Of course, the subject matter doesn't have to be food. It could be animals, geography, or boys names.

Fred - ends in D
Daniel - ends in L
Louis - ends in S
Steve

and so on.

My Daugther's favorite books in Kindergarten

The Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold

My daughter loves the Fly Guy series of books. It's the only books she wants to order now with her Scholastic book order. In 2010, Hi Fly Guy was a Theodor Seuss Giesel Award honors book.

Hi! Fly Guy (Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards))

Amazon Price: $0.95 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

Kindergarten Reading Activities blog

by education.com

Loading

“Listening Comprehension comes before Reading Comprehension”

Kindergarten Reading Skills

Reading skills to be developed while in Kindergarten

My school district provides a list of skills each Kindergartener should learn as they progress through Kindergarten.
  • Recognize and name all of the uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Recognize and say the common sound of most letters and write a letter that goes with a spoken sound
  • Produce rhyming words and recognize pairs of rhyming words
  • Use their knowledge of letter sounds to figure out simple, regularly spelled, single-syllable words
  • Read high-frequency words that are recognized by "sight"
  • Begin to track print when listening to a familiar text being read or when rereading their own writing
  • Read simple texts containing familiar letter-sound correspondences and high-frequency words
  • Retell a story in their own words or reenact it, getting the events in the correct sequence
  • Respond to simple questions about a book's content
  • Make predictions based on illustrations or portions
  • Reading Comprehension comes before Listening Comprehension

Books we have read to my children while in Kindergarten

Let us know what you read to your kids by clicking the up arrow

My kids usually stay to a group of books as it becomes easy for them to relate to the same characters over and over again. Fly Guy, Dinofours, and Dr. Seuss all give the children a great story with great pictures as visualization is just as important at this age as the words. When the kindergartener is ready, these books easily transfer into first reader books.

You can click on the links to see a full description at Amazon. You can vote for your favorite book by clicking on the up arrow.

Hi! Fly Guy (Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)) by Tedd Arnold

Hi! Fly Guy (Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)) by Tedd Arnold

Boy and fly meet and so begins a beautiful friendship. more...1 point

Dinofours: I'm Super Dino! by Steve Metzger

Dinofours: I'm Super Dino! by Steve Metzger

Longing to be a superhero and declaring himself Su more...1 point

The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss

The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss

A toe-tapper babies will love--the classic Seussian more...1 point

Hello, Biscuit! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Hello, Biscuit! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit, star of the bestselling My First I Can Re more...1 point

Five Little Penguins Slipping On The Ice by Steve Metzger

Five Little Penguins Slipping On The Ice by Steve Metzger

Five little penguins slipping on the ice. One fell more...1 point

Clifford's Happy Easter by Norman Bridwell

Clifford's Happy Easter by Norman Bridwell

America's favorite Big Red Dog causes joy wherever more...1 point

Shoo, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

Shoo, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

Fly Guy returns home to discover that Buzz has gone more...0 points

Fly High, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

Fly High, Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

Mom and Dad won't let Fly Guy go along on the family more...0 points

10

Super Fly Guy (Scholastic Reader Level 2) by Tedd Arnold

Super Fly Guy (Scholastic Reader Level 2) by Tedd Arnold

The second book in a humorous, award-winning series more...0 points

11

Hooray For Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

Hooray For Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold

"Flies can't play football," says the coach. more...0 points

12

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold

Buzz is visiting Grandma, and Fly Guy comes along for more...0 points

13

Dinofours: It's Fire Drill Day! by Steve Metzger

Dinofours: It's Fire Drill Day! by Steve Metzger

Albert is afraid of the loud noises on fire drill more...0 points

14

Where's Mommy? (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

Where's Mommy? (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

When Danielle's mother is late picking her up at t more...0 points

16

I'm Not Your Friend! (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

I'm Not Your Friend! (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

Dinosaur companions Tracy and Danielle learn an im more...0 points

17

Dinofours: It's Time for School! by Steve Metzger

Dinofours: It's Time for School! by Steve Metzger

Dinosaur toddlers Albert and Brendan are disappoin more...0 points

18

I'm the Boss (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

I'm the Boss (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

Tara learns a lesson about being too bossy when ev more...0 points

19

Dinofours: I'm Having a Bad Day! by Steve Metzger

Dinofours: I'm Having a Bad Day! by Steve Metzger

Tracy's day gets off to a bad start and keeps gett more...0 points

20

It's Time-Out Time (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

It's Time-Out Time (Dinofours) by Steve Metzger

Brendan treats others impolitely in class and ends more...0 points

21

Dinofours: It's Class Picture Day! by Steve Metzger

Dinofours: It's Class Picture Day! by Steve Metzger

Meet the Dinofours! They're dinosaurs. They're fou more...0 points

22

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All by Myself) by Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All by Myself) by Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel

Illus. in full color. A "fabulous book of easy more...0 points

23

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners) by Dr. Seuss

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners) by Dr. Seuss

Illus. in full color. There isn't a sound Mr. Brow more...0 points

24

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

Poor Dick and Sally. It's cold and wet and they're more...0 points

25

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

The Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small, ha more...0 points

26

Biscuit Wants to Play (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit Wants to Play (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Meow! Meow! When Biscuit meets two little kittens, more...0 points

27

Biscuit Visits the Big City (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit Visits the Big City (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

The city is a big and busy place for a little puppy-there more...0 points

28

Biscuit's Day at the Farm (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit's Day at the Farm (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

When Biscuit meets a little piglet, his new friend more...0 points

29

Biscuit and the Little Pup (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit and the Little Pup (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Will Biscuit ever get the little pup to come play more...0 points

30

Biscuit's Big Friend (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Biscuit's Big Friend (My First I Can Read) by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Big dog. Sam is Biscuit's newest friend. Biscuit wants more...0 points

31

Clifford's First Autumn

Clifford's First Autumn

Clifford the Small Red Puppy leaps into autumn whe more...0 points

32

Clifford The Small Red Puppy by Norman Bridwell

Clifford The Small Red Puppy by Norman Bridwell

How did Clifford become such a big red dog? When E more...0 points

33

Clifford Goes to Dog School (Clifford the Big Red Dog) by Norman Bridwell

Clifford Goes to Dog School (Clifford the Big Red Dog) by Norman Bridwell

Emily Elizabeth is taking Clifford to dog school. more...0 points

34

Clifford's Loose Tooth (Big Red Reader) by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, Norman Bridwell

Clifford's Loose Tooth (Big Red Reader) by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, Norman Bridwell

Clifford is anxious for his loose tooth to fall ou more...0 points

35

Clifford's First Halloween (Clifford the Small Red Puppy) by Norman Bridwell

Clifford's First Halloween (Clifford the Small Red Puppy) by Norman Bridwell

Many Halloweens ago, Clifford was just a tiny red more...0 points

36

Clifford's Pals by Norman Bridwell

Clifford's Pals by Norman Bridwell

Clifford and his dog pals play at a construction s more...0 points

37

I Am Invited to a Party! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

I Am Invited to a Party! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

Best-selling picture book creator Mo Willems conti more...0 points

Don't have a Kindergartener, then check out these other grade level books.

Loading

Recommend a book to read to Kindergarteners

What books have your kids read while in Kindergarten? We would like to know so we have more birthday and christmas gift ideas.

  • smithlights Jul 24, 2011 @ 12:36 am | delete
    Love the list of books! Great job keeping track, Dad!
  • Pastiche Sep 3, 2010 @ 12:14 pm | delete
    It's been so many years since my girls were in school - this lens has helped me a great deal in figuring out what books to buy for my grandchildren (preschool and 4th grade this year).
  • poutine Jul 16, 2010 @ 7:39 am | delete
    Excellent tips and recommendations.f
  • superbookdepot Oct 24, 2009 @ 12:31 am | delete
    Nice and very beautifully laid out lens. I would really love it if you visit my Best Children Book lens and put your views there. Do rate the lens there
  • lostinfiction Sep 1, 2009 @ 9:23 am | delete
    Michelle Obama is a huge supporter of literature for kids and she often goes out publicly reading to groups of kids. I posted a bit about her on my lens, have a look - http://www.squidoo.com/author_influences - Also includes her favourite choices of books for kids.

by

OneFootPutt

I am the father of four and have been married for 19 years. I write about many subjects including volunteering, fundraising, children's books, gifts for... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!