Tikki Tikki Tembo - Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent Three Billy Goats Gruff, The - Fairy Tale* There's a Nightmare in My Closet - Mercer Mayer There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly - Simms Taback Tale of Peter Rabbit, The - Beatrix Potter Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - William Steig Story of Ferdinand, The - Munro Leaf & Robert Lawson Story about Ping, The - Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Brothers Grimm* Princess and the Pea, The - Hans Christian Andersen* Poky Little Puppy, The - Janette Sebring Lowrey & Gustaf Tenggren One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - Dr. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel - Virginia Lee Burton

Make Way for Ducklings - Robert McCloskey Little Engine that Could, The - Watty Piper Little Bear - Else Holmelund Minarik & Maurice Sendak Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale - Mo Willems King Bidgood's in the Bathtub - Audrey Wood & Don Wood If You Give A Mouse A Cookie - Laura Numeroff & Felicia Bond The House on East 88th Street - Bernard Waber Harry and the Dirty Dog - Gene Zion & Margaret Bloy Graham Harold and the Purple Crayon - Crockett Johnson Guess How Much I Love You - Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram Good Night, Moon - Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Brothers Grimm* (author), John Archambault (author), and Lois EhlertĬlick, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type - Doreen Cronin & Betsy LewinĮmperor's New Clothes, The - Hans Christian Andersen*įisherman and his Wife, The - Brothers Grimm*įrog and Toad are Friends - Arnold Lobell WilliamsĬhicka Chicka Boom Boom - Bill Martin, Jr. & Eric CarleĬarrot Seed, The - Ruth Krauss & Crockett JohnsonĬars and Trucks and Things that Go - Richard ScarryĬhair for My Mother, A - Vera B. With help from some friends, I now present to you the Kindergarten Canon:Īlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Judith Viorst & Ray CruzĪmazing Grace - Mary Hoffman & Caroline Binchīear Snores On - Karma Wilson & Jane Chapmanīeauty and the Beast, The - Brothers Grimm*īirthday for Frances, A - Russell Hoban & Lillian Hobanīremen Town Musicians, The - Brothers Grimm*īrown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Bill Martin, Jr. You can find the books on Amazon with this wishlist. So I got to wondering: Is there a list of the must-read picture books for preschoolers? The greatest classics, old and new? A “canon,” if you will? I couldn’t find one, so I decided to create one.

But it’s also about the books: An endless treasure trove of stories to share, pictures to enjoy, traditions to pass along. Partly it’s the visceral experience: Little guys curled up on my lap, in their PJ’s, soft light overhead, the day winding down, sleep coming (well, one can hope). One of the great joys of parenthood is reading to my two young sons. The Kindergarten Canon: The 100 Best Children's BooksĬlick here to download this list as a PDF.

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