Children's Recommended Reading Book List for Preschoolers Through Elementary School

Here are some of our favorite books; ones we actually own, or have owned, or have read. It has been recommended by some that you read to your child for 20 minutes every day. We find the best time of day to read is actually at night right before we put the kids to bed. Of course if your child can read on their own then they can read silently or to you for those twenty minutes. Some of the books we recommend could be put in more than one age group. If your child is advanced or you are reading to them feel free to pick from another grouping.

You can find many of the following books in a bookstore or department store. But buying books can start to get pricey. You can borrow many older books for free at your local library. Books can be found at garage sales for pennies on the dollar, but your choices are limited. Scholastic book orders sent home from school are usually a good deal. You might find bargain books online at places like eBay and at Half.com.

Preschoolers:

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.

Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert.

Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam Mcbratney.

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein.

Pat The Bunny, by Dorothy Kunhardt.

The Napping House, by Audrey Wood and Don Wood.

Green Eggs & Ham, by Dr. Seuss.

Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey.

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade:

Junie B., First Grader, by Barbara Park.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst.

Captain Underpants Series, by Dav Pilkey.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell and Jay O. Sanders.

Charlottes Web, by E.B. White.

How I Became a Pirate, by Melinda Long and David Shannon.

Magic Tree House, by Mary Pope Osborne.

Cam Jansen and the Lost Tooth, by David A. Adler.

4th -6th Grades:

Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell and Tantoo Cardinal.

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls and Wilson Rawls.

Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling.

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen and Peter Coyote.

Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle.

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis.

Here are some quotes about children and reading to help get you motivated to read to your children:

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." ~ Emilie Buchwald.

"Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read." ~ Marilyn Jager Adams

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." ~ Jacqueline Kennedy

"You may have tangible wealth untold. / Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. / Richer than I you can never be - / I had a mother who read to me." ~ Strickland Gillilan

"Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!" ~ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943