Great Read-Alouds for Preschoolers

Here are some of the NPL Youth Services librarians' favorite read-alouds for preschoolers!

Updated December 27, 2023
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Firefighter Flo!
Zimmerman, Andrea Griffing
Paper Book
Ring! Clang! Firefighter Flo and her team race to stop a fire in this picture book filled with bold art and fun onomatopoeia. Last night at the Fire Station... With a jingly-jang, the telephone rang. RING-RING! RING-RING! ...
Animals move
Whittingham, Jane
Paper Book
Preschoolers love baby animals, and they love to move. Celebrate both with a hard-wearing Toddler Tough picture book perfect for an active read-aloud. Calves swim, / Hatchlings bounce, / Porcupettes nibble, / Kittens pounce. Story time is on the move with this multilayered concept book....
Noisy night
Barnett, Mac
Paper Book
A clever picture book about a multi-level apartment building's occupants and their many nighttime noises. It's a noisy night in this city building! The residents of each floor can hear their neighbors above them, and are wondering what's going on above their heads. Climb floor...
Jabari jumps
Cornwall, Gaia
Paper Book
Working up the courage to take a big, important leap is hard, but Jabari is almost absolutely ready to make a giant splash. Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he...
Rhyming dust bunnies
Thomas, Jan
Paper Book
Bug! Rug! Mug! Hug! These dust bunnies love to rhyme. Well, except for Bob. Much to the other bunnies' frustration, Bob can never get the rhythm right. Then he saves everyone from a big, scary monster wielding--gasp!--a broom, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. But can Bob save them from the big...
Mae among the stars
Ahmed, Roda
Paper Book
A beautiful picture book for sharing and marking special occasions such as graduation, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison. An Amazon Best Book of the Month! A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the...
I really want to see you, Grandma
Gomi, Taro
Paper Book
Yumi and her grandmother have the same great idea: They want to see each other. So they each head out to do just that, only to completely miss each other along the way! No problem--they'll just head back home and wait for the other to return. The trouble is that they have the same great idea--again-...
Sam & Dave dig a hole
Barnett, Mac
Paper Book
A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book With perfect pacing, the multi-award-winning, New York Times best-selling team of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen dig down for a deadpan tale full of visual humor. Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something...
After the fall : how Humpty Dumpty got back up again
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
After the Fall is an inspiring story of triumph and overcoming fears, as told through a clever twist on a beloved classic nursery rhyme, by the New York Times-bestselling creator of Caldecott Medal winner, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend .<...
I want my hat back
Klassen, J.
Paper Book
A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2011! A picture-book delight by a rising talent tells a cumulative tale with a mischievous twist. The bear's hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes...
Can you make a scary face?
Thomas, Jan
Paper Book
What kind of a face would you make if a tickly green bug were sitting on your nose? Or if it were--eek!--inside your shirt? Could you make a scary face to frighten it away? Or, even better, stand up and do the chicken dance? Yes? Then better get to it! This exuberant, interactive picture book...
Tiptoe tiger
Clarke, Jane
Paper Book
Tiptoe, tiger! Tara the tiger cub is wide awake and wants to play. But Tara's bouncing and pouncing keeps scaring all the other jungle animals away. Help Tara tread quietly through the jungle so that she can make her way home to her mom and settle down for bed.
Bear feels scared
Wilson, Karma
Paper Book
Bad weather frightens Bear, but his woodland friends are there to help him in this sweet, reassuring Bear story from bestselling duo Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman! In the deep, dark woods by the Strawberry Vale, a big bear lumbers down a...
The snowy day
Keats, Ezra Jack
Paper Book
A Caldecott Medal winner that conveys the silent wonder of a city snowfall and a small boy's solitary delight in it.
The very hungry caterpillar
Carle, Eric
Paper Book
Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
Martin, Bill
Paper Book
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? beginning readers: These beloved children's stories are now available in beginning reader format. With the important pre-reading concepts of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, these...
Pete the cat : I love my white shoes
Litwin, Eric.
Paper Book
Don't miss the first and bestselling book in the beloved Pete the Cat series! Pete the Cat goes walking down the street wearing his brand-new white shoes. Along the way, his shoes change from white to red to blue to brown to WET as he steps in piles of strawberries, blueberries, and other...
Don't let the pigeon drive the bus
Willems, Mo.
Paper Book
Mo Willems, #1 New York Times best-selling creator and three-time Caldecott Honoree, presents the book that started it all: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Finally, a book you can say "no" to!   When the Bus Driver takes a break from his route,...

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