2025 Color Our World Early Literacy Recommended Book List

The 2025 Summer Reading Lists are full of book titles to keep children engaged in reading and exploring throughout the summer. Follow the five early literacy practices- talk, sing, read, write, and play while reading these books to your children.

TALK: Children learn language by listening to conversational speech.

SING: Singing helps children learn new words and concepts, and reinforces memory and phonological awareness.

READ: Reading together develops vocabulary and comprehension.

WRITE: In early literacy, writing skills include becoming aware that printed letters correspond with spoken sounds and words.

PLAY: Play develops language and literacy skills by allowing children to put thoughts into words and talk about what they are doing.

This list is recommended and available through the Sussex County Library System for birth-preschool. These books will pair nicely with our 2025 summer reading theme.

Updated December 14, 2024
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Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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10 cats /
Gravett, Emily.
Paper Book
Award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator Emily Gravett follows a group of playful cats as they turn a mess of color into an engaging display of art and text in this early learning picture book, perfect for anyone looking for books for 3-year-olds and up.  
Let's go to color camp.
Paper Book
Welcome to Beginning Baby, a line of novelty board books and gifts designed to give little ones a bright start! Vetted by early childhood experts and thoughtfully created with input from parents and caregivers, each Beginning Baby book explores educational concepts tied to early learning milestones,...
Mouse paint
Walsh, Ellen Stoll.
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Lois Ehlert and Press Here, this charming picture book gently explores the world of color and celebrates the joy of creativity. One day three white mice discover three jars of paint--red, blue, and yellow. But what happens when they splash in the colors...
Oh, Olive! /
Cho, Lian,
Paper Book
"Irrepressible. Joyful. Vibrant and full of oomph!" --Andrea Beaty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rosie Revere, Engineer "A stunning, energetic story full of clever humor, heart, and a reminder that art has no boundaries." --Ruth Chan, author...
A rainbow in brown /
Giron, Pavonis
Paper Book
Jo wants to paint all the wonderful things she loves. With a palette of red, yellow, and blue, Jo knows she can mix any colors together to create new ones. Her imagination takes flight as she explores painting with primary and by mixing her own secondary colors, each picture as beautiful as the...
See, touch, feel :
Boultwood, Ellie,
Paper Book
There's lots for baby to explore in See, Touch, Feel: A First Sensory Book. This sturdy board book, with bright photographs of happy babies, is specially designed to stimulate curiosity through sensory play. Each page has a colorful picture activity that invites baby to touch...
Time to make art /
Mack, Jeff,
Paper Book
Does art have to be perfect? Where do you begin? This inspiring picture book about making art doubles as an introduction to the multifaceted and diverse global history of art empowering readers to get creative. Awed by the endless possibilities, a young girl begins asking...

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