2025 Summer Reading Program: Pre-Readers

Updated January 22, 2025
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I'm going to build a snowman
Awan, Jashar
Paper Book
In this sparkling picture book celebration of winter and creativity, a boy's snow day efforts show that perfection is relative and what's important is taking pride in what you do! When a little boy wakes up to see a blanket of snow covering the world outside, there's only one...
My bus
Barton, Byron
Paper Book
My Bus is a lively celebration of vehicles and transportation, occupations, pets, and basic math concepts. The busy bus driver in Byron Barton's preschool tour-de-force has a job to do. He drives his bus along his route, picks up the cat and dog passengers waiting at the bus stops,...
Rafa counts on Papá
Cepeda, Joe
Paper Book
For fans of Guess How Much I Love You? and Just Me and My Dad comes a heartwarming story perfect for Father's Day about a son and his papá who love to measure everything, including their love for each other. Rafa and his papá love to count and...
Hen in the bed
Charman, Katrina
Paper Book
There were 10 in the bed and the speckled hen said, "Roll over! Roll over!" Count the funny animal friends as they noisily roll, flop, and tumble out of bed, one by one, in this clever split-page picture book. As the bed gets emptier, bedtime...
8 little planets
Ferrie, Chris
Paper Book
A delightfully fun, fact-filled planetary tale from the creator of the Baby University series! Travel around the solar system and celebrate what makes each planet unique! From Neptune to Mercury and all the planets in between, each one is different and each one is happy to...
Honk honk woo woo
Garcia, Emma
Paper Book
Oh no! It's an emergency!! Call the emergency vehicles and see them speed along to help save the day. A fun look at police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and other rescue vehicles that fascinate preschoolers, with sounds they can join in with.
The reasons for seasons
Gibbons, Gail.
Paper Book
Why is there winter in the Southern Hemisphere at the same time there is summer in the Northern Hemisphere? Here is an explanation of how the position of the Earth in relation to the sun causes seasons, and the wonders that come with each one of them. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring comes again. Year...
Kitten's first full moon
Henkes, Kevin.
Paper Book
From one of the most celebrated and beloved picture book creators working in the field today comes a memorable new character and a suspenseful adventure just right for the very youngest. It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants...
Bread and jam for Frances
Hoban, Russell.
Paper Book
The classic funny story about a stubborn little badger with very particular tastes in food. Frances is a fussy eater. In fact, the only thing she likes is bread and jam. She won't touch her squishy soft-boiled egg. She trades away her chicken-salad sandwich at lunch. She turns up her nose...
Eidtale : an Eid al-Fitr adventure
Jaleel, Aaliya
Paper Book
The Abrams Trail Tale series takes readers on unforgettable holiday-themed adventures. This new tale, written and illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel, follows a brother and sister as they make their way through their neighborhood delivering gifts to uncles sipping cha'i, favorite neighbors, and friends...
My body and me : my first body positivity book
Kelley, Ceece
Paper Book
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best BooksI love my body. It's special to me. It's exactly the way it's meant to be.An empowering celebration of bodies, promoting body positivity such as gratitude for our puffy cheeks that help us eat; strength in our round bellies that help store our food; pride...
Eat together
Ordóñez, Miguel
Paper Book
The geometry of food is explored in New York Times bestselling illustrator Miguel Ord nez's newest board book on shapes! Various parts of a meal are formed one by one, piece by piece, in this visual play on the interaction between shapes. If just three simple shapes can...
Let's be brave
Osakwe, Leah
Paper Book
Explore different ways to be brave! From chasing your dreams to standing up for yourself, this inspiring book empowers children to look within to find courage and confidence. Each one of us has the power to be exactly who we want to be. This inspiring board book empowers children...
I'm still up!
Portis, Antoinette
Paper Book
"A masterclass on how to create the ideal board book. It really is." -Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production (SLJ Blog) A soothing and humorous bedtime story with a baby who is still up! This is the ideal board book for baby to read before lying down to sleep.<...
What do wheels do all day?
Prince, April Jones.
Paper Book
Yeah, what do wheels do all day? Well . . . they push . . . race . . . stroll . . . fly . . . whiz . . . and spin . . . all day long! Simple, direct text, combined with brilliant cut-paper relief illustrations, captures kids' fascination with "things that go" and opens their...
All the world
Scanlon, Elizabeth Garton.
Paper Book
All the world is here. It is there. It is everywhere. All the world is right where you are. Now. Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all...
Cinnamon bun, I love you 1
Schwartz, Amy
Paper Book
From award-winning author-illustrator Amy Schwartz comes a counting book full of sweet treats, playful moments, and lots of toddler love. Cinnamon bun, I love you one. Peek-a-boo, I love you two... This charming, rhyming picture book counts out the love...
Green
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro.
Paper Book
Die cut pages bring surprise after surprise in this magical new book from the "Queen of the concept book"--an intricate and satisfying homage to green, the color of all creation. How many kinds of green are there? There's the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the fresh,...
Counting to calm : my first self-regulation book
Sooful, Prasha
Paper Book
"One--Deep breath in, nice and slow. Two--Now breathe out . . . there you go."Introduce self-regulation to the youngest readers early on by allowing them to model breathing, stretching, and movement with a parent or educator in 10 action-packed steps.This board book allows children to refocus their...
Doctor De Soto
Steig, William
Paper Book
William Steig's Doctor De Soto, now available in Spanish, is a 1982 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and Outstanding Book of the Year, a 1983 Boston Globe - Horn Book Awards Honor Book for Picture Books, and a 1983 Newbery Honor Book. <...
Interrupting chicken
Stein, David Ezra.
Paper Book
Awarded a 2011 Caldecott Honor! A favorite joke inspires this New York Times best-selling tale, in which a little chicken's habit of interrupting bedtime stories is gleefully turned on its head. It's time for the little red chicken's bedtime story--and a reminder from Papa...
When sunlight tiptoes
Sze, Gillian
Paper Book
Key Selling Points The story is a celebration of morning and follows a family along a city street as they run errands, enjoying the rich urban sounds and sights of a new day. The text is written in pantoum form (Malayan in origin). Similar to the villanelle, the pantoum is a...
Hello hello
Wenzel, Brendan
Ebook
A new picture book from Brendan Wenzel, the New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Honor-winning author of They All Saw a Cat! Hello, Hello! Beginning with two cats, one black and one white, a chain of animals appears before the reader, linked together by at least one common...

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