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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The button book
Nicholls, Sally
Paper Book
This silly and sweet picture book introduces young children to colors through humor and clever interactive elements. For fans of Hervé Tullet's Press Here. Here's a button. I wonder what happens when you press it? Follow a group of animal friends as...
Tap the magic tree
Matheson, Christie
Paper Book
There is magic in every tree. The tall, silent one in the woods. The small, bumpy one in the park. Even the bare brown tree in your backyard. As the seasons change, trees change, too. They sprout leaves. The leaves change...
Stuck
Jeffers, Oliver.
Paper Book
Delightful chaos ensues when a young boy gets his kite stuck up a tree in this laugh-out-loud new picture book from award-winning, internationally best-selling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers! Floyd gets his kite stuck up a tree. He throws up his shoe to shift it, but that...
Thank you, Omu!
Mora, Oge, author, illustrator.
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor Book In this cozy, sweet story perfect for fans of Last Stop on Market Street as well as for the Thanksgiving season, a generous woman is rewarded by her community. A Spanish edition, ¡Gracias, Omu!, is also...
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
"This simple and sincere tale of working up courage to face fears makes quite a splash." -- Kirkus Reviews 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's not scared at...
How do you dance?
Heder, Thyra
Paper Book
A playful picture book that urges readers to bop, bounce, and shake from the author of Fraidyzoo There are so many ways to dance! You can jiggle or wiggle or stomp.You can bop or bounce or go completely nuts. You can dance at the market or the bus stop, with your fingers or your face. You can dance...
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 seem to get the rhyming rhythm right. But when a big, scary monster wielding--gasp!--a broom appears, will Bob's offbeat wordplay save the day?
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...
Snail crossing
Tabor, Corey R.
Paper Book
In a book that is as cheerful and charming as Snail himself, Corey Tabor tells a winning tale of slow but steady Snail, whose determination and kindness bring him the best reward of all: friendship. When Snail spies a plump, crisp cabbage across the road, nothing will stop...
Hands up!
McDaniel, Breanna J.
Paper Book
This triumphant picture book recasts a charged phrase as part of a black girl's everyday life--hands up for a hug, hands up in class, hands up for a high five--before culminating in a moment of resistance at a protest march. A young black girl lifts her baby hands up to greet the...
From head to toe
Carle, Eric
Paper Book
Are you ready Here we go! Move yourself From Head to Toe I can do it! That's what kids will say when they wiggle, stomp, thump, and bend across the pages of this book. Laughter and squeals of delight will abound as boys and girls (and their elders,...
Sam & Dave dig a hole
Barnett, Mac
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! 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...
After the fall : how Humpty Dumpty got back up again
Santat, Dan
Paper Book
An inspirational gift about bravery and pursuing your dreams! After the Fall is an affirming story of triumph and overcoming fears, told through a clever twist on the beloved classic Humpty Dumpty. From the New York Times-bestselling creator of...
I want my hat back
Klassen, J.
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times bestseller! 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...
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...
Your name is a song
Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah
Paper Book
Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their...
Hooray for hat!
Won, Brian.
Paper Book
Elephant wakes up grumpy--until ding, dong! What's in the surprise box at the front door? A hat! HOORAY FOR HAT! Elephant marches off to show Zebra, but Zebra is having a grumpy day, too--until Elephant shares his new hat and cheers up his friend. Off they march to show...
We're going on a bear hunt
Rosen, Michael
Paper Book
Go on a bear hunt and do the actions with this award-winning picture book classic. Follow and join in the family's excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the...
Monsters love colors
Austin, Mike
Paper Book
An explosively bright and colorful picture book with lots of kid appeal Did you know that monsters love to scribble, scribble, mix, dance, and wiggle! Why Because monsters love to make new colors! Celebrate along with the hilarious monsters in this wild and...
Wiggle
Cronin, Doreen.
Paper Book
Do you wake up with a wiggle? Do you wiggle out of bed? For energetic toddlers (are there any who aren't?), here's a book that invites them to wiggle along with the story. Told in rollicky, wiggly rhyme that begs to be read again...
Click, clack, moo : cows that type
Cronin, Doreen
Paper Book
The quirky, hilarious farmyard tale that started it all from New York Times bestselling duo of Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin! Now the inspiration for a new Christmas special, CLICK, CLACK, MOO: Christmas on the Farm. Farmer Brown has a problem. ...
Rooster wore skinny jeans
Miller, Jessie
Paper Book
A hilarious tale of self-acceptance, resilience and the joy of standing out! What's not to love? Are they being sarcastic? These jeans are amazing; my butt looks fantastic!" Rooster is thrilled when his new skinny jeans arrive in the mail. Eager to show them off to his...
Llama, llama red pajama
Dewdney, Anna.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . Llama Llama learns to face the bedtime blues in this charmingly written picture book classic, perfect for sending little ones off to sleep. Llama, Llama red pajama waiting, waiting for his mama. Mama isn't coming yet...
Don't push the button!
Cotter, Bill
Paper Book
Larry the lovable monster from the USA Today bestseller Don't Push the Button! is back, and this time, he's full of love! From the brilliant mind of author and illustrator, Bill Cotter, comes a lovable interactive book for children. Larry the monster has spotted a heart...
The snowy day
Keats, Ezra Jack.
Paper Book
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER * #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The magic and wonder of winter's first snowfall is perfectly captured in this classic seasonal picture book celebrated by generations of readers--a beautiful gift for the holiday season! New York Public Library's #1 book on the...
The very hungry caterpillar
Carle, Eric.
Paper Book
THE ICONIC #1 BESTSELLER * The all-time classic picture book starring the world's favorite caterpillar! Generations of children have grown up on this beautifully dramatized story of a caterpillar who eats his way to becoming a butterfly. One of The Atlantic's 65 Essential...
Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
Martin, Bill
Paper Book
Celebrate the anniversary of this beloved children's book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck-- all parade across the pages of this delightful classic children's book, Brown...
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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