1000 Books Before Kindergarten

These books are recommended for children ages birth to 5. Are you enrolled in our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Book Club? This is a special book club for children ages birth to 5. Click here for more information: https://sussexcountylibrary.org/1000-books/

Updated June 12, 2024
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A visitor for Bear
Becker, Bonny.
Paper Book
A slapstick comedy of manners featuring a bear who wants to be left alone - but hasn't reckoned on a very determined visitor.
Goodnight moon
Brown, Margaret Wise
Ebook
Mr. Gumpy's outing
Burningham, John.
Paper Book
One day Mr Gumpy decides to take a trip along the river in his boat. But the children, the rabbit, the cat, the pig and lots more friends decide to join him. Everyone's having a lovely time until the animals start kicking, bleating, hopping and flapping and the boat starts to rock. What will happen....
The very hungry caterpillar
Carle, Eric
Paper Book
The classic edition of the bestselling story written for the very young. A newly hatched caterpillar eats his way through all kinds of food.
Mixed : a colorful story
Chung, Arree
Paper Book
Mixed is a charming and thought-provoking picture book with characterful illustrations and humour. Follow the colours as they overcome their differences in this sweet tale of acceptance and celebrating difference. The Blues, Reds and Yellows lived in harmony. Reds were...
Click, clack, moo : cows that type
Cronin, Doreen
Paper Book
Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo. But the problems really begin when the cows start leaving Farmer Brown notes. First it was electric blankets... where will it end? And when the animals don't get what...
Olivia
Falconer, Ian
Paper Book
Olivia is an absolute delight! A gorgeous little pig who likes to dress-up, sing songs, dance, think, snooze (sometimes) and is even quite good at building sandcastles. Her days are filled with the wonderful minutia that makes up a small child's life and, at the end of them, when she snuggles up in...
Where's Spot? /
Hill, Eric,
Paper Book
This bigger, brighter paperback edition of Eric Hill's iconic first lift-the-flap book celebrates 30 years since first publication in hardback. The simple text and colourful pictures will engage a whole new generation of pre-readers as they lift the picture flaps...
Eyes that kiss in the corners
Ho, Joanna
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller and #1 Indie Bestseller · A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year · A School Library Journal Best Book of 2021 · Included in NPR's 2021 Books We Love List · Featured in Forbes, Oprah Daily, The Cut, and Book Riot · Golden Poppy Book Award...
Amazing Grace /
Hoffman, Mary,
Paper Book
Grace loves to act out stories. Sometimes she plays the leading part, sometimes she is 'a cast of thousands.' When her school decides to perform Peter Pan , Grace is longing to play Peter, but her classmates say that Peter was a boy, and besides, he wasn't black... But Grace's...
Rosie's walk
Hutchins, Pat
Paper Book
Rosie's walk around the farmyard, pursued by the hungry but clumsy fox, has become a beacon in the world of children's picture books, an ever-popular classic which generations have enjoyed. Children love the humour of this near-wordless story. One disaster after another befalls the poor fox while...
Quae haraias con una cola como aesta? =
Jenkins, Steve,
Ebook
A nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this interactive guessing book, beautifully illustrated in cut-paper collage, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor. This title...
What do you do with a tail like this? /
Jenkins, Steve,
Ebook
A nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this interactive guessing book, beautifully illustrated in cut-paper collage, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor. This title...
Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
Martin, Bill
Paper Book
Exuberantly coloured artwork and favourite animals make this rhythmic story the perfect introduction to looking and learning about colours. Each spread leads seamlessly into the next and young children will delight in Eric's colourful collage animals and simple repetitive language.
Guess how much I love you
McBratney, Sam.
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the 1994 Kurt Maschler Award and the Children's Illustrated Book of the Year Award, this is the story of Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare, who discover that love is not an easy thing to measure.
Shades of black : a celebration of our children
Pinkney, Sandra L.
Paper Book
The best-selling picture book is now available as a board book.I am Black / I am Unique / I am the creamy white frost in vanilla ice cream / and the milky smooth brown in a chocolate bar...Using simple poetic language and stunning photographs, Sandra and Myles Pinkney have created a remarkable book...
Good night, Gorilla
Rathmann, Peggy.
Paper Book
The ultimate bedtime read from the award-winning author of The Day the Babies Crawled Away. 'Good night, Gorilla,' says the night watchman as he finishes his rounds at the zoo. But Gorilla has other ideas, deftly pick-pocketing the watchman's keys and letting himself out of his cage,...
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...
Richard Scarry's Cars and trucks and things that go
Scarry, Richard.
Paper Book
The busiest books ever When the Pig family decide to go to the beach to have a picnic they see every kind of vehicle on their way. From hot-dog cars to bug buses, ditch diggers to fire engines, mouse beach buggies and pumpkin cars. Join the Pig family on their eventful journey, and keep a look out...
The cat in the hat /
Seuss,
Paper Book
The one and only Cat in the Hat from the iconic Dr. Seuss gets a brand new look, introducing his roller-coaster ride of mayhem to a new generation of readers. When Sally and her brother are left alone, they think they're in for a dull day - until the Cat in the Hat steps in on the mat,...
Come along, Daisy!
Simmons, Jane.
Paper Book
Caps for sale : a tale of a peddler, some monkeys, and their monkey business
Slobodkina, Esphyr
Ebook
Caps for Sale is a timeless classic, in print for over fifty years, and beloved by generations of readers. This easy-to-read story about a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys is filled with warmth, humor, and simplicity. Children will delight in following the peddlers efforts to outwit the...

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