Books for Storytime

These are some good books to read aloud in a group setting. Suggested age range is 3-5.

Updated July 10, 2025
Southeastern Ohio Regional Library Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Nobody hugs a cactus
Goodrich, Carter
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Celebrated artist and lead character designer of Brave, Ratatouille, and Despicable Me, Carter Goodrich, shows that sometimes, even the prickliest people--or the crankiest cacti--need a little love. Hank is the...
The very impatient caterpillar
Burach, Ross
Paper Book
"A caterpillar learns to be patient while trying to metamorphosize."--Provided by publisher.
The hidden rainbow
Matheson, Christie
Paper Book
All the colors of the rainbow are hidden in the garden, but can the little bee find them--with help from the reader Christie Matheson, author of the popular and acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree, brings a garden to life in this bright, interactive picture book about the natural...
Hatch and match
Paul, Ruth
Paper Book
Have fun with colors, patterns, and counting in a search-and-match adventure filled with vibrant, colorful illustrations and a bouncy rhyming text. Every morning, same but new, hear the COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! Hens jump down, stretch their legs. ...
The not so quiet library
OHora, Zachariah
Paper Book
A hilarious story that celebrates the power of books and libraries in the vein of It's a Book It's Saturday, which means Oskar and Theodore get to go to the library with their dad! It means donuts for breakfast! And it means endless quiet hours lost in stories. ...
The most boring book ever
Sanderson, Brandon
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller Listen, this book is boring. We're telling you it's boring. It's in the title of the book--in fact, it's THE MOST BORING BOOK EVER! And created by #1 New York Times bestsellers Brandon Sanderson and Kazu Kibuishi! ...
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...

Before reading the book, let all the kids know that they'll be the trees in the story. When the book says to tap the tree, or tap the buds, or hug the tree etc, have them tap or hug themselves. (I've read this book without those instructions and had groups of kids all trying to touch the book during the story.)

Ploof
Clanton, Ben/ Musser, Andy Chou
Paper Book
Come play with Ploof! Meet a friendly cloud full of feelings in this interactive picture book for fans of Hervé Tullet's Press Here, from the creator of Narwhal and Jelly and the co-creator of Science Explorers. Ploof is a puffy cloud who's a little lonely -- but now...
Paint with Ploof
Clanton, Ben
Paper Book
Have you met Ploof? The friendly cloud full of feelings returns in an all new interactive picture book for fans of Hervé Tullet's Mix It Up!, from the creator of Narwhal and Jelly and the co-creator of Science Explorers. Ploof is a little cloud who's eager to make...
Aliens love underpants
Freedman, Claire.
Paper Book
It's a totally zany story with some of the silliest illustrations to appear in many seasons--which is to say that Aliens Love Underpants will be a surefire hit among toddlers and beginning readers. When little aliens fly down to Earth, they don't come to visit because they want to meet the...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.