Books for Curious Kids Ages 0-5

This Better Beginnings list was compiled by children's literature specialists from the State Library and SciTech and are great for encouraging curiosity and children aged 0-5.

Updated November 21, 2024
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Duck in the truck /
Alborough, Jez,
Paper Book
Duck's truck is stuck in the muck. Who will help him out? First, frog lends a hand. Then sheep helps push, too. But duck's truck won't come unstuck! Can anyone help him get out of the muck? Or is duck out of luck? Find out in this rollicking read-aloud by the inimitable Jez...
Up, down, and around /
Ayres, Katherine.
Paper Book
This garden is on the move! A good-time, rollicking celebration of things that grow. PEPPERS GROW UP. POTATOES GROW DOWN. PUMPKINS VINE AROUND AND AROUND. From seeds dropping into soil to corn bursting from its stalks, from children chasing butterflies to...
From head to toe /
Carle, Eric
Paper Book
From Eric Carle, the New York Times bestselling creator of beloved books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug, comes From Head to Toe, a colorful and energetic book that will have young readers clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and wiggling their toes! ...
Fish eyes : a book you can count on
Ehlert, Lois.
Paper Book
In this New York Times Best Illustrated Book, brightly colored fish paired with interactive die-cut pages introduce young children to counting and basic addition in this fun and accessible concept book by Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert. Bold...
Where's my mom? /
Donaldson, Julia.
Paper Book
When little monkey can't find his mother, butterfly offers to help in the search. Little monkey says that his mother is big, so butterfly leads him to . . . an elephant. No, that's not right! Little monkey says his mom is furry, so butterfly leads him to . . . a bat. That's not right either. From...
A pig is big
Florian, Douglas.
Paper Book
When Douglas Florian asks, "What's big" there's no telling what the answer will be. But readers can bet it will be an irrepressible mixture of sense and silliness. This exuberant picture book about the concept of relative size stars, among other things, a pig, a cow, a car, a truck . . . and so...
Tip tip dig dig /
Garcia, Emma,
Paper Book
A parade of colorful construction vehicles doing their work means plenty of joyful noise! From the crane that lifts, lifts, lifts to the bulldozer that push, push-pushes, to the steamroller that rolls, rolls, rolls, every machine here makes it own special sound. And the surprise ending,...
Pizza day
Iwai, Melissa
Paper Book
A young boy and his father gather ingredients in the garden to prepare pizza on a hot day in this preschool picture book companion to Soup Day. On a sunny, summer day, a young boy and his father assemble the ingredients for a homemade pizza. From gathering fresh garden...
Shape by shape
MacDonald, Suse.
Paper Book
What am I? I lived a long, long time ago. I had round eyes... lots of sharp teeth... This new concept book from Caldecott Honor illustrator Suse MacDonald is sure to entertain children. As readers turn the brightly colored, die cut pages, shapes on each page...
Zoom, rocket, zoom!
Mayo, Margaret.
Paper Book
When night has come and the moon shines bright, Reflecting back our sun's great light-- Explore the stars and search the sky, And watch for satellites gliding by! Ride a rocket to the stars as astronauts go zooming,...
First the egg
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro.
Paper Book
WHICH CAME FIRST? The chicken or the egg? Simple die-cuts magically present transformation-- from seed to flower, tadpole to frog, caterpillar to butterfly. The acclaimed author of Black? White! Day? Night! and Lemons Are Not Red gives an entirely fresh and memorable...
Construction
Sutton, Sally
Paper Book
Thonk! Clonk! Clap! The team behind Roadwork and Demolition returns to the construction site, where big machines and busy workers dig, hoist, and hammer away. There’s lots of noise and excitement involved in building a library! Preschoolers will clamor to take...
Just a little bit
Tompert, Ann.
Paper Book
When an elephant and a mouse try to play on a seesaw, they need help from a vast number of animal friends to balance the scales.
What will hatch? /
Ward, Jennifer,
Paper Book
Jelly, jiggly. What will hatch? Wiggly, squiggly. . . tadpole. What is more exciting than waiting for an egg to hatch? Creatures of all varieties begin inside an egg-and those eggs also come in all shapes and sizes. From a squiggly tadpole to fuzzy robin to a...

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