Do you struggle with choosing books for your preschooler?? The Usborne Books & More website does separate by ages (find books for preschoolers/kindergarten here), but, even then, it can be overwhelming!! So…let me help you! Here are my top 10 Books for Preschoolers (in no particular order because it was hard enough to narrow this down to ten!!):
#1 This is Owl
This book is a hidden gem! It combines everything fantastic in a story book: flaps, call and response interaction, silly story line, and facts!! When it comes to recommending a book for preschool, this is my go-to recommendation for 3-6 year olds! It’s a hit with everybody, I promise. But, it’s especially popular with your wiggly readers. Are you struggling to get your kid to sit still during story time? Read this one!! The interactive nature of this story will keep your reader engaged throughout the entire story. Want to take a peek? Check out the video below:
#2 Nibbles
Nibbles is consistently one of our best sellers for a reason! Emma Yarlett (a national treasure), introduces us to Nibbles, a book-eating monster! In this story there are three small stories within the story (SO FUN) where Nibbles eats his way through Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk, and changes the outcomes in those classic tales in the process! We have a whole Nibbles collection that combines the original plus Nibbles: The Dinosaur Guide, Nibbles: The Monster Hunt, and a Nibbles plush!!
I have to mention our other Emma Yarlett fave: Beast Feast – where a beast captures a little boy and invites his monster friends over for a dinner party (…yes the little boy is gonna be dinner…don’t worry, the little boy is quick on his feet and comes up with fun activities and the Beast and the boy become friends)
#3 Wipe Clean Dinosaurs to Copy and Trace
Our wipe clean books are fantastic for practicing pen control!! I especially love our “sneaky” ones, where your little learner will think they’re just having fun tracing animals or doing dot-to-dots, without realizing they’re doing the prep work for writing for real!! Explore the entire wipe-clean collection, there is something for everybody! ABCs, shapes, math, cursive, mazes, etc. There are even wipe clean activity books for the older siblings (need help with fractions? We have a wipe-clean book for that).Do you have a kid who can’t be trusted with markers? Grab some wipe clean crayons! They work just as well, and less chance of marker all over your house!Also – did you know there’s an easy way to clean up old dry-erase marker on the pages? I use baby wipes but if those fail, get some rubbing alcohol and cotton pads! It’ll work like a charm!
#4 Look Inside Your Body
This book is one of our most engaging body books! There are flaps within flaps; you can lift up a layer to see muscles and then another layer to see bones. My daughter, when she was 3, called this her muscle book! We would read it at the table to encourage staying still to eat and “to build her muscles.” She’s now 6.5 and STILL loves this book. If you’re wary about flaps, or just wanting to compare our top 3 body books, I made a video comparing Big Book of the Body, Look Inside Your Body, and See Inside Your Body! In my humble opinion, the best book for preschoolers would be Look Insider Your Body but the Big Book Series is one of my favorites for this age, too!
#5 What is Poop?
The title says it all… 🤣 This title will always have a soft spot in my heart since it’s the reason I hosted my first Usborne Books & More party and then ultimately joined!! It’s a flap book with facts about animal poop, human poop, where it goes, why we have to go #2…it’s the PERFECT potty training book plus it doubles as extra fun book for those ages where poop is their favorite subject. I enjoyed watching Frozen 2 and already knowing that wombats poop cubes thanks to my trusty What is Poop book. Thanks, anyway Olaf! 🙂
#6 Lift the Flap ABC
This Lift-the-Flap series is perfect for preschoolers. It offers an engaging way to learn letters, primarily focusing on lower case letters. Lower case letters are essential to learning how to read later on!! So many books focus on upper case (which are easier to recognize, but in writing/reading – most of what you need to be able to identify is lower case!). Also great in this series is Lift the Flap Opposites, Lift the Flap Numbers, Lift the Flap Colors, Lift the Flap Seasons and Weather, and Lift the Flap My Busy Day.Now, let’s be real here for a second. My daughter, at 2.5, never damaged books. She enjoyed these Lift the Flap books for years!! No ripping!! Then…her little brother joined the party. I gave him access to these books around 2. He ripped them. One reason: “My not like the letters hiding.” So there is my caveat. If your 3 year old is still damaging books, do not get this series!!! They are ideal for those who are past the ripping books stage!! The website says 4+ but I OFTEN recommend these for 2-3 because the flaps are so engaging, it’ll guarantee you about 10-30 min of quiet child time. But, ONLY, if your younger reader wont rip the flaps! You know better than I do!
#7 Barbara Throws a Wobbler
Did you know that wobbler is a British English term for tantrum? Now you do! In this book, Barbara throws a giant tantrum that results in a red jelly-like cloud over her head. Things I love: the reasons for the tantrum are small and relatable; the red jelly cloud talks back to Barbara; and she realizes she has control over how she calms down. I adore that many of the “feelings” books from Usborne Books & More give children a method to calm down. In this one, Barbara discovers she made the wobbler so she can also unmake it! Using visualization, she is able to calm down. I love introducing the concept of managing our emotions. My kids also love spotting all of the wobblers “waiting in the wings” at the park scene near the end. If you’re dealing with some tough tantrums from your preschooler, I highly recommend this one!! Red Red Red is another great one for tantrums (that one has rhyming text and uses counting to calm down).
#8 A Tale of Two Beasts
This book expertly shows how there can be two sides to a story. Two people can interact and walk away with two very different interpretations and feelings surrounding that interaction! I highly recommend it for your older preschooler; it’s a great lesson for entering school dynamics! A Tale of Two Beasts is told in two parts. Part One is from the point of view of a girl who believes she rescued a strange beast. Part Two is from the point of view of the “strange beast” who felt he’d been kidnapped. It’s funny, insightful, and one of those sneaky life lessons about seeing the world from different perspectives.
#9 All About Feelings
Feelings can be rough for preschoolers (and their parents)! They feel large feelings without the skills or knowledge of how to manage them. Eruptions happen for seemingly no reason and it can be so tricky knowing how to respond. Enter, All About Feelings. This book talks about why we might be feeling how we’re feeling (hey, maybe you’re angry because you’re hungry?), and assigns colors to common feelings to aid with discussions. I love the spread “How Would You Feel” with pictures and scenarios for your reader to examine and decide how they’d feel in those scenarios. Great empathy builder!! There are two more books in this series, All About Families and All About Friends. I love all three!
#10 Big Book of Colors
This is one of the earliest books I got my then 2.5 year old. It remains one of my all time favorites. It has gorgeous color spreads, including phrases that mention colors, emotions attached to colors, and fun facts! (Did you know that about a 100 years ago, pink was considered more masculine than blue?). There’s a color wheel to spin in this book (note – your grabbing and ripping kiddos should steer clear) and a wonderful spread with a clear overlay to illustrate color changes. It introduces concepts of color mixing and is just beautiful. I also love EVERY thing in our Big Book series. They are wonderful nonfiction geared toward preschoolers and early elementary learners.
I hope that list helps! It was extremely hard to narrow down and I’m so curious if you agree with my top ten books for preschoolers!! What would you recommend for a preschooler?? What did I leave off?
Psst: Did you know I list my favorite activity books over here? Check it out!! Great options for preschoolers, too!
