50 Books your child should read before kindergarten

A reading list, for kindergarten? Though they're not exactly required reading, these 50 books, both old and new, make a top-notch reading that young kinders shouldn't miss. They run the gamut from read-alouds that parents can share to early reading practice, and deal with topical subjects (like fear of school), skills kids should master (such as the alphabet), and, of course, flat-out fun! So hunker down and get reading! Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric Kimmel or Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott Bark, George by Jules Feiffer The Berenstain Bears series by Stan and Jan Berenstain Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judy Barrett Curious George by H.A. Rey Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! By Mo Willems Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel Froggy Gets Dressed or Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London George and Martha by James Marshall Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? By Jane Yolen I Stink! By Kate McMullen If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura J. Numeroff Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback Leo, the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans The Magic School Bus Series by Joanna Cole Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate Miss Nelson is Missing! By Harry Allard and James Marshall Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat Owen by Kevin Henkes The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig Pierre: A Cautionary Tale by Maurice Sendak Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola Stellaluna by Janell Cannon Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig Tough Boris by Mem Fox The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf, by John Scieszka Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak Yoko by Rosemary Wells