Kindergarten: Recommended Books
 
 
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Picture Books
Count the monkeys
by Mac Barnett

Children are invited to practice their counting skills while giggling at the antics of a group of elusive monkeys who are frightened away by a whimsical series of animals. By the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award-winning author of Extra Yarn.
LMNO peas
by Keith Baker

A whimsically illustrated series of exuberant peas demonstrate a range of interests, hobbies and careers themed around the letters of the alphabet, from Acrobat Peas to Zoologist Peas. By the author of Hickory Hickory Dock. 30,000 first printing.
The king of kindergarten
by Derrick D. Barnes

A Newbery Honor-winning author offers an empowering story about a confident little boy who takes pride in his first day of kindergarten, encouraging new students with a reassuring message about this exciting milestone. Simultaneous eBook.
Journey
by Aaron Becker

Using a red marker, a young girl draws a door on her bedroom wall and through it enters another world where she experiences many adventures, including being captured by an evil emperor
The case of the missing chalk drawings
by Richard Byrne

An interactive picture book by the creator of This book just ate my dog! depicts a colorful team of chalk pieces whose drawings of flowers, rainbows and racing scenes keep getting mysteriously erased
Animalphabet
by Julia Donaldson

An immersive book with die-cuts and liftable flaps asks readers to identify a series of animals
Rrralph
by Lois Ehlert

A board book rendition of a classic collage-art story by the Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom features a super-intelligent pup who makes his preferences clear to the narrator in a series of call-and-response exchanges.
Where is the green sheep?
by Mem Fox

Having spotted all the other sheep, such as red sheep and brave sheep, the search begins to find the one missing sheep from the herd, in a simple bedtime tale with full-color illustrations from the author of The Magic Hat.
Pokko and the drum
by Matthew Forsythe

The award-winning illustrator of My Name Is Elizabeth! presents the story of a little frog, Pokko, who takes a magical drum deep into the quiet forest, where her playing draws the attention of musical animal friends. 25,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations.
Little Owl lost
by Chris Haughton

Falling out of his nest and bumping his head, Little Owl is unable to find his mother and receives help from a kind squirrel who introduces him to animals that possess some of Little Owl's mother's features, a search that happily ends when mother and owlet are reunited.
Lost and found
by Oliver Jeffers

While trying his best to help a penguin that has shown up at his door, a boy journeys all the way to the South Pole, only to realize that the penguin was never lost. By the creator of How to Catch a Star.
The good egg
by Jory John

A follow-up to The Bad Seed finds a good egg striving to do everything right while the other eggs in his carton prove themselves rather rotten, a distinction that leads him to crack under the pressure of always being Grade-A perfect. 150,000 first printing
You are (not) small
by Anna Kang

"Two fuzzy creatures can't agree on who is small and who is big, until a couple of surprise guests show up, settling it once and for all!"
Blue
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

A companion to the Caldecott Honor-winning Green presents a dual celebration of the myriad shades of blue and the bond between children and their pets, depicting scenes of a boy and puppy snuggling on a cherished blanket, splashing in ocean waves and sharing a wintry walk
Swirl by swirl : spirals in nature
by Joyce Sidman

Combines the talents of a Newbery Honor-winning poet and a Caldecott Medal-winning artist in a visually striking tribute to nature's spirals that identifies the unique design and practical value of such examples as snail shells, flower buds and human ears. Simultaneous eBook.
Just ask! : be different, be brave, be you
by Sonia Sotomayor

The boundary-breaking Supreme Court Justice and the award-winning author of Book Fiesta present a celebration of the world’s diversity that explains why different people make the world more vibrant and wonderful, just the way a variety of plants and flowers enhance a garden. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations.
A sick day for Amos McGee
by Philip Christian Stead

Amos McGee, a friendly zoo keeper, always makes time to visit his animal friends, but when he becomes sick and cannot come in to work, the animals pay him a visit instead
The pigeon needs a bath!
by Mo Willems

A latest entry in the best-selling series that includes the Caldecott Honor-winning Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! finds a mussy Pigeon refusing to take a bath and insisting he had one a month earlier. 400,000 first printing.
A dog named Doug
by Karma Wilson

An overly enthusiastic Doug the dog takes his love of digging to an extreme, creating giant, messy holes and tunnels through gold mines to the White House, where he confounds the Secret Service. Simultaneous eBook.
Nonfiction
A rock is lively
by Dianna Hutts Aston

Introduces readers to rocks and minerals, describing how they are created, what they can be used for, and their different forms and types
Looking at Lincoln
by Maira Kalman

Wanting to know about the real man behind the 16th president's legendary character, a little girl learns about Lincoln's beliefs regarding universal freedom as well as lesser-known aspects of his life, from his love of Mozart and his wife's vanilla cake to his pet dog and the way he kept notes in his stovepipe hat.
You are stardust
by Elin Kelsey

Introduces readers to the extensive and surprising ways in which they are connected to the natural world around them
Actual size
by Steve Jenkins

From the author of The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest, a picture book presents a look at the real size of animals and their body parts through comparisons with other common things, such as a human hand.
Fur, feather, fin : all of us are kin
by Diane Lang

"A rhyming tour through the amazing animal kingdom, from mammals to millipedes and everything in between!"
A seed is the start
by Melissa Stewart

The award-winning author of No Monkeys, No Chocolate blends vibrant National Geographic photography and lyrical text in an introduction to the diverse world of seeds that explains the plant cycle, from how seeds travel and grow to what it takes for a seed to become a plant.
Thomas Ford Memorial Library
800 Chestnut St
Western Springs, Illinois 60558
(708) 246-0520
fordlibrary.org

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