Moving Beyond ABC: Recommendations for the Pre-K Set

Reading is fun; perhaps most of all when you're reading to a child. Silly voices and fantasy lands and ABCs are the DNA building blocks of all future learning...ah, I can get lost in the grandeur of it all. A few of my long-time favorite and other, more recent picks are listed here for a pre-K, just-about-to-learn-to-read audience. Enjoy-add recommendations of your own-just read!!!!!!!!!!!

A is for Salad by Mike Lester
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
George Upside Down by Meghan McCarthy
ABC3D by Marion Battaille
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin - see fun related activities here and enjoy the superbly sung version here.

Of course the Dr. Seuss books are wondrous and rollicking reads, but in our house they were so well read, to both kids, that I consider them early preschool rather than pre-K/kindergarten books.

Frog and Toad Are Friends, by Arnold Lobel, is a classic I still enjoy, as are several of the other older titles I remember reading (or being read to?) as an young page-turner:


My daughter enjoyed the Bob books series during kindergarten, and I think their simple method can truly help young readers practice basic skills. I bought 'em from Scholastic, 'cus i love the fact that when you buy books through the school program, teachers get credits they can use to buy new books for their classrooms. That said, the Bob books also appear on this
handy list at Amazon.com.

Happy reading out loud!

Highly Versatile Henke

Kevin Henkes' MG Olive's Ocean, a Newbery Honor Book, follows 12-year-old Martha after she learns that one of her classmates - the titular Olive, who died in a bicycle accident - thought Martha was the nicest girl in 6th grade.

The news stuns Martha, because Olive was that girl in 6th grade whom the whole class ignored. Martha gulps down the revelation and digests it over the course of the summer, taking it along on her family's vacation like an invisible friend.

The slice-of-adolescent-life story aimed at 4th-6th grade readers (girls) is a very well written, age-appropriate, somewhat philosophical novel about mortality. Frankly, I think it could use a few more plot points and more conflict, both external and internal. But I'm not a MG expert, and it's hard to find fault with Henkes' work or track record. (They can't all be as good as Lilly!)

Henkes has said (in his website bio) "I like the variety of trying new ways to fill the pages between two covers." And in spite of my silly quibbles, I think he did a fine job filling the pages of Olive's Ocean.

Lilly's Not Just for Girls!

Gender defender: Lilly's got something to say to kids.

I'll admit it; I usually buy the old children's book advice that girls will read about boys but boys won't read about girls. Kevin Henkes' lovely mouse Lilly is one good reason to ignore that advice. Case in point: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Greenwillow Press (c) 1996. I am embarrassed to admit I never read it to my daughter; I am making up for that omission by reading it MANY times to my son.

In fact, Lilly has become the leading lady in my quest for books about going to kindergarten. The title doesn't convey a fraction of the story; the purse is a mere prop. This is a book about loving school - and then having a terrible day that makes you hate school, hate your teacher, hate yourself... and you parents know what happens next. Child learns something. Has an aha! moment. Learns something important about her/himself. Sorta the whole point of childhood, you know?

Look; I'm babbling. I'm always overjoyed to discover a truly delightful author - and beside myself to open a book that speaks directly to my kid! (Thank you, Mr. Henkes! Thank you!) So, since I'm clearly incapable of a decent, succinct description, here's the summary from the book's title page:

"Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later."

Before kindergarten starts my son needs to learn a little more anger management. Lilly is just the lady for the job - heavens knows mom's lessons have failed!