100 Books Your Child Should Listen to Before Starting School

Emily at Whimsy linked to a very intriguing list on the webpage of the Westland, Michigan public library. (Thanks to Jen Robinson for linking to Whimsy).

It’s a list of 100 books that your child should listen to before starting school. I could argue about which books are on the list and which were left off… but I'm more interested in taking the suggestions at face value, and seeing which books I’ve read with my son. He’s three now, so there are still a few years until he starts school.

It was a pretty illuminating experience to see which books my son has read. I felt like my he’s read an enormous number of books, but as I was going through this list I saw so many books I love that we haven’t read together yet. Now that he can sit still for longer picture books, I can’t wait to try some of these with him.

Here’s the list… I divided the 100 books into eight subcategories and alphabetized them by the author's last name. (I couldn't help it).

Books that I loved when I was little and that my son loves now:

• Madeline by Bemelmans, Ludwig
• Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Bridwell, Norman
• Goodnight, Moon by Brown, Margaret Wise
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle, Eric
• Are You My Mother? By Eastman, P. D.
• The Little Engine That Could by Piper, Watty
• Curious George by Rey, H. A.
• Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Scarry, Richard
• Caps for Sale by Slobodkina, Esphyr
• Harry, the Dirty Dog by Zion, Gen

Books that my son and I discovered together how wonderful they are:

• Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by Burningham, John
• Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Christelow, Eileen
• Freight Train by Crews, Donald
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Cronin, Doreen
• Go Away, Big Green Monster! By Emberley, Ed
• Lunch by Fleming, Denise
• Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Martin, Bill
• Good Night, Gorilla by Rathmann, Peggy
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Rosen, Michael
• Knuffle Bunny by Willems, Mo

Books that my son loved when he was younger:

• Ten, Nine, Eight by Bang, Molly
• Where’s Spot? By Hill, Eric
• Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue? An Adventure in Color by Hoban, Tana

Books I loved when I was little that we haven’t read together yet:

• Miss Nelson is Missing by Allard, Harry
• Stone Soup by Brown, Marcia
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Burton, Virginia Lee
• Strega Nona by De Paola, Tomie
• Corduroy by Freeman, Don
• The Snowy Day by Keats, Ezra Jack
• Leo the Late Bloomer by Kraus, Robert
• The Carrot Seed by Krauss, Ruth
• Frog and Toad are Friends by Lobel, Arnold
• All By Myself by Mayer, Mercer
• Amelia Bedelia by Parish, Peggy
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Potter, Beatrix
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Viorst, Judith

Books I discovered later in life and haven’t read with my son yet. I’m curious to see his reactions to them.

• The Mitten by Brett, Jan
• Miss Rumphius by Cooney, Barbara
• Olivia by Falconer, Ian
• Millions of Cats by Gag, Wanda
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Galdone, Paul
• Is Your Mama a Llama? By Guarino, Deborah
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Henkes, Kevin
• Bread and Jam for Frances by Hoban, Russell
• Miss Mary Mack by Hoberman, Mary Ann
• Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson, Crockett
• Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock by Kimmel, Eric
• The Story of Ferdinand by Leaf, Munro
• Make Way for Ducklings by McCloskey, Robert
• Grandfather’s Journey by Say, Allen
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by Steig, William
• Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Taback, Simms
• Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Waber, Bernard
• The Napping House by Wood, Audrey
• Polar Express by Van Allsburg, Chris
• Owl Moon by Yolen, Jane

Books that my son has listened to but hasn’t fallen in love with yet:

• Guess How Much I Love You by McBratney, Sam
  
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Numeroff, Laura
• Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak, Maurice
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
• Farmer Duck by Waddell, Martin
• Mouse Paint by Walsh, Ellen Stoll
• Seven Blind Mice by Young, Ed

Books I have read but don’t know that well:

• Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Barrett, Judi
• The Three Bears by Barton, Byron
• The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Kent, Jack
• Over in the Meadow by Langstaff, John
• Tacky the Penguin by Lester, Helen
• A Color of His Own by Lionni, Leo
• Froggy Gets Dressed by London, Jonathan
• Martha Speaks by Meddaugh, Susan
• The Rainbow Fish by Pfister, Marcus
• A Chair for My Mother by Williams, Vera B.

I recognize the titles and authors of these books, but I’m not familiar with them:

• Where’s My Teddy? By Alborough, Jez
• Happy Birthday, Moon by Asch, Frank
• I Like Myself by Beaumont, Karen
• Today I Feel Silly by Curtis, Jamie Lee
• Bed Hogs by DiPucchio, Kelly
• Feathers For Lunch by Ehlert, Lois
• The Magic Hat by Fox, Mem
• Barnyard Song by Greene, Rhonda
• A First Picture Book of Nursery Rhymes by Harbour, Elizabeth (Illustrator)
• Rosie’s Walk by Hutchins, Pat
• Splash! By Jonas, Ann
• Jump, Frog, Jump! By Kalan, Robert
• The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Kasza, Keiko
• Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! By McPhail, David
• The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Neitzel, Shirley
• The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Noble, Trinka
• The Relatives Came by Rylant, Cynthia
• The Kissing Hand by Penn, Audrey
• Duck on a Bike by Shannon, David
• Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Sharmat, Mitchell
• It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Shaw, Charles
• Imogene’s Antlers by Small, David
• And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Stevens, Janet
• Who’s Counting by Tafuri, Nancy
• Pigsty by Teague, Mark
• Noisy Nora by Wells, Rosemary
• I Went Walking by Williams, Sue

We have so much wonderful reading to do! I need to pull these books off my bookshelves and check them out of the library- and give them a try.

Were there any of your favorites on this list? Were there any books that are favorites of kids in your life? (children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, godchildren, neighbors, students, library patrons, etc.) Do you think this is a good list?