story books 5 year olds

The 14 Best Books for 5-Year-Olds

They're starting kindergarten, and reading is a huge deal now. Here are the best books your kids will actually love.

The best books for 5-year-olds depend a lot on the individual kid, but they should all take into account the big changes under way in a 5-year-old ‘s life: The start of school , new friendships and an evolving relationship with parents that can make for a tumultuous and transformative year. The best books for 5-year-olds will hook into their daily emotional experiences and reflect their lives right back to them. These books for 5-year-olds will ensure they remain interested as both the narratives and the ethics of the characters grow more complex. And as your 5-year-old strikes out to learn to read by themselves, they’ll be happy to have stuff they might actually be able to start practicing (with a little help from mom and dad).

The Best Books for 5-Year-Olds

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This article was originally published on July 11, 2019

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Best Books for 5-Year-Olds

Discover the best books to help beginning readers make the literary leap from prek to kindergarten..

The transition from preschool to kindergarten marks an important milestone in a 5-year-old’s literary journey. Throughout the year, your child will begin to learn how to read, as well as expand their vocabulary, develop critical thinking skills, and master letters and sounds . 

Build an Academic Foundation for Young Readers

Books are one of the most effective ways to build the groundwork for your early reader’s academic success. Reading at home can help them practice their literacy skills outside of the classroom, while fostering a lifelong love of books and sparking their imagination. 

Check out the best new children’s books of the month to share with your early reader and build their home library! 

Books That Support Social-Emotional Learning

Books are not only essential for building avid readers; they also help prepare your 5-year-old  for more sophisticated social interactions in kindergarten.  Social and emotional titles  are great for teaching children how to better understand, navigate, and express their feelings — and  build healthier relationships  as a result. 

For some young kids, exploring humor in books can help them become more curious about their emotions.  Why Did the Monster Cross the Road?  is a hilarious story about two best monster friends Hunny and Funny, who cheer each other up during times of sadness. Written by best-selling children's book artists R.L. Stine, creator of the Goosebumps series, and Marc Brown, creator of the Arthur Adventure series, this fun book teaches valuable lessons about friendship, happiness, and positivity. 

Kids at this age are still learning how to tackle big feelings, like anger and fear.  Rocket and Groot: Little Groot, Big Feelings  shares a charming, lovely story of how Groot learns to get in touch with his emotions. Featuring bright illustrations, this sweet picture book teaches children how to  regulate their emotions  and cope when things get a little out of hand. Plus, young readers will explore how to navigate unfamiliar situations and new experiences.

Make the Leap From Picture Books to Chapter Books

As your child progresses with their reading skills, you can consider  introducing some early chapter books , such as  Scholastic’s Branches series , into their routine. These chapter books combine vibrant illustrations with simple but longer text — and they’re great for readers transitioning from read-alouds to independent reading.

For more ideas on supporting newly independent readers, check out  expert-approved books and series . 

Books 5-Year-Olds Will Love

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20 best books for 5 year olds

@KonstantinAksenov/Twenty20

This is the age and the stage to show them the beautiful world around them and these books help do just that.

By Amber Guetebier and Diva Anwari Updated August 14, 2023

We independently select and share the products we love—and may receive a commission if you choose to buy.

Five. It’s a big age. For many children they are transitioning from their small preschool classroom to a bigger elementary school. They are old enough to comprehend so much more than toddlers, and yet they still have all those big feelings. Children are reading more independently, practicing vocabulary and writing letters. Reading can have a big impact on their wellbeing, and using books to facilitate that is a win-win for parents and caregivers and kids alike. 

The best children’s books are the perfect avenue for helping our not-so-little but not-so-big kids explore the world, expand their own imaginations, hone their critical thinking skills, and—of course—feed their love for reading. Five-year-olds are about to embark on a whole new world called kindergarten (if they haven’t already) and that experience can be very exciting, or it can be very scary. But thankfully, books can offer comfort and even a chance to escape, which might be just what an overwhelmed little mind needs after a long day at school.

Related: 23 great books every toddler will adore

How do you choose the best kids books for 5 year olds?

A good book for the incoming or current kindergartener might present them with a problem to solve alongside the characters in the book. It might teach them a valuable lesson about friendship , bullying or loyalty. Or it might be an adventure-packed journey where the reader is inspired by a character who has to be very, very brave.

There is no special formula to follow for choosing the best books for 5 year olds, but this age is undoubtedly one where reading can have a tremendous impact on children’s growth, school engagement, and mental health. The key is to find books that hook them in—whether they’re about trucks or tiaras, human children or baby bear cubs. Fill their bookshelves with wonder, and watch them soar.

As five-year-old minds open up to a bigger world around them, this age offers a great opportunity to spark meaningful discussions about topics relevant to their expanding view. Starting school, learning about new people and places, celebrating families, understanding friendships, and having a good laugh—these books are here to help parents facilitate what will no doubt be longer talks about all of these things and more. Here are our current 18 favorite books for five-year-olds. 

Related: 25+ holiday gifts to delight any 5-year-old

Best books for five-year-olds

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman

Whether they are starting kindergarten this year or early next, get them pumped for school with this book that has a simple, effective message: All are welcome! The rhyming book follows a group of schoolchildren through their day, showing diverse students from all backgrounds. Modeling a classroom and a school environment that not only welcomes everyone but celebrates those differences with respect is just the kind of mindset every five-year-old can get behind. Gift this one to an early-elementary classroom teacher! 

Miguel’s Community Garden by JaNay-Brown Wood, illustrated by Samara Hardy

This delightfully illustrated book takes children into the heart of a local community garden on the hunt for sunflowers. In the process, Miguel, and young readers, learn all about several other plants, including artichokes, apricots, mulberries and spinach. The book teaches children that their food comes from a garden, not just the supermarket and introduces kids to a variety of healthy foods beyond the usual. And as an added bonus, Miguel has two dads, making this book another excellent addition to a diverse library that normalizes all kinds of family structures (hooray!)

Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda, illustrated by Paloma Valdivia

Based on Pablo Neruda’s original poem “The Book of Questions” this selection of 70 questions will resonate with your curious questioners. A bilingual book in both Spanish and English (English translation by Sara Lissa Paulson), children will love the unanswerable questions presented here in the great poet’s absurd, magical, and mysterious words. Both an excellent introduction to Neruda and a reminder that not all things need answers. 

Frog & Toad: The Complete Collection by Arnold Lobel

At age five, friendships (best! friends!) can be a big part of the everyday vernacular, especially once school starts. Celebrate friendship and all of its ups and downs with the timeless Frog & Toad classics by Arnold Lobel. They’re also very early chapter books, a segway into the world of reading longer books, and make great bedtime stories, too. 

The Not-So-Friendly Friend: How To Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships by Christina Furnival, illustrated by Katie Dwyer

Speaking of friendships, part of discovering what friendship means is learning what isn’t okay to tolerate and this early reader book is an excellent introduction to the topic. Follow one little girl as she begins to understand what boundaries are. Young kids will see a positive example of what friendship is, and what friendship shouldn’t be, a first step in learning to cultivate healthy friendships. To be honest, some of us grown-ups need this book, too! 

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

As children enter kindergarten and early elementary years, even more than preschool, their name, and name pride become a big deal. Not only are your cubbies, backpacks, scissors, etc., all associated with your name, but children are learning all of their new friends’ names, too. That makes this book by Yangsook Choi a perfectly timed read. In “ The Name Jar ,” we meet the new kid in school, a young girl named Unhei who has just moved from Korea. She’s nervous about introducing herself on the first day because no one seems to be able to pronounce her name right. So instead, she announces to her new classmates that the following week she’ll choose an “American” name from a glass jar. Her new friend and her new community encourage her to pick the truly perfect name: her own! A great book to remind children that everyone has different names, and that is a good and beautiful thing. 

Red, A Crayon’s Story by Michael C. Hall

Crayons might be among a five-year-old’s most important possessions, so kids this age will relate to the story immediately because it involves all of the crayons in the box. But the deeper meaning of this funny, sweet story will not be lost on them, either. 

What happens when you just aren’t the thing everyone says you are? This is the case for Red, a crayon who cannot seem to color anything “right” because everything Red colors is blue. Even though his teacher and parents all try to help him, he just can’t get the color right, until one day a new friend offers a brand new point of view. 

Bindiya in India written by Monique Kamaria Chheda, MD, Illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta

A winner of numerous awards and honors for both the words and illustrations, celebrate Indian culture with this book that follows Bindiya, a young Indian American girl, who travels to India for a traditional Indian wedding. Using Hindi and English, explore 1990s India with the family. One glance at the artwork for this book and you’ll see exactly why it’s gotten so many accolades. A truly joyous book.  

The Berenstain Bears and Truth by Stan and Jan Berenstain

A great lesson for kids of this age, in this classic Berenstain Bears book we find Brother and Sister Bear having broken a lamp and then lying about it. When they are found out, they learn a valuable lesson that breaking trust is worse than breaking a lamp. This book invites discussions about telling the truth even when you are worried you’ll get in trouble. This one will resonate with younger readers, too. 

The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad and S. K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly

“ The Proudest Blue” tells the story of two sisters on the first day of school. Faizah is excited for a new school year to start, and her sister Asiya is not only having her first day of school, but it’s also Asiya’s first day of hijab. That means she’ll be wearing a beautiful new blue hijab to school, one Faizah admires. But unfortunately, wearing the hijab is met with hurtful words and misunderstanding. Luckily, this leads the sisters to remember to be proud of exactly who they are. Muslim children will love seeing themselves represented in this gorgeously illustrated book, and non-Muslim children will gain knowledge and understanding of what the hijab represents and why it’s important to be open and kind.

Islandborn by Junot Díaz, illustrated by Leo Espinosa

Another great story for young kids starting school , Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz brings a story of immigration, memory, and the magic of place. For Lola, her school is full of children from other places. Lola’s teacher asks her to draw a picture of the place she is from, but the trouble is, Lola doesn’t remember. She was just a baby when she and her family left The Island. And Lola is heartbroken when she is the only one who seems to not know what to draw. But together with the help of her abuela’s wisdom, Lola learns that even if you don’t remember a place, it is still part of you. Leo Espinosa’s drawings made this a 2019 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration.

Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt, illustrated by Vin Vogel

With warmth and relatability, this book introduces children to the idea of poverty, raising awareness that not all children have adequate food and face food insecurity every day. An important topic as children share more lunches together, best friends Sofia and Maddi go to the same school and live in the same part of town. But, as young readers will see, while Sofia has a stocked refrigerator, the fridge at Maddi’s house is empty. Sofia promises to not tell anyone because Maddi is ashamed, but Sofia wants to help her. The book includes a call-to-action section for kids to help others. 

Meeting Mimi: A Story About Different Abilities by Francie Dolan, illustrated by Wendy Leach

Join Mimi and her classmates as they learn about Mimi’s disability in clear language that teaches children an inclusive vocabulary. Kids will relate to the classroom setting, the feeling of being the new kid, and what it means to appreciate one another’s diverse and different abilities. Children with a disability will love seeing themselves represented in a positive book that aims to educate children, teachers, and adults alike. The book includes vocabulary, reading tips and post-reading activities. And at just $4, consider purchasing one for your school library, too. 

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

In a book that reads like poetry, author Kevin Noble Malliard tells children the story of fry bread, a food that Native American communities from coast to coast identify with. Because fry bread is more than just something delicious to eat, it is a symbol of community, identity, memory, time, family and nation. This book received numerous awards including winning both the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal and the 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor. Read it, and you’ll see, and feel, exactly why.  

What Makes A Family? Paperback by Hannah Bruner, illustrated by Sandie Sonke

As children begin to experience more of the world outside their home and immediate family, they start to see unfamiliar things. This might be food, the way another family plays a game, how many siblings there are in one family vs. their own. Give them a foundation of understanding and appreciation for all kinds of family units by using this book as a conversation starter. In it, we meet families that look very different but all have a common thread: love! Foster families, blended families, families with two moms, or two dads, all are represented here.

Nothing Stays the Same, but That's Okay: A Book to Read When Everything (or Anything) Changes by Sara Olsher

We all want to raise resilient children but that doesn’t mean we know exactly how to do that. Sara Olsher has written numerous children’s books aimed at helping families thrive through difficult times, whether that’s divorce, cancer, or another major upset. In Nothing Stays the Same, she reaches out to children going through a broad array of changes: a new house, a new sibling, a parent who leaves, a new school…and using clear, relatable language and bright illustrations, she arms them with the knowledge they need to know everything will be okay. Read this together to help reassure your children that it’s okay to feel scared and anxious when there are big changes, whether that’s a new school or a pandemic closure or anything else.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

This hilarious story by the dynamic Rubin-Salmieri duo is one of those books that’s just silly and really fun to read out loud together. It’s also a great one for them to practice reading on repeat. Find out what happens when dragons eat tacos with spicy salsa (spoiler alert: things burn.)

What Should Danny Do?

Danny and his “Power to Choose” series is a hit with little kids for several reasons. First of all, this is a choose your own adventure style book, which means your little reader gets to decide how the story goes. Secondly, his predicaments (through which he tries to make good choices, but doesn’t always) are relatable—having to share with an annoying little brother, having to do chores he doesn’t want to do, etc. And, if your child loves “What Should Danny Do?” as we think they will, try out the other books in this series too and help Danny make good choices in school, on vacation, and meet Darla, who uses her power to choose as well!

The City Tree

Dani lives on a city block without any trees around. So when a tree moves in, everything changes. The neighborhood transforms but, Dani realizes that the tree needs care if it’s going to survive. This delightful picture book is an inspiring read for young environmentalists.

I Am a Tornado

Tornado is feeling overwhelmed and his emotions are setting him on a path of destruction. Lucky for him, an empathetic Cow is willing to listen and help Tornado through it all. This picture book takes socio-emotional learning to another level and delivers an important message for everyone who has had a bad day.

A version of this article was originally published May 25, 2022. It has been updated.

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Beyond the Bookends

A Book Blog for Women and Moms who Love to Read

Best Books for a 5-Year-Old Getting Ready to Read

Your pre-schooler is quickly learning to the basics of reading. What books are good for 5-year-olds developing early reading skills? Storys need to keep their interest enough to be read over and over as repetition is key to success. So we’ve come up with a list of the best books for a 5-year-old.

Having raised 5 kids through this particular age, we are well-equipped to give suggestions for children with all kinds of book preferences. We’ve got suggestions for interactive picture books, books about starting school, and so many more suggestions to help you raise little readers.

Below, you’ll find lots of great stories divided by category. Many of the books for 5-year-olds have links to book lists with even more recommendations, so be sure to poke around.

*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.

Table of Contents

Counting Books for 5-year-olds

Place Value by David A. Adler

This book does such a good job of teaching children about place values. It breaks it down for little ones in an easy-to-understand manner that is perfect for beginning mathematicians!

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean

Pete the Cat is back with his cool coat and his 4 groovy buttons. That is until he loses one and only has 3. As the story progresses, your child will count in reverse and learn subtraction at the same time. It’s the perfect preschool book to introduce math concepts.

Countablock by Christopher Franceschelli

Because the words in this story are mostly sight words and kids are learning to recognize numbers up to 100, this makes a great first book for early readers.

Alphabet Books for 5-year-olds

Animalia by Graeme Base

In 10 years, I don’t think I have ever found everything on ANY page in this book. The illustrations are completely amazing, creative, and mesmerizing as well. This is the alphabet book that I can read with all my kids (including my 16-year-old).

This is one of the best alliteration books I have ever read and the fact that it is also a mystery makes it a wonderful pick for the whole family.

Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers is just the most brilliant writer and illustrator. This collection of short stories for each letter is a lovely item for any library and is one of our favorite alphabet books. 

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

This delightful book showcases each letter of the alphabet in a story about peas and all the jobs they can have. Told through rhyme, your little one will eagerly hunt for the peas matching the described jobs.

There are so many clever illustrations that this book is one you will want to explore over and over again.

Why We Love This Book: We love any book that has a great rhyming scheme but this one is hilarious with adorable illustrations to match. Appropriate for Ages: 2-5 Find this book in Alphabet Books / Gender Neutral Baby Books / Food Books for Children

For more books like these, check out our list of 22 Alphabet Books

Food books for 5-year-olds.

Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk 

My kids think it is hysterical to see Lady Pancake try to beat Sir French Toast to the last drop of syrup as they navigate the perils of the refrigerator. The message about sharing is particularly important especially if you are in the in the midst of the sibling rivalry phase.

Why We Love This Book: We love adorable books with important messages. Appropriate for Ages: 2-6 Find this book in Books for a 5-Year-Old / Children’s Books About Food

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems

Mo Willems is a must-know author if you have preschoolers. He writes the best books for 5-year-olds! His pigeon series is particularly funny. In this story, the pigeon finds a hot dog but a clever bird outwits him into sharing!

Why We Love This Book: The entire pigeon series is hilarious. We love to laugh with Pigeon Appropriate for Ages: 2-6 Find this book in Books for 5-year-olds / Kids Food Books

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Both the original story and the sequel feature taco-eating dragons who can’t stand spicy salsa! The whimsical illustrations are childlike and the stories are just plain silly! Your child will be giggling when they see the dragons burn down the house after eating spicy tacos.

Why We Love This Book: This book is adorable and hilarious. It is one we do not mind reading on repeat. Appropriate for Ages: 2-5 Find this book in Books for a 5-year-old / Kids Books About Food

Books Set at Daycare for a 5-year-old

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes

After his parents call him the King of Kindergarten, a young boy experiences his first day of school in his new “kingdom.”

Sharing, learning, and the joy of making new friends are all explored in his sweet tale. This adorable pick from first day of school books it so uplifting.

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate

Using the letters of the alphabet, we meet each kid in the class as they get ready for school.

We see Miss Bindergarten get ready for school by cleaning, organizing, and decorating her classroom. If you are looking for first day of school books for kindergarten, this is a really cute choice.

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex

This clever tale is written about School as he witnesses children and teachers using his facilities for the very first time.

He is a little nervous as some say they don’t want to be there, but he starts to learn what the children learn and laugh at the jokes they tell. We absolutely love this first day of school book and the lovely twist.

Color Books for 5-year-olds

Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire by Amy Guglielmo

The pictures in this book are captivating, the colors are brilliant but, the best part is that it is true.  Based on the story of Mary Blair, this story tells how one woman broke the mold and created “It’s a Small World”.

I D on’t Draw, I COLOR!  by Adam Lehrhaupt

This is a lovely book that explores creativity as opposed to artistry.  I love how the child in this book can express feelings and emotions with colors.  

Why We Love This Book:  Often, it is so difficult for children to express themselves verbally and I love how this book gives another way to do this.   Appropriate for ages  4-8 Find this book in : Books about colors / Books about Feelings / Books for 5-year-olds

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

The classic color story that launched a series! The Day the Crayons Quit is about overworked crayons that decide to go on strike. Each color airs its grievances to Duncan, who just wants to color! Can Duncan find a solution to make his crayons happy?

For more books like these, check out our list of books about colors for preschoolers!

Season and nature books for a 5-year-old.

Our Seasons by Sue Lowell Gallion

I’m a sucker for any kind of book that turns into something else. Our seasons opens up to create a 3D globe depicting the world during Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall.

This gorgeous book will enthrall your child.

Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner

This delightful story is about a mom and child who are canoeing over the pond. When the child asks about what is under the pond, the story explores the ecosystem and all its little miracles. It’s the perfect book for a 5-year-old nature lover.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Snowy Day is a Caldecott Winner for a reason. This classic story depicts a boy exploring his city neighborhood after a snowstorm. It’s the perfect book for a 5-year-old when it’s snowing outside.

Rhyming Books for 5-Year-Olds

If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen

When it comes to books for 5-year-olds, this is a must.

This book will spark your child’s imagination as Jack imagines what his dad’s car could do if it were not so boring and bland. Ask your child what their dream car looks like.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

This book is another classic in our house. Mouse proves that a little bit of brain is all you need when faced with a whole lot of muscle. We adore this rhyming wonder.

Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beatty

I love Iggy Peck and all his friends. They are smart, funny, and independent thinkers. Not only does this book put a spotlight on being yourself but, the rhymes and vocabulary are nothing short of spectacular.

Animal Books for a 5-year-old

Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo

My youngest son’s favorite early reader series revolved around a pig named Mercy Watson. We have every book about this charming pig being raised as a child in the Watson home.

There is also a spin-off series about her neighbors on Deckawoo Drive. These are the perfect books for a 5-year-old!

Fraidy Zoo by Thyra Heder

This is one of the cutest picture books in my collection. A little girl is afraid of something at the zoo, but can’t remember what. So her family dresses up as different animals in A-to-Z order to help her overcome her fear.

There is so much to look at throughout this story, this is a book for a 5-year-old to enjoy again and again.

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

I absolutely love this book about following your heart and being true to yourself. The added bonus of rhyming makes this book that much more special. This is one of the children’s books about being different that I was happy to read over and over.

For more books like these, check out our list of Zoo Books , Shark Books , and Octopus Books for kids.

Classic books for 5-year-olds.

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, illus. by Marc Simont

This beginning reader kids mystery book series is wonderful for emerging readers. It’s all about kid detective, Nate, who solves mysteries for his friends and neighbors!

Mother Bruce by Ryan Higgins

Mother Bruce is the first in a fantastic series about a grumpy bear who becomes the adoptive mom of 4 young geese. He tries to get rid of them but soon realizes they are part of his family.

The rest of the series continues the story of Bruce, his geese children, and the inhabitants of the forest. Just wait until your children read about the meddlesome mice in future books!

The Napping House by AudreyWood

The illustrations and repetition in this book make it one of my favorite books with prepositions for toddlers.

Everyone in the napping house piles onto the one bed to sleep. The rhythm and repetition make it easy for your toddler to “read” the book with you. This is one of my favorite read-aloud books and is a delightful bedtime story.

Why We Love This Book : The repetition and rhythm of the story are great scaffolding for children who are learning to put two words together Appropriate for Ages: 2-5 Find this book in Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds / Best Books for a 3-Year-Old: Create a Love of Reading

Books for a 5-year-old’s Motor Development

Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi

Raffi’s classic song is put into picture book form in this charming book for 5-year-olds. It’s the perfect story to help with motor development as your child dances along to the words within.

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

While this might not be a motor skill book for 5-year-olds exactly, it might be the book you need to get your kiddo working on an important motor skill – swimming!

Both Jackie and I made sure our kids were in swim lessons by the time they were in preschool. This story shows Jabari, who just passed his swim test, working up the courage to jump from the diving board. A perfect story for beginning swimmers.

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

This book has Eric Carle’s classic pictures while giving your child the chance to clap, stomp and move around while imitating the animals in this book. Not only can your toddler learn about the animals, but they can move around as well.

Books About Love for 5-year-olds

If I Had a Little Dream by Nina Laden

I discovered this jewel of a book last year I cried like a baby the first time I read it and it has become my go-to book selection for any newborn regardless of gender. But it’s a great one for older kids too.

The story is a wonderful look at the world and how it nurtures us. It’s a pick for the best baby books because it is a keepsake you’ll cherish forever.

Love by Matt De La Pena

This sweet, gorgeously illustrated tale showcases the different kinds of love. It highlights how love stays with you and makes you stronger.

I also loved that it pointed out the different actions people take to show their love without saying words. I get teary-eyed every time I read this story.

Love Monster by Rachel Bright

Everyone needs love and everyone should be loved for exactly who they are.  Monster goes out on a mission to find just that in this book.

Love Monster is a great book for a 5-year-old monster fan.

Interactive Books for a 5-year-old

Wreck This Picture Book by Keri Smith

Based on the popular, Wreck This Journal, this picture book is designed for little kids! With prompts on each page to make creative changes to the picture book, this is a perfect travel activity book for 5-year-olds.

This interactive book for kids is designed to make children use all their senses while reading the book. They are encouraged to smell, touch, and fold the pages.

Appropriate for Ages 5-8 Find this book in Books for 5-year-olds.

Press Here by Hervé Tullet

When it comes to interactive books for kids, Hervé Tullet is the king! In Press Here and his other books, kids push, tap, shake, and interact with the pages. This is a book for a 5-year-old to read again and again.

Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett

This baby monster book is a wonderfully interactive picture book for kids. As you read it, it instructs you where to tickle your child!

When you read this book to your little one, you get to tickle and they get to laugh.  After all, laughter and books should go together.

Sold individually or as a kit, we recommend the kit for the fun tickle monster gloves. Put on the gloves and tickle along with the tickle monsters. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers alike love this one. Be warned – it’s not great for bedtime because it can get kids in quite a goofy mood.

Appropriate for Ages 2-5 Important note: Some children love being tickled while others do not. Take cues from your child.

Family Books for 5-year-olds

A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary

This is a wonderful story about all the different kinds of families that exist. For a class project, the teacher asks everyone to talk about their families and what makes them special.

There is someone raised by a grandmother, someone with two dads, and so on. Such a wonderful story highlighting non-traditional families.

The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan

At some point in any parent’s life, their child will try to convince them that they NEED to sleep in mom & dad’s bed. This hysterical story takes it a step further as the child attempts to kick daddy out of bed…permanently. Everyone in my family loved this story and it’s a frequent bedtime request. Bunmi Laditan is the author behind the famed Honest Toddler account. 

Between Us and Abuela by Mitali Perkins

The border wall has been in the news for a long time now for political reasons. But this book is not political. It’s about an American family making its way to the border wall to see their Abuela on the other side. A heartwarming story about how nothing comes between family, this is a book to be read at every age level.

Creativity Books for a 5-year-old

Chalk by Bill Thompson

Three children discover a magical bag of chalk on a rainy day. As they begin to draw, magic happens and their creations come to life. This wordless picture book for a 5-year-old will delight adults too. It’s the perfect playground book for a lovely day.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

The bunny in this book can find amazing things to do with a box. When you read this book with your child, not only will inspire creativity but you will allow them to think “outside the box” literally and figuratively.

After you finish reading it, try setting up a creation station with boxes, paper towel rolls, scraps of paper, tinfoil, googly eyes, and more. This educational book for 5-year-olds is a winner!

Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg

A good imagination book inspires creativity but also teaches a lesson. The lesson in this book? It’s OK to make mistakes.

Beautiful Oops is a 3-D book that shows a mistake, and then how the artist turns it into a masterpiece.

It’s a great book to reference when talking to your children about mistakes and how to fix them.

Feelings Books for 5-year-olds

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

Wemberly worries all the time, but she is especially worried about school. This story tackles the difficult topic of children with anxiety.

This was particularly helpful for my oldest child who has some anxiety in day-to-day situations but a lot of anxiety in new situations. He could relate to Wemberly and her feelings which opened a nice discussion for us.

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

This is one of my favorite books for 5-year-olds. I gift it all the time. When Taylor is sad, every animal tries to help by offering different advice from shouting to crying but they don’t make the sadness go away. But the rabbit sits there and listens. What a lesson for kindness, empathy, and dealing with emotions!

Niko Draws a Feeling by Robert Raczka

There are so many wonderful things about this book.  Nico loves to draw but he doesn’t draw like other kids do.  He draws what he feels inside.  If only we could all express ourselves this way. My kindergartener loved it so much that he asked me to read it to his class.

Why We Love This Book:  This wordless picture book allows children to explore bullying in their own voice. Appropriate for ages  5-9 Find this book in : Books for a 4-year-old / Feelings books

Did you find any books for a 5-year-old to add to your home library? For more options check out our list of books for 4-year-olds or early readers with our book suggestions for 6-year-olds .

Want books for 5-year-olds books for a beginning reader we created this list of educational books with tips for your emerging reader, road map for reading readiness, 1. reading readiness skills.

• What is Reading Readiness
• Essential Tips for Reading to a Baby
• Learning Books for 1-year-olds: Best Picks for Language Development
• Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds: Making Story Time Interactive and Fun
• Educational Books For 3-Year-Olds: Imagination and Learning Fun!

2. Develop Phonological Awareness and Other Pre-Reading Skills

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3. Phonics Reader Books to Help Grow a Little Reader

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As a mother of two boys, Kirsten rediscovered her life-long love for reading while choosing appropriate books for her children. She started this website with Jackie to share their passion for literacy with other moms and kids. She uses her years of experience in marketing and public relations to create quarterly magazines, implement social media strategy, and ensure the website content is relevant and beautiful.

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50 Best Books for 5 Year Olds To Read in 2024

This best books for 5 year olds list will turn your child into an enthusiastic book lover.

As they embark on their reading journey, tackle the challenge of reluctant readers by finding the perfect books to ignite their excitement. Let this list be your guide!

Continue reading for a free printable and valuable tips to enhance your child’s engagement.

Best Fiction Picture Books for 5 Year Olds

First, we start with fun story books that preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students adore.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no cost to you. See our disclaimer for more.

1. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins (Ages 3-5)

Have you ever thought about eating a classmate? Penelope Rex is eager to make new friends on the first day of school. The only problem is that humans are delicious!

Read this silly story to discover how Penelope learns to make friends instead of eating them.

See We Don’t Eat Our Classmates here >>

2. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (Ages 2-6)

*International Best-seller and Modern Classic

A lonely rainbow fish learns the joy of giving by sharing its shimmering scales with new friends. Experience the award-winning book’s captivating story through beautiful watercolor illustrations and shiny foil scales.

3. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (Ages 3-7)

A stranded train is unable to find an engine to help it over the mountain. Until the Little Blue Engine comes along. In this classic storybook for 5-year-olds, readers discover the true power of positive thinking.

“I think I can, I think I can.”

See The Little Engine That Could here >>

4. Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin Illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Ages 3-8)

Cows that use a typewriter? When Farmer Brown’s farm animals decide to go on strike, he has to figure out how to reach a compromise to take back his farm! See this cute story here >>

5. How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long Illustrated by David Shannon (Ages 4-7)

*New York Times Bestseller

Sail into an adventure as Jeremy goes from a boy building a sandcastle to a real pirate off to bury treasure. Will he decide that living a pirate’s life is better than his own? Read to find out about his exciting adventures on the high seas.

6. The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain (Ages 2-5)

Join the Berenstain bear cubs as they bravely go on a spooky trip through an old tree. Will they awaken the Great Sleeping Bear?

7. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae (Ages 4-8)

Gerald wishes to dance, but his clumsiness brings him down. However, he discovers a new rhythm, realizing he can dance with a different beat.

Colorful illustrations and rhyme make Gerald the most loveable giraffe .

8. Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory by Margret and H.A. Rey (Ages 4-7)

When Curious George visits a chocolate factory, things are bound to go awry!

Follow this always inquisitive character as he goes behind the scenes to see how chocolates are made. (And causes a little trouble along the way!)

9. Franklin’s Bad Day by Paulette Bourgeois Illustrated by Brenda Clark (Ages 3-8)

What happens when your best friend moves away, and nothing seems to be going right? Children will relate to Franklin’s many troubles AND see how Franklin figures out how to turn his bad day around.

10. Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Ages 4-7)

*Teacher’s Pick

Bestselling BFF’s, Stick and Stone rescue each other from tough situations and teach us the true meaning of friendship. With kindness and compassion, Stick and Stone make this book “a perfect ten.”

11. Can I Be Your Dog? By Troy Cummings (Ages 3-7)

*New York Times Best Seller (& Featured on the Today Show)

Arfy, a dog in search of a home, writes heartfelt letters to Butternut Street residents, hoping to find acceptance. Beware, this heartwarming story may inspire your next pet adoption!

See Can I Be Your Dog? here >>

12. How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read? By Jane Yolen Illustrated by Mark Teague (Ages 3-5)

*Popular How Do Dinosaurs Books series

Navigate the challenges of learning to read with laughter as dinosaurs showcase their antics. A humorous book for both parents and children. Don’t miss out on this book !

13. The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Ages 3-6)

Going to school can be scary, but with the right mindset, you can conquer all and become King of Kindergarten !

14. Me and My Dragon by David Biedrzycki (Ages 4-8)

Would you like to have a dragon for a pet? In this humorous story , a boy envisions life with a perfect pet dragon. With a dragon as a pet, always keep a fire extinguisher handy and NEVER feed him broccoli!

15. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (Ages 3-7)

*Classic book for 5 year olds

When Peter Rabbit doesn’t heed the warning from his mother to stay out of Mr. McGregor’s garden, he has to make a tricky escape!

This classic has been around for over 100 years and is a must read for all children!

16. Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev (Ages 4-8)

* “A sunny, smart, tongue-in-cheek tale.” — The New York Times Book Review

Join a boy and his pet elephant rejected from a pet club for a Strictly No Elephants policy. On their journey home, they befriend a girl with a pet skunk, forming their own special club. This heartwarming book explores the true meaning of friendship.

17. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault (Ages 4-8)

#1 Best Seller (and great for reviewing the alphabet!)

“Skit skat skoodle doot flip flop flee!” Kids will get to know all the letters in the alphabet and be rhyming along in no time with this timeless classic. “I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree!”

See Chicka Chicka Boom Boom here >>

18. Truman by Jean Reidy (Ages 4-8)

*Award Winning Best Books Ages 3-5

Truman the tortoise, grows concerned when Sarah takes the number 11 bus. In a heartwarming tale , join Truman on his brave adventure in devotion to his friend.

19. The Bath Monster by Colin Boyd (Ages 4-9)

Discover where your bathwater goes as Jackson, skeptical of the bath monster, stops taking baths. However, without dirty water, he may become the bath monster’s next target!

See The Bath Monster here >>

20. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn (Ages 3-7)

*Great book for kindergarten separation

While school is about to start for Chester the raccoon, he’s scared and doesn’t want to go. To help, Chester’s mother shares a family secret called the kissing hand.

See this sweet book here  >>

21. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (Ages 0-6)

*Classic 4-5 year old book

Love You Forever is an anthem for every parent to read to their child. Watch as one mother holds, cares for, and loves her baby unconditionally as he grows into an adult.

This is a sweet book to read before bed. See these night time stories for more ideas at bedtime.

22. The Box Turtle by Vanessa Roeder (Ages 3-5)

*Editor’s Pick for Best Books Ages 3-5

Terrance, a turtle in search of the perfect shell, finds love in a cardboard box. Despite others’ opinions, he discovers the sweetness in embracing his uniqueness in this heartwarming tale.

See The Box Turtle Here >>

23. The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson (Ages 3-7)

*From the Creators of the Gruffalo

In this epic adventure , a tiny snail meets a humpback whale. The two travel far and wide. The snail is delighted to see so much of the world! Until the whale swims too close to shore…

24. The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith (Ages 2-5)

*Crazy popular!

This hysterical read-aloud will have everyone laughing! Enjoy the song as it builds up and ends with quite the winky wonky donkey.

25. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel (Ages 2-6)

*Our family favorite!

Tikki Tikki Tembo has an extraordinarily long name as is the tradition for first born sons. But when his long name gets him in trouble, it will be up to his little brother to save him.

This is truly a book the entire family will enjoy.

26. The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone (Ages 3-6)

*Classic Storybook

No one agrees to help the little red hen as she plants wheat, and nurtures it until it’s ready to harvest. One day she is ready to bake bread and no one wants to help. Discover the outcome in this Kindergarten favorite perfect for sequencing story events!

27. A Collection of Stories for 5 year olds by Parragon Books

*unique collection of enchanting stories

Add this book to your 5-year-olds library. It features fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and classic stories short enough to read at bedtime. Collect the entire series for ages 1-5.

28. Awesome Jokes That Every 5 Year Old Should Know! By Mat Waugh

“ What’s the best way to stop sleepwalking?”

Answer: sprinkle Legos on the floor!

“Why do giraffes have long necks?”

Answer: Because they have smelly feet!

If your 5-year-old loves to laugh, this is a must-have book !

29. Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang (Ages 2-5 year old books)

* #1 Bestseller

Jim the Chimpanzee is grumpy! His friends try to make him feel better, but it just doesn’t help. This book reminds us that maybe sometimes it’s okay to be grumpy!

30. The Smart Cookie by Jory John and Pete Oswald (Ages 4-8)

Cookie is surrounded by smart pastries in the bakery. She longs to be a smart cookie. Will she discover what makes her special?

<<Find The Smart Cookie here! >>

Book Series for 5 Year Olds

Discover the best 5-year-old books that seamlessly fit into a captivating series. Engage young readers by introducing them to a collection where if they love one, they’ll love them all!

31. Pete the Cat Set by Eric Litwin (Ages 4-8)

#1 Best Seller

Join the fashionable and groovy Pete the Cat in three different adventures. Catchy phrases and colorful illustrations will have your kids eager to take part in all of the stories of this musical and cool, blue cat.

32. Henry and Mudge, The First Book by Cynthia Rylant (Ages 4-7)

*Ready to Read Books for 5 Year Olds

In the first book in this popular series Henry is feeling a bit lonely. Until he meets a new lovable companion, Mudge.

33. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff (Ages 4-8)

*#1 Best Seller

Introduce your little one to Mouse and discover what can happen if you give a mouse a cookie! Young children will read this classic story again and again.

Other favorites from this series include: If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Party

34. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Lucille Colandro (Ages 2-6)

This book is a favorite in this series! Now the crazy lady is swallowing…animals! Follow along with the original song as she fills her home full of pets in this zany twist.

35. Who is the Mystery Reader (An Unlimited Squirrels Book) by Mo Willems (Age 4-8)

Zoom Squirrel has a new superpower from a mystery reader. Will he find out who the mystery reader is? Enjoy this new beginning-reader series from beloved author, Mo Willems. 

Good 5 Year Olds Books for Girls

Explore books featuring unicorns and mermaids, perfect for 5-year-old girls (and loved by boys too!).

36. Never Let a Unicorn wear a Tutu by Diane Alber (Ages 3-6)

What happens when you give your unicorn a tutu? Enjoy vibrant illustrations and a fun and entertaining story about a girl and her unicorn.

37. I am a Super Girl! by Kelly Greenawalt (Ages 2-5)

This beginning reader features easy-to-read text, colorful illustrations, and silly humor to keep your 5 year old girl engaged. Watch as Truly saves the day in her rocket boots!

See I am a Super Girl! here >>

38. How to Catch a Mermaid by Adam Wallace (Ages 3-6)

*# 1 Best Seller

Could you catch a mermaid? Discover how difficult it proves to be with the amazing traps and silly humor in this fun book .

39. Fancy Nancy and the Quest for the Unicorn

*Includes over 30 stickers

Nancy and Bree begin an epic quest to find a unicorn. And, of course, it’s extra fancy! See what the girls find as they follow a strange trail of glitter…

Best Books for 5 Year Old Boys

Celebrate the awesomeness of childhood with these books tailored for 5-year-old boys—though, of course, girls may find them just as enjoyable!

40. Dear Boy,: A Celebration of Cool, Clever, Compassionate You! By Paris Rosenthal (Ages 2-6)

#1 New York Times Best Seller

This heartwarming book makes every boy feel special for being just the way he is.

41. The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee (Ages 3-7)

The Boy With Big, Big Feelings is perfect for kids navigating anxiety and strong emotions. This easy read encourages children, especially boys, to recognize that expressing emotions is normal and acceptable, rather than suppressing them.

42. Attack of the Underwear Dragon by Scott Rothman (Ages 3-6)

*Editor’s Pick Best Books Ages 3-5

This book has fire-breathing dragons, brave knights, and….

See this silly adventure story here >>

43. Dinotrux by Chris Call (Ages 2-5)

*Popular Netflix TV series

Craneosaurus, Garbageadon, Tyrannosaurus Trux….meet the Dinotrux! In this book, travel back in time to when Dinotrux ruled the world! This first book in the series is great for kids that love dinosaurs and trucks!

Non Fiction Books Good For Ages 4-6

Next, these good 5 year old books help kids learn more about the world around them.

44. My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things by DK (Ages 5-9)

Curious young minds will find the answers to all of their questions in this encyclopedia full of fun information, pictures, and games. Read hundreds of interesting facts written in a manner easy to understand for young readers.

45. National Geographic Readers (Level 1/ Ages 4-6)

*Perfect for any beginning reader!

Curious kids will love to learn about butterflies, polar bears, koalas, and MORE in this 6-book set .

See the interesting collection here >>

46. Kindness Makes Me Stronger: Children’s Book about Magic of Kindness, Empathy and Respect (World of Kids Emotions)

Explore how much joy you get when you do kind things for others. This easy read is a great way to teach empathy and compassion through storytelling.

*This book is also featured in our best kindness books for kids list !

47. National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why by Amy Shields (Ages 3-7)

“How does mushy dough become a crisp cookie?” and

“What makes a car go?”

This great almanac brings the fun of science to our preschoolers. See Little Kids First Big Book of Why here >>

If your child loves these, don’t miss Little Kids First Big Book of Space and Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs .

Best Learning To Read Books for 5 Year Olds

These are the best books 5 year olds can read themselves. They are all specifically picked to be perfect for early readers.

48. Step into Reading: Big Shark, Little Shark by Anna Membrino (Ages 4-6)

Big shark is hungry! Will little shark be his snack? Colorful and bright illustrations grab the interest of early readers and give them clues to help decode the story.

See Big Shark, Little Shark here >>

49. Bob Books, Set 1: 5 Year Old Books Beginning Readers (Age 4-6)

Young readers will dive into these easy first books and build confidence as they read.

50. Waiting Is Not Easy! by Mo Willems (Ages 3-6)

*#1 Best Seller & Award Winning Book

Piggie has a surprise for Gerald. But Gerald soon finds that waiting. Is. Not. Easy.

Find your copy here >>

Related Posts: For more books your child will love, check out the best reading books for 4 year olds & good 6 year old reading books >>

Free Best 5 Year Old Books Printable Pdf!

Print off the list of top 50 books for 5 year olds here!

How can I improve and motivate my child to read?

Here are four quick tips for helping your child improve reading skills:

1. Set up a regular reading routine. Morning story time or book time before bed can work well.

2. Use the books above to help your child find books they’re interested in.

3. Read in other ways. Check out recipes, scan for schedules and weather reports, read emails, and explore street signs. Get creative by reading things other than books.

4. Keep Trying. Encouraging kids to read can be a challenge and take time! Use the tips in the image below to help.

See these great free kids coupons and free bookmarks to help. Or use these reading challenges for kids .

What’s Next?

Join our free reading challenge for more motivation to read all year!

More book posts you’ll love…

• 10 Year Old Chapter Books Kids Love
• 7 Year Old Best Book Series
• 3 Year Old Read Aloud Books

Books for 5 Year Olds to Learn to Read Themselves 2024

Jessica is a contributing editor for Healthy Happy Impactful. She is dedicated to fostering a love of reading and empowering women and families. Jessica holds a Master's degree in Education and is a licensed Reading Specialist. She is a mom to 2 kids.

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Best Books for Kids » Ages 3-5

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Last updated: March 21, 2024

Most children age 3-5 enjoy being read to, especially picture books which allow them to pay close attention to details in the illustrations while they listen to the story. Good picture books are fun to read aloud, with text and illustrations complementing each other, and art that really brings the story alive. Great picture books manage to distil something essential about life and express it with clarity and simplicity.

Children age 3-5 love to recognise themselves in stories, and to connect with circumstances they have encountered in their own lives. Books about experiences such as going to nursery and managing friendships and emotions are very popular, as they can help children learn to navigate the world around them.

Usually, children respond well to books that set the stage for conversations, that ask the children what they think rather than being overtly educational. There are also lots of picture books to help young kids make sense of a life-changing event, such as the arrival of a sibling, dementia in a grandparent, or the loss of a loved one.

At the same time, books enable children to expand their horizons, introducing them to different places and the lives of others, and fuelling their imagination.

In an ideal world, an adult always has time to sit and read with a child. In real life, that isn’t always going to happen. Bear in mind that it can be a nice activity for a child to listen to an audiobook and leaf through the pages of the print edition at the same time. If at all possible, do make time to read a bedtime story together. It’s a great bonding experience and helps kids wind down before sleep. Children who don’t particularly enjoy stories might like information books about the natural world or how things work instead. Kids tend to be attracted to animals and usually love books about them.

Here we have collected books to help the children in your life start on a lifetime of loving to read. These books are recommended by experts who explain their choices in an interview.

The Most Beautifully Illustrated Children’s Books , recommended by Ella Beech

I am the subway kim hyo-eun, translated by deborah smith, little echo by al rodin, up down inside out by joohee yoon, haunted house by jan pienkowski, a lion in paris by beatrice alemagna.

What makes an illustrated book stand out? Ella Beech , the artist who has just completed a beautiful new edition of The Night Before Christmas for the Folio Society, talks us through some of her favourites.

What makes an illustrated book stand out? Ella Beech, the artist who has just completed a beautiful new edition of The Night Before Christmas for the Folio Society, talks us through some of her favourites.

Beautiful Science Books for 4-8 Year Olds , recommended by Our Children's Editor

A seed is sleepy by dianna aston & sylvia long (illustrator), how colour works by catherine barr & yuliya gwilym (illustrator), bright in the night by lena sjöberg, the big book of bugs by yuval zommer, creatures of the deep: the pop-up book by ernst haeckel & maike biederstädt (paper engineer).

Scientific picture books provide an enjoyable way for kids to explore different fields of science without realising how much they are learning. Our Children’s Editor picks science books for kids age 4-8 that are informative but also a pleasure to look at, both for children and for the adults that are reading with them.

The Best Chinese Picture Books , recommended by Our Children's Editor

Rebellion against heaven adapted by chu yi, illustrated by wang weizhi, translated by liu guangdi, the moose of ewenki by gerelchimeg blackcrane, jiu er (illustrator) & translated by helen mixter, an's seed zaozao wang, li huang (illustrator), translated by helen wang, express delivery from dinosaur world yanan dong, translated by helen wang, grandma lives in a perfume village by fang suzhen, sonja danowski (illustrator) & translated by huang xiumin.

Of the many children's books published in Chinese, few make their way into translation. Here, our Children's Editor picks five outstanding Chinese picture books that are available for readers around the world to enjoy in English.

Of the many children’s books published in Chinese, few make their way into translation. Here, our Children’s Editor picks five outstanding Chinese picture books that are available for readers around the world to enjoy in English.

The Best Books about Libraries for 4-8 Year Olds , recommended by Bahram Rahman

Library lion michelle knudsen, kevin hawkes (illustrator), write to me cynthia grady, amiko hirao (illustrator), tomás and the library lady by pat mora & raul colón (illustrator), the fantastic flying books of mr. morris lessmore william joyce, joe bluhm (illustrator), the lonely book kate bernheimer, chris sheban (illustrator).

Libraries provide a space for children to read for pleasure and discover the transformative power of books. Children’s author Bahram Rahman shares his favourite picture books about libraries for children age 4-8, and explains why book-recommending algorithms cannot replace librarians.

Best Books for Preschool Kids , recommended by Janice Stewart-Yates

Each peach pear plum by allan ahlberg & janet ahlberg (illustrator), the mitten by jan brett, zonia's rain forest by juana martinez-neal, katie morag and the two grandmothers by mairi hedderwick, katie and the impressionists by james mayhew.

With travel restricted in much of the world due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is more important than ever to open children’s minds through books. Janice Stewart-Yates , a passionate Montessori educator, shares her recommendations for books that bring the world to children. These are some of her favourite picks for preschool classroom story time, as well as for reading with her own daughter.

With travel restricted in much of the world due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is more important than ever to open children’s minds through books. Janice Stewart-Yates, a passionate Montessori educator, shares her recommendations for books that bring the world to children. These are some of her favourite picks for preschool classroom story time, as well as for reading with her own daughter.

The Best Antiracist Books for Kids , recommended by Paula Young Shelton

In your hands by brian pinkney (illustrator) & carole boston weatherford, the day you begin by jacqueline woodson & rafael lópez (illustrator), i am enough by grace byers & keturah bobo (illustrator), mufaro's beautiful daughters: an african tale by john steptoe, milo's museum by purple wong (illustrator) & zetta elliott.

Understanding the African American experience is not just about learning about suffering, it's also about celebrating a vibrant culture and its roots across the millennia. Paula Young Shelton , author of Child of the Civil Rights Movement, recommends the best antiracist books for kids.

Understanding the African American experience is not just about learning about suffering, it’s also about celebrating a vibrant culture and its roots across the millennia. Paula Young Shelton, author of Child of the Civil Rights Movement, recommends the best antiracist books for kids.

The Best Books on Gratitude for Kids , recommended by Dana Sheridan

Gracias/thanks pat mora, illustrated by john parra, the thank you book by mo willems, bear says thanks by jane chapman & karma wilson, all the world liz garton scanlon, illustrated by marla frazee, plant a kiss amy krouse rosenthal, illustrated by peter h reynolds.

What should you read with your kids on Thanksgiving? Dana Sheridan of Princeton University Library's Cotsen Children's Library recommends five children's books with themes of love, gratitude, belonging and sharing with one another—what the holiday is all about.

What should you read with your kids on Thanksgiving? Dana Sheridan of Princeton University Library’s Cotsen Children’s Library recommends five children’s books with themes of love, gratitude, belonging and sharing with one another—what the holiday is all about.

Books To Help Children Overcome Anxiety , recommended by Chitra Soundar

Ruby's worry by tom percival, my many coloured days by dr seuss, there's room for everyone by anahita teymorian, llama llama red pajama by anna dewdney, sweep by louise greig.

As young children grow, finding a vocabulary for their worries and anxiety is often difficult. Children's author Chitra Soundar recommends five books that help children process their emotions and use fiction as a tool for talking about anxiety.

As young children grow, finding a vocabulary for their worries and anxiety is often difficult. Children’s author Chitra Soundar recommends five books that help children process their emotions and use fiction as a tool for talking about anxiety.

Children’s Picture Books , recommended by Kate Milner

Railway passage by charles keeping, the lost thing by shaun tan, as time passes by isabel minhos martins, illustrated by madelena matoso, the cat in the hat by dr seuss, the day i swapped my dad for two goldfish by dave mckean & neil gaiman.

Kate Milner , winner of the prestigious Klaus Flugge Prize, discusses some of the trailblazing illustrators that have inspired her own career. She heralds artists whose imaginative works have given us some of the most exuberant storytelling for children over the last 50 years.

Kate Milner, winner of the prestigious Klaus Flugge Prize, discusses some of the trailblazing illustrators that have inspired her own career. She heralds artists whose imaginative works have given us some of the most exuberant storytelling for children over the last 50 years.

The best books on Pets For Young Kids , recommended by Catherine Rayner

I love guinea pigs by dick king-smith, ginger by charlotte voake, blue chameleon by emily gravett, hairy maclary from donaldson's dairy by lynley dodd, borka: the adventures of a goose with no feathers by john burningham.

Feathered, scaly or furry, children form powerful and enriching bonds with their pets. If you don't have room in your house (or lifestyle) for a multitude of birds and beasts—you can always read about them in books! Catherine Rayner , one of the UK's leading creators of children's picture books and devoted animal lover, recommends her favourite illustrated picture books celebrating pets.

Feathered, scaly or furry, children form powerful and enriching bonds with their pets. If you don’t have room in your house (or lifestyle) for a multitude of birds and beasts—you can always read about them in books! Catherine Rayner, one of the UK’s leading creators of children’s picture books and devoted animal lover, recommends her favourite illustrated picture books celebrating pets.

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

© Five Books 2024

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100 Best Early Reader Books

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Do you have a child learning to read? Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or grandparent, you want to find the best children’s early reader books to support beginning readers as they learn to read, practice decoding, and grow their reading skills. Moreover, you want good books that won’t bore your kids to tears! Guess what? I can help you find the best, most engaging early reader books with fun-to-read stories!

When my own kids were learning to read , I searched high and low for the best books — books that they’d want to read over and over again. (It was hard back then. Fortunately, it’s easier now.) As a teacher, book reviewer, and parent, I’ve read and reviewed hundreds beginner reader books for children.

Best Early Reader Books for 5- and 6- Year- Olds (Kindergarten and First Grade)

Discover the best early reader books for 5- and 6-year-olds in kindergarten and 1st grade, including phonics books and easy readers levels 1, 2, and 3 for boys and girls.

Sometimes, these books are called easy reader books, early readers, emergent readers, or beginning reader books.

I’m honestly feeling a bit heartsick about this list. I need to rewrite and take a lot of books off of it.

Not all of the books that I’ve reviewed are the right reading choices for beginning readers for kids in kindergarten and first grade. Because even if a so-called early reader is labeled level one or has minimal text, IT DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE WORDS APPROPRIATE FOR BEGINNING READERS.

Yesterday, I was sent a level 1 reader with the word embarrassed in it. I was flabbergasted. R-controlled vowels are a second grade phonics skill (or at least harder than level 1) and a three syllable words with double letters? That word doesn’t belong in a level one book. But I’m seeing more and more of this — and now that I understand how kids learn to read, I’m feeling that some of these books do more harm than good.

The research on learning to read and teaching children to read ( the Science of Reading ) is clear that almost all children need to be taught phonics, the sounds of letters and combining those sounds into words.

Most kids need to learn to read in a specific sequence of phonics. They’ll have success reading decodable books and learn to READ instead of guess and feel confident instead of frustrated. Find more decodable books here and more about decodable vs. predictable books .

What Are Early Reader Books?

Early reader books are short, illustrated books for early emergent readers that help them learn to read and practice their reading skills. Some of these books are decodable, some are rhyming, some are leveled, and some have word families or controlled text.

They’re books with short sentences of one-syllable words and very few two-syllable words. Each page is usually one to four sentences. These simple sentences might feature sight words, word families, or controlled text. In addition, the font size is larger than books for older readers. Finally, all these kindergarten and 1st grade books are illustrated, often in full color, which is appealing to readers.

These books feature stories about friendship about topics relatable to children — such as riding a bike or going to a birthday party. Often, these books are in a series for children learning to read.

Early reader books are meant for students in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade, who are around ages 5, 6, and 7. They’re good books for emergent readers learning to read and growing in their reading skills.

What’s the sequence for learning to read?

Start with phonemic awareness and letter sounds.

Before you introduce early reader books to your children or students, you’ll want to be sure that children know the sounds of the letters and the sounds of letter combinations. These include the following sounds:

• short vowels
• long vowels
• consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words
• high-frequency trick words (sight words)
• plurals (words ending in -s)
• words ending in ng, nk
• vowel sounds for ai, ay, ee, ea, ey, oi, oy, oa, oe, ow, ou, oo, ue, ew, au, aw
• suffixes -ing and -ed

If you want support for teaching your students or children to read, I highly recommend Dr. Marnie Ginsberg’s Reading Simplified Academy . She’s simplified reading instruction, and it’s brilliant!

High Frequency Trick Words (HFW or Sight Words)

I mentioned HFW words (also called sight words) in the list above. These are words that don’t follow the conventional rules or patterns of spelling. Usually, these are tricky to sound out phonetically. Hence the name. Some of the words from the HFW kindergarten word list include: the, and, is, we, she, he, or, from, by, and my.

However, just because a sight word doesn’t follow common language rules doesn’t mean you can’t help a child sound it out with their decoding abilities. Reading specialist Judy Kucera shares how she helps children apply phonics skills and sounds to learning sight words .

In the linked article, Kucera explains, “For example, if they’re working on the word “is” they will hear the zz sound at the end of the word. Remind them that the letter s can say the z sound at the end of a word, when it’s after a vowel or next to a silent e.”

Some educators suggest teaching 10 high frequency trick words before phonics instruction, one word at a time, and giving students lots of repetition and practice. Reading Rockets shares these ten words: the, a, I, to, and, was, for, you, is, and of. Read more about that here.

What Else Do Beginning Readers Need to Know?

If you’ve been reading to your children since they were babies, that’s fantastic news! It means that they’ll be familiar with narrative and informational texts. It also means that you’ve introduced important concepts and modeled reading fluency .

Young readers must become familiar with narrative story elements such as character, setting, and main events. Teach them how narrative stories are sequenced in a beginning, middle, and end format. Practice retelling a story after you’ve read it several times. Suggest your child use the illustrations in the book to help them retell and put the events in order accurately.

What about informational books? Do your children understand a nonfiction book is true with facts that are real? The difference between fiction and nonfiction is an important distinction for beginning readers to know!

Of course, beginning readers must know how to rhyme , too!

Finally, we need to teach children about basic punctuation . Teach readers about periods and how that makes readers reading out loud pause. Continue later when the child is ready with more punctuation marks like exclamation points, question marks, and quotation marks.

How Can Adults Support Beginning Readers?

Teachers, parents, and caregivers can support your children by showing them how to track the words with their index finger from left to right. Model tracking every time you read aloud to them. Then, ask readers to track the words across the page from left to right, too.

When your reader gets stuck on a word, ask them to decode it (sound it out) using what they know about the sounds of the letters.

If your readers are guessing words, learn how to stop kids from “word guessing” and start decoding . This linked article explains how to help children tap and swoop, chunk, and play with their words.

What Are the Recommended Books for Starting to Read?

Beginning readers need to start reading decodable books to practice reading, not to memorize or guess the words.

What Is a Decodable Book?

That’s why beginning readers need to start reading decodable book . These are books in which the reader can use their reading skills to sound out and blend together the sounds to make words. Bob Books are examples of decodable books , and so are the books on this list.

Keep reading decodable books until the child has become proficient at using their phonics skills.

Leveled Books or Not Leveled Books?

Once children can decode and have had enough practice, they can move from decodable books to other easy reader book choices, such as Level 1 early readers or books without levels.

Honestly, leveled books are a whole can of worms. The intention of a leveling system is to help adults find books for kids that they can read. But, each publisher has their own system of leveling. And, the books aren’t always decodable or even written with controlled word lists. Even worse, they can be limiting to children if adults only allow books at specific levels.

So be confident that your reader can decode before you transition them to these next early reader books.

Read on for book recommendations!

R emember that readers need both volume and variety in their reading diet.

VOLUME: Make sure beginning readers have access to lots of easy reader books.

VARIETY: Be sure the easy reader books your child reads represent a range of topics, themes, and genres. Think about sharing fiction and nonfiction books, classics and contemporary books, and books about different topics.

What Are the Best Early Reader Books?

As children build their literacy skills, remember that young children love books about topics that interest them. If your child likes trucks, start reading books about trucks. Similarly, if they like ballet, read books about dance.

Most beginning readers enjoy reading stories with themes that resonate with their lives, such as friendship, family, friends, and more. Look for books that are funny. Kids love anything that makes them laugh, so keep some silly stories in rotation.

Of course, good early reader books for kids often include memorable characters. Lovable characters like Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggie will always be favorites to read and reread. (As you can tell from their top spots on the best-seller lists.)

Also, you’ll know your child’s favorite children’s books because they will want to read those books repeatedly. Repeat reading of books is often a wonderful confidence and skill booster.

Best Early Reader Books

If you’re looking for the best early reader books for 5-year-old and 6-year-old boys and girls in kindergarten and first grade, this list might be able to help.

**Go HERE for easy beginning chapter books for 6- and 7-year-old boys and girls.

Decodable Books

Predictable Books vs. Decodable Books Learn the difference between decodable and predictable books and why decodable books are better.

Decodable Books Discover the best decodable books for

Phonics Books and Pre-Level 1 Easy Reader Books

I am super picky about recommending easy readers and phonics books. Why? Because so many of them are really terrible. Like mind-numbing, not-a-story, insult your child’s intelligence terrible. The thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can practice phonics and decoding words without killing a child’s interest in reading. There are so many GREAT high-quality early reader books. Here are my favorite phonics and pre-level 1 book choices for emergent readers in kindergarten and first grade.

Charge Into Reading My favorite books on the decodable list, these gems are written with a specific phonetic scope and sequence by expert writer, editor, and literacy advocate, Brooke Vitale . Growing readers will be able to progress as readers because the books are written to build upon each other. Each book teaches and reinforces a phonics rule, such as CVC, blends, or diagraphs. Even better, kids will enjoy the books because the stories are funny and engaging. I also love that each decodable book includes eight pages of reinforcing reading activities after the story.

Laugh-a-Lot Phonics Scholastic mostly offers leveled books, but this is their decodable phonics series with simple short vowel words.

The Yak Pack Comic book decodable readers!? Yes. Cute and fun, with different sounds for each collection, such as short vowels, diagraphs, and blends.

Nat the Cat Takes a Nap by Jarrett Lerner Ready-to-Read Pre-Level 1 Nat was taking a nap until the narrator woke him up! Then, the narrator wakes Nat up again with his brother Pat the Rat. Nat seems mad. Plus, Pat is NOT Nat’s brother. Will Nat ever get his nap? This book is hilarious, but it is NOT pre-level 1!

Early Reader Level 1 Books

As I mentioned before, now that I understand how kids learn to read, I need to go back through this entire list and decide which books need to be deleted. If you’re seeing an early book with ridiculously hard words, let me know, and I’ll delete it. I’m not saying that every book has to be deductible, but it shouldn’t have words that are more appropriate for 2nd or 3rd graders.

Why? Because our goal as parents and educators should be to support readers, not trick them. To provide books that scaffold learning to read, not encourage them to guess or make the child feel stupid. So read these recommendations and find books that work for you. Know that I’m learning and will update this page as often as I can.

Fish and Sun by Sergio Ruzzier I Can Read Comics 1 Fish and Sun are two good friends who play all day together but the first day they meet, Fish is worried that Sun will never come back to play. But, the next day Sun returns! Adorable characters and a sweet friendship make this early reader comic for shared reading good to read aloud to beginning readers.

Let’s Go For a Drive by Mo Willems Gerald has the great idea of going for a drive! But first (and second and third), Piggie thinks of what they need to bring along. Silly fun about two best friends with big personalities. See ALL the Elephant and Piggie books.

We Are in a Book by Mo Willems I love this Elephant and Piggie book — but they are all awesome. You’ll notice the first page starts with “ Thank you ” which you’ll only understand once you read it. It is hilarious! These are the BEST beginning reader books because they’re not dumbed down; they’re hilarious and they’re engaging. See ALL the Elephant and Piggie books.

Pig Makes Art by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Fred Blunt Ready to Read A hilarious story about a pig who creates art for an unappreciative cat friend. Soon, Pig creates art ON the sleeping cat– and that inspires a fun chase and a new artist, Cat.

I’m On It (Elephant & Piggie Like Reading) by Andrea Tsurumi Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie I Like Reading Follow along as Goat and Frog try to outdo each other. You’ll laugh at their goofy antics, learn prepositions, and see an important lesson — that it’s okay to say no and stop playing something you don’t like.

It’s a Sign by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie I Like Reading New readers will enjoy this clever story about animals who make signs and start a sign-making club.

Goat Wants to Eat by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Fred Blunt Ready to Read Goats eats anything that Cat naps on in this playful and funny story with predictable text. “Cat will nap on the seat. // Goat will eat the seat. // Cat will nap on the coat. // Goat will eat the coat. ”

Big Dog and Little Dog Wearing Sweaters by Dav Pilkey Green Light Level 1 Reader Non-decodable text tells the story of Little Dog who helps Big Dog get his own sweater . . . vest. Hard words like “sweater” are repeated but not decodable. Kids will guess using the pictures, which we DON’T WANT. Parents, you’ll like that the last few pages have fun activities — a maze, word search, story sequencing, and sentence-to-picture matching.

Little Big Horse Where’s My Bike  by Dave Horowitz Scholastic Level 1 Pablo takes Little Big Horse’s bike. And breaks it! But it’s only a flat tire and Little Big Horse knows what to do to fix it. Great illustrations and an engaging story make this a new early reader favorite for shared reading. Words like “finally” will be hard for kids to decode.

Tiny Goes Back to School by Cari Meister, illustrated by Rich Daivs  Penguin Level 1 Reader This is one of my favorite funny early reader books with only a few words per page. It’s about a dog who doesn’t know commands such as “sit” and has to return to doggy school.

That Egg is Mine by Liz Goulet Dubois Duck chases and claims the spotty egg that looks like Cluck who thinks the egg is hers. But they both are surprised when a creature that doesn’t belong to either of them emerges! Pay attention to the shadow on the last page — and you’ll figure out what the egg really is.  Filled with difficult words that aren’t decodable for early readers, including ladder, covered, outside, bumped, thunked, scored, actually, mistaken, indeed.

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin, illustrated by Brian Selznick Kids love this delightful, humorous collection of stories about an adorable monkey who solves mysteries . The predictable text forces new readers to use the pictures to guess and not read. I wouldn’t recommend this for teaching reading. Use it for a fun shared reading experience.

Ruby and the Magic Garden (Fairy Hill)  by Cari Meister, illustrated by Erika Meza Scholastic Level 1 Ruby and her fairy friends live in Fairy Hill. They love to learn magic and dream of what their big wings will look like when they earn them. In a sweet act of kindness, Ruby helps a lost baby deer find its home. Unfortunately, the words are all over the board in this book with no cohesive phonics basis, including garden, sparkle, frosting, beard, and ribbons.

My Toothbrush is MIssing  by Jan Thomas Dog tells his friends that his toothbrush is missing. Donkey asks Dog to describe it. Which leads to hilarious fun! Because for every description Dog shares (bristles, long handle), Donkey thinks he’s found it — but he finds other things that also fit those descriptions (Fat Cat, a broom, an egg beater, …) Entertaining dialogue, brilliant brightly-colored comic-style illustrations, and a funny ending. Not decodable, unfortunately.

What Is Chasing Duck? by Jan Thomas Bold graphic illustrations capture the humorous worries of the animals who describe something that they are all running away from. Which turns out to be . . . well, you’ll see when you read it. Get ready to giggle! I love the storytelling in Jan Thomas early reader books but don’t think they’re helpful for beginning readers.

Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illustrated by Pat Schories I Can Read! Biscuit is a cute, playful puppy who lives with his little girl and her family. The Biscuit books are classic predictable early readers which means that kids will guess using the pattern and the pictures instead of sounding out the words. Even the word Biscuit is a very difficult word to sound out.

LEGO City: All Aboard by Sonia Sander Level 1 Reader These are a favorite for any LEGO enthusiast, especially boys! This book about trains is just one of many in this recommended easy level 1 reader series. See ALL the LEGO Easy Readers.

Snow Day by Candice Ransom, illustrated by Erika Meza Siblings, brother and sister, watch the flakes falling outside the window. When school is canceled, they’ll get to play outside with their friends.

Figgy & Boone The Big Cheese by Janee Trasler Ready to Read Graphics 1 (MORE LIKE A LEVEL 2!) Figgy wants cheese toast, but they don’t have cheese! Luckily, a big cheese wheel falls off a truck. But how can the friends roll it up the hill to their house? Boone thinks of trying levers and catapults, but nothing works until Figgy thinks about giving away some of the cheese to their friends!

This Is My Fort (A Monkey & Cake Book) by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Olivier Tallec Cake makes a fort but won’t let Monkey play in it. Monkey loves forts, so he turns the tables with a clever twist. I love the lesson of being inclusive and also the dialogue bubbles in different colors showing which character is speaking.

Let’s Make Cake (Bobo and Pup Pup) by Vikram Madan, illustrated by Nicola Slater The friends decide to make a cake. Bobo gathers silly things that aren’t part of the recipe (like a hat and a stick). This is a  charming story with conversation bubble dialogue and playful comic illustrations!

Baseball Buzz by CC Joven Sports Illustrated Kids Level 1 Readers In this simple story with one sentence per page, Jackson likes baseball. He plays in a game. All is going well until a bee comes along! If your kids like this book, there are more early reader books in the Sports Illustrated series.

We Are Growing by Laurie Keller Excitement abounds as the stalks realize that they are growing. But the excitement turns into comparisons (who is the crunchiest & pointiest). Just as they’re brainstorming, a lawn mower arrives and mows them down. Gasp!  Now, what will they do? Funny and sweet!

Hi, Jack!   (A Jack Book) by Mac Barnett & Greg Pizzoli I LOVE the Jack easy reader books. They’re very funny. In this story, read all about mischievous Jack who lives with Lady. Jack gets into trouble over and over again,… and it’s hilarious.

Jack Blasts Off! (A Jack Book)  by Mac Barnett & Greg Pizzoli Lady sends Jack and his friend Rex on a one-way ticket to space, where they crash land on an alien’s spaceship. The alien gets angry, so Jack and Rex leave for the dark side of the moon where they encounter a big scary monster! But the alien will save them! It’s a real, suspense-filled adventure in the packaging of an easy reader. Impressive!

Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes I Can Read Level 1 When Penny takes her little sister for a walk, she sees a shiny blue marble on her neighbor’s lawn and puts it in her pocket. But Penny feels bad that she keeps it because it isn’t hers. Penny must make a decision about what to do — keep it or give the marble back.

Friends Do Not Eat Friends (Thunder and Cluck)  by Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Miles Thompson Ready to Read Graphics 1 100% hilarious fun!  When a grumpy and ferocious dinosaur, Thunder, meets a positive, unafraid bird named Cluck, Thunder can NOT believe that Cluck believes they should be friends.  But Cluck is determined to help Thunder believe — and before he knows it, the two of them are friends!

Little Penguin and the Mysterious Object   by Tadgh Bentley I Can Read Level 1 Penguin welcomes you to the book and shows you the found thing that no one can figure out. What will you think?  The penguins love a mystery and there is lots of playful exploration, some deductive reasoning, and a hilarious ending.

Am I a Frog?  by Lizzy Rockwell Don’t miss this decent nonfiction  easy reader !  The mostly simple text narrates a conversation between a tadpole and the author.  The author answers the tadpole’s questions and explains to the tadpole about his characteristics now (gills like a fish, a tail that helps him swim) and the upcoming change into a grog (grow front legs, shorter tail, and jumping out of water).

See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog  by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka Kids who like silly stories will want to read this story again and again!  Read the story that the narrator tells then on the opposite page, read Dog’s arguments disagreeing with the narrator’s story. There is no “ blue cat in a green dress ” argues the dog! But maybe they both are right? The repetition of words and similar short text structure makes this an excellent choice for growing readers.

See the Dog: Three Stories About a Cat  by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka In three hilarious stories, Cat helps out with the story for Dog who is sick.  But when the narrator writes that Dog digs a hole, Cat doesn’t want to. And when the narrator writes that Dog fetches a stick in a lake, that doesn’t go well for Cat either. Let’s hope Dog feels better soon!

Your Friend Parker  by Parker Curry & Jessica Curry, illustrated by Brittany Jackson and Tajae Keith Ready to Read Level 1 Parker goes on vacation and writes one big letter  (this book) about her trip to her best friend.

Nick and Nack Fly a Kite  by Brandon Budzi, illustrated by Adam Record Highlights Puzzle Readers Level 1 Nick is a boy and Nack is a robot. After a windy day, they pick up sticks and use them to make a kite. But first, they need to find all the supplies.  The best part of this story is that as you read, you’ll get to help them find their supplies.  Fun, right?

Peach and Plum Here We Come!  by Tim McCanna (graphic novel) In this book, two good fruit friends experience tasty adventures, such as riding bikes and going to the beach.

I Want to Be a Doctor  by Laura Driscoll, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri I Can Read Level 1 A story filled with  helpful information about doctors,  this little boy and his family go to the hospital because his brother Jack hurt his foot. They’ll learn about different doctors who can help fix Jack’s foot. Includes many non-decodable words that are not appropriate for a level 1 reader such as emergency.

What About Worms?  by Ryan T. Higgins Tiger is big and brave but he’s scared of worms.  “Worms ruin everything .” The Worms love the apples and dirt and the books that Tiger leaves behind. They’re so appreciative of his kind gifts, they rush off to give Tiger a big worm hug.  Elephant and Piggie fans will laugh at this silly ending and Tiger’s crazy antics.

Gran on a Fan  by Kevin Bolger, illustrated by Ben Hodson What a fun easy reader book!  Each page is like a cartoon with easy-to-read words and easy sentences using those words.  Fantastic illustrations.

Ice Cream Soup  by Ann Ingalls Penguin Level 1 A little boy makes an ice cream cake  that turns into soup because of everything he adds. I like the rhyming text because it helps cue early readers.

May I Please Have a Cookie?  by Jennifer Morris Level 1 Alfie really wants to eat the cookies, but his first attempts to get a cookie aren’t very polite.  His mom helps him figure out that he should ask nicely.

LEGO Star Wars: A New Hope  by Emma Grange DK Readers 1 Read the exciting story of the original  Star War (Episode IV  ) movie retold using mini-figures and sets. These DK easy reader books are a favorite at my school library!

Caterpillar to Butterfly  by Laura Marsh National Geographic Kids Level 1 I love the informational but simple text matching each beautiful photograph. These easy reader books are bright, colorful, and factual; perfect for any beginning reader.

Steve & Wessley in The Ice Cream Shop  by J.E. Morris  Scholastic Level 1 Reader Steve cannot get into that Ice Cream Shop. He pushes and pushes the door but it doesn’t work. You’ll laugh when you realize Steve’s mistake. These simple stories are funny and perfect for beginning readers.

Jungle Animals  by Camilla Gersh DK Level 1 This little nonfiction reader book packs a big punch with the perfect balance of colorful visuals (photographs) and informational text. Fantastic!

Acorn Scholastic Level 1

Princess Truly I Can Build It!  by Kelly Greenawalt, illustrated by Amariah Rauscher In this positive, diverse, girl powered, STEM story, inventor Princess Truly loves to build.  So when her dog Sir Noodles tells her that the animal shelter is out of treats, Princess Truly decides to invent a snack machine for the shelter.

Don’t Worry, BEE Happy  by Ross Burach Sure to give readers the giggles, this cute story in cartoon format is about  two bees named Bumble and Bee and their grumpy frog friend  and everything that happens in their day…told in short stories. From picture day to hiccups to a dance party, you’ll love their unlikely friendship and entertaining antics.

Frog Meets Dog  by Janee Trasler While this is not a phonics easy reader book but possibly controlled text, it’s simple and cute. You’ll find it reminiscent of Dick and Jane with very short sentences like, “ Frogs jump. Can dog jump too? “

The Great Bunk Bed Battle   ( An Acorn Book ) by Tina Kugler When fox siblings Fritz and Franny go to bed, they don’t actually go to sleep.  They compare which bunk bed is best and imagine adventures through a forest with a castle, a moat and a boat, a submarine, and a volcano on their beds. Simple text in speech bubbles and a relatable topic makes this a sure-fire hit with new readers.

Surf’s Up (Moby Shinobi and Toby Too!)  by Luke Flowers Moby the ninja and his dog go to the beach.  In these short stories, they discover that no matter what they do like building a sandcastle, it’s always better if they work together. Rhyming, easy-to-read text, adorable characters, and fun stories make this a popular book choice for beginning readers.

A Magic Spark  by Jessica Young, illustrated by Marie Vanderbemden Readers who love magic and fairies will love these short stories about  three fairies who become friends on the first day of fairy school . The new friends take a field trip to Crystal Pool to see what kind of magic they each have. After the fairies discover their special talents, they have more magic-filled adventures like baking a cake and planning a party.

Do You Like My Bike? (Hello, Hedgehog!)  by Norm Feuti Not only is this written in comic panels, but the dialogue is in bubbles in colors unique to the character speaking, making this a supportive first graphic novel experience.  Hedgehog can’t wait to show his friend Harry his new bike.  Darling stories of friendship and bike riding.

Sparkly New Friends (Unicorn and Yeti)  by Heather Ayris Burnell, illustrated by Hazel Quintanilla Unicorn helps Yeti be grateful and confident about who he is and where he lives.  Then Yeti helps Unicorn try new things like a snowball fight. Short stories of friendship between two mythical creatures, what could be better!?

Level 2 Easy Reader Books

Moving on to Level 2 readers or books that are a step up from level 1 readers with more sentences per page and multi-syllable words…Remember that every publishing company has different criteria for what makes a level 2 book, but these will be around the same level.

The Lost Kitten (Katie Fry, Private Eye)  by Katherine Cox, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton Level 2 Reader It’s a good thing that Katie Fry solves mysteries because she needs to use her detective skills to  help a lost kitty  (whom she names Sherlock) find his home. would your readers love this darling, entertaining, and diverse book series for emergent readers?

Hi! Fy Guy  by Tedd Arnold Fly and the boy meet in this first book of a super hilarious early reader books . Fly becomes the boy’s pet and friend.  In this story, the boy enters his fly in an amazing contest. All the books in the series are 100% entertaining!

Unlimited Squirrels in I Lost My Tooth!  by Mo Willems Fans of Elephant and Piggie will recognize the familiar  dialogue bubbles, quirky humor, and  the many hilarious  double meanings  in this new, longer book about Zip Squirrel who has lost his tooth. Luckily his squirrel friends are there to help. Misunderstandings make this dramatic toothy adventure extra funny.

Even Robots Can Be Thankful!  by Jan Thomas Comic-book format, you will love the  lovable stories of Blue Robot and Red Robot who have big feelings  like fear of robot-eating monsters and love for bolts. Together they spend time at home talking, sorting bolts, and planning for a trip.

Henry and Mudge  by Cynthia Rylant, illustrations by Sucie Stevenson Level 2 Henry is lonely, so his parents allow him to get a dog.  He picks a puppy named Mudge who becomes his best friend. Kids love reading the classic heartwarming easy reader books.

Reina Ramos Works it Out  by Emma Otheguy, illustrated by Andres Landazabal I Can Read Level 2 Reina can’t wait to be Frida Kahlo for her school’s wax museum, but her friend Nora picks Frida first. Reina feels upset but works things out with  Nora and chooses to be Celia Cruz instead.  A story of kindness and  Latinx  heroes.

Kit and Kaboodle Go Camping  by Michelle Portice, illustrated by Mitch Mortimer Highlights Puzzle Readers Level 2 Let’s Read These two friends pack for a camping trip then set off on a hike into the forest.  They play games, eat snacks, look at clouds, and set up their camp. Help them find what they need in their backpacks by searching for the hidden pictures. What a fun level 2 early reader book!

We Dig Worms!  by Kevin McCloskey I love, love, love this early reader book with eye-popping illustrations and one sentence of text per page that explains something about the worm — sometimes he has kids asking questions which the worm answers. McCloskey painted on recycled grocery bags which makes for a gorgeous, earthy feeling. I can’t say enough good things about this short little book! 

Pass the Ball, Mo!  by David A. Adler, illustrated by Sam Ricks Level 2 In a favorite early reader series about a boy who likes to try new sports, in this story, Mo is obsessed with basketball. Unfortunately, everyone on his team is taller and he’s having trouble passing the ball high enough. His dad helps him practice passing higher and higher.  Their practice pays off during the next basketball game.

Monkey and Elephant Get Better   by Carole Lexa Schaefer, illustrated by Galia Bernstein Hooray, another early reader that doesn’t stink!  Clever adventures of friends, Monkey and Elephant, with bright, bold illustrations.

Guinness World Records Daring Dogs  by Cari Meister I Can Read Level 2 Impressive dogs and their feats will grab animal lovers’ attention and keep them reading this engaging early reader book.

Slow, Slow Sloths  by Bonnie Bader Level 2 Penguin Young Reader I LOVE the photographs in this informational book for beginning readers. Your child will learn a lot while he or she is reading and viewing the photos. Highly recommended.

Scribbles and Ink Out of the Box  by Ethan Long Scribbles and Ink (a cat and mouse) find that a box is a really cool thing to play with  — it can become so many things (a race car, a mask, overalls). Unfortunately, the duo argue about who gets the box and the box rips in half. After working out their differences, they think of a boxtastic solution.

Emerson Is Mighty Girl!  by Meredith Rusu Level 2 Reader Emerson and her WellieWisher friends are playing pretend in the garden, searching for The Wicked Wellie of the West . Emerson enthusiastically catches the Witch, but her behavior ruins their fun. She’ll need to figure out how to fix things with her friends.

Fly Guy Presents Sharks  by Ted Arnold (series) Visit the aquarium with Buzz and Fly Guy to learn about sharks in this terrific easy non-fiction reader. I LOVE how Arnold combines cartoons with photographs!

Ed and Ted and Ted’s Dog Fred   by Andy Griffiths, illustrated by Terry Denton Easy Reader Level 2 Kids will love this silly caper written in rhyme with simple words about  Ed, Ted, a dog called Fred, and a whale named Ned  — well done!

Mr. Putter & Tabby Drop the Ball   by Cynthia Rylant and Arthur Howard (series) Would your 5- and 6- year olds enjoy this classic book? So many kids love these sweet stories about  Mr. Putter and his “ fine ” cat named Tabby.

The Party and Other Stories (Fox and Chick)  by Sergio Ruzzier Charming watercolor illustrations in comic panels accompany  three stories of humorous friendship . I love how Ruzzier’s artwork captures nuances of the characters’ personalities. Sure to be a favorite easy reader book for 5- and 6-year-olds.

Aggie the Brave   by Lori Ries, illustrated by Frank Dormer Aggie the dog who must go to the vet  to get spayed, stay overnight, and heal at home.  The story teaches about the process at the vet as well as what to expect – like the stitches and cone she must wear post-surgery. I love the way the little boy owner imagines that Aggie is not a cone-head but a LION.

Days with Frog and Toad  by Arnold Lobel (series) Level 2 Giggle and share in the daily life of two best but very different friends. An enchanting classic and best selling favorite early reader book seriies!

Snails Are Just My Speed!  by Kevin McCloskey McCloskey begins this book with interesting factual information about snails.  If you’re looking for a high-quality nonfiction easy reader book, this is an excellent choice.

Lunch, or WHAT’S THAT? Freckleface Strawberry  by Julianne Moore, illustrated by LeUyen Pham Step Into Reading Level 2 Kids will easily relate to this book about the curious (gross, terrifying) foods served in the school cafeteria. Funny!

Level 3 Readers

Level 3 easy reader books give readers paragraphs of writing to read, sometimes two paragraphs or more on each page. Just like the other levels of early readers for kindergartners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders, the level 3 difficulty varies by the publishing company.

CeCe Loves Science: Push and Pull by Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes, illustrated by Vashti Harrison I Can Read Level 3 Cece’s teacher, Miss Curie, explains to the class about the opposing forces of push and pull. She divides the class into two teams. The teams are tasked with making a dog treat dispenser using either pushing or pulling forces. Readers will appreciate the diversity, the STEM themes, and the growth mindset.

Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful by Nancy Tupper Ling, illustrated by Andrea Offermann Destined to fight the dragon, twins Mei and Wei each have their own ideas of how to thwart the dragon when he attacks. Nothing works until they learn to work together…and that kindness wins.

Hamster Chase by Anastasia Suen, illustrated by Allan Elzen Oh, no! Peter takes the class hamster out of the cage and it scurries away. He and his friends try to capture it but every time they get close, it escapes again. Will they ever get it back in its cage?

Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin Six short stories about twins, Ling and Ting, show their unique personalities. From getting their hair cut or making dumplings, kids will find their daily adventures to be funny, sweet, and relatable. This diverse easy readers series is a favorite with many kindergarten and 1st-grade students.

Twinky: The Dinky Dog by Kate Klimo, illustrated by Michael Fleming A darling rhyming story about Twinky, a dog who dislikes that his owner carries him around in a purse and dresses him up. How will Twinky show his owner (and the world) that he’s really a big, brave dog?

Rafi and Rosi Pirates! by Lulu Delacre Level 3, early fluent Set in Puerto Rico with Spanish words mixed into the text, tree frogs and siblings Rafi and Rosi with big imaginations . These three stories take place at Morro Fort in San Juan. The children explore and play — pretending to be pirates, finding real gold coins, and imagining a sea monster attack. 

Mythical Beasts: 100 Fun Facts About Real Animals and the Myths They Inspire by Stephanie Warren Drimmer National Geographic Kids Level 3 Learn about unique real creatures like giant squids who were mistaken for mythical creatures, such as a kracken. Fascinating facts and photographs plus imaginative stories and illustrations will keep readers enthralled.

Gigi and Ojiji by Melissa Iwai Level 3 Gigi is excited to play with her grandfather Ojiisan who is visiting from Japan. Onc they meet, she feels concerned that he’s too old to play tag and feels hurt that he was laughing at her. Gigi’s mom helps her understand their cultural differences, and they find a way to connect.

The Outside Dog by Charlotte Pomerantz, illustrated by Jennifer Plecas Level 3 Marisol lives a quiet life with her grandfather in Puerto Rico. One day, she finds a stray dog near her house and names it Pancho. Like the other stray dogs she sees, Marisol wants to keep Pancho. However, her Grandfather worries about fleas and ticks. 

Bling! 100 Fun Facts About Rocks and Gems National Geographic Kids Level 3 The writers pick interesting, readable information about rocks and gems that will fascinate readers along with the full-color photos and appealing graphic design.

More Book Lists By Age: Books for 2nd graders Books for 3rd graders Books for 4th graders Books for 5th graders Books for 6th graders Books for 7th Graders YA Books

Melissa Taylor, MA, is the creator of Imagination Soup. She's a mother, former teacher & literacy trainer, and freelance education writer. She writes Imagination Soup and freelances for publications online and in print, including Penguin Random House's Brightly website, USA Today Health, Adobe Education, Colorado Parent, and Parenting. She is passionate about matching kids with books that they'll love.

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10 Comments

Thank you so much for putting this together and sharing it! : )

Hi, Is there a PDF of this list? I cannot seem to find it. Thanks! ellen

Here you go — https://imaginationsoup.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Books-for-5-and-6-Year-Olds.pdf

I worked in a very busy children’s dept. in a large diverse library. This selection of kindergarten age books are excellent. In the past nine years I’ve read most of the books you’ve listed, to the children during a storytime program or for my own enjoyment. Well done!

thank you! 🙂 And bless you for your great work with children!!

hooray, thanks!

Hi Melissa, I was really impressed to see these fabulous books for five to six years old kids. It helps to build their literacy foundations and keep them engaged with reading. I really appreciate bob books. My First Bob Books: Pre-Reading Skills are fun and simple books you read to your child. Each story contains important foundation skills as part of the plot. Inside the front cover you ll discover games to play with your child, discussion ideas and other simple ways to enjoy each story. As always, signature Bob Books quirky humour and silly illustrations mean fun for all. My best wishes for fun, joy and success as your family enter the wonderful world of reading.

My daughter and I love the Mr. Putter and Tabby series, especially the ones with their wacky neighbor. Very sweet stories; not for kids who need action-packed books, but enjoyable.

If she likes Mr. Putter, she may also like all the Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant, the same author as the Mr. Putter books. Children love series, because they get to know the characters. 🙂 Happy reading.

• Books for children

Books for 3-5 year olds

Spark your child's love of reading with these brilliant books for 3-5 year olds..

Toddler years are when most children start to recognise letters, sounds and written words and are the perfect time to get them ready for their first school days. If you're the parent of an energetic preschooler or looking for a gift for a little one in your life, read our edit of the best books for 3-5 year olds.

For more inspiration, discover our best picture books for kids . 

The Tooth Fairy and the Crocodile

By julia donaldson.

Ruth Mary is used to collecting teeth from under the pillows of sleeping children, not animals. But when the Fairy Queen sends her off to the jungle, Ruth Mary doesn't mind. That is until she collects the tooth of a crocodile, who wakes up and decides Ruth Mary looks like a tasty snack! And with her wings not working, how will the tooth fairy escape? Full of fun and packed with adventure The Tooth Fairy and the Crocodile is perfect for any child with a wobbly tooth!

Victor, the Wolf with Worries

By catherine rayner.

Victor is a wolf with a head full of worries. He worries about almost everything, from whether he’s brave enough, to what he’s going to have for dinner. One day, Victor shares how he feels with his friend Pablo, who helps him learn how to make his worries feel a little smaller. Giving children the tools they need to talk about and understand their worries, this book is a wonderful tool for carers and educators to help young children talk about how they are feeling.

Mole's Spectacles

Julia Donaldson

Badger's Band

Dormouse Has a Cold

Frog's Day Out

Don't Miss

All the books from the Tales from Acorn Wood series

Otto The Top Dog

Catherine Rayner

The Bowerbird

Arlo The Lion Who Couldn't Sleep

My hair is as long as a river, by charlie castle.

People don’t always understand the boy with long hair. But he knows that his hair is a part of who he is and who he can be ­- soft and strong, wild and still, fierce and gentle. My Hair is as Long as a River is a joyful celebration of being proud of who you are, from debut picture book creators Charlie Castle and Emma Farrarons.

It Wasn't Me!

By marta altés.

Ellis and Charlie are the best of friends. They live on an island, they share everything, and they do everything together. Until one day, things start to go missing, and the friends don’t know who is to blame. A fabulously funny story about the highs and lows of friendship, It Wasn’t Me! will help to teach young children that sometimes friends fall out, but how easy it can be to forgive and make up.

What the Ladybird Heard

What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday

There's Nothing Faster Than a Cheetah

There's Nothing Cuter Than a Puppy

The Snail and the Whale

Room on the Broom

Sharing a Shell 20th Anniversary Edition

One Ted Falls Out of Bed 20th Anniversary Edition

A guide to julia donaldson's books, wolf and bear, by kate rolfe.

Wolf and Bear are the best of friends. Every day they play together, exploring the world around them and learning new things. Until one day, Bear doesn’t want to play anymore and Wolf has no idea why. This heartwarming and hopeful story of two best friends offers a sensitive and age-appropriate way to talk to early years children about the often difficult-to-discuss topic of depression.

by Steve Antony

Meet a cat, in need of a nap. But it’s hard to find time for sleep when you’re busy playing! Will he ever close his eyes? Style, simplicity and humour combine to make this original and engaging look at naptime a must-read for all young children and their grown-ups. Fresh, funny and utterly relatable, with a playful, pitch-perfect text, Cat Nap marks the launch of a new character-led picture book series.

Tumford the Terrible

Nancy Tillman

It's Time to Sleep, My Love

You're All Kinds of Wonderful

I'd Know You Anywhere, My Love

The Gruffalo

Animalphabet

I Am Perfectly Designed

Karamo Brown

The Truth About Old People

Elina Ellis

Sammy Striker and the Football Cup

By catherine emmett.

Sammy Striker eats, sleeps and breathes football, so when she’s spotted at the park by a scout who wants her to play for the National Under 8s team, she can’t believe her luck. But as her debut in the Football Cup gets closer, Sammy’s shots start to miss the target. Can she hold her nerve and follow her dreams? Sammy Striker and the Football Cup is an empowering story for young football fans.

The Girl Who LOVES Bugs

By lily murray.

Little Evie loves the great outdoors. Every spare moment she can find, she’s outside searching under logs to find new critters to add to her secret bug collection, much to the distaste of her mums and brother. On the day that Evie’s scary Great Gran is meant to arrive, she discovers her bugs have escaped, and are scuttling all over the house! The Girl Who Loves Bugs is a fun story of family love and the power of curiosity.

The Best Me!

Marvyn Harrison

I am Hattie the Hare

I am Oliver the Otter

The Big Bad Bug

The Littlest Elephant

Dig, Dig, Digger

Runaway Cone

You can do anything, tyrone, by sir lenny henry.

When Tyrone starts to build a rocket ship to shoot him to the moon, everything seems to go wrong and he’s ready to give up. Luckily, his Grandad Cleveland steps in to teach him that sometimes, all you need to succeed is your imagination and the belief that you can do anything, no matter how tricky it seems. Celebrate the power of positivity in this illustrated story, written by national treasure, Lenny Henry .

The Gardening Dog

By cindy wume.

Lewis doesn’t find it easy to fit in with other children. So when he meets The Gardening Dog, who has all but given up on being adopted from the rescue centre where she lives, the two strike up an unlikely friendship and work together to create a community garden for everyone to enjoy. A touching story about friendship and togetherness, The Gardening Dog encourages us to celebrate our uniqueness and be ourselves.

Goodnight Moon

Margaret Wise Brown

WOW! It's Snowing

Tim Hopgood

Planes Planes Planes!

Donna David

Cars Cars Cars!

Vegesaurs: Ginger Meets the Pea-Rexes!

Macmillan Children's Books

Vegesaurs: Dinner Time!

Vegesaurs: Pea-Rex Rollercoaster

Vegesaurs: Baby Bok's Flying Lesson

You may also like, 100 of the best picture books for children, 50 best lift-the-flap and pop-up books for children, 100 best children's books to read in 2024.

A Trip to the Tap

Illustrated by Phumle April, Written by Sindeka Mandoyi

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , BookDash , Conservation , Creative Commons , Culture , Editable Files , Grade K and Pre K , Toddlers

Oluhle is excited to go to the tap and fetch water, she will see her friends there, but what happens when she can’t find her bucket? Illustrated by Phumle April Written by Sindeka Mandoyi Designed by Nadene Kriel Sample Page from A Trip to the Tap   Download the full book by selecting one of …

The Conical Hat

Author: Ram Babu Subedi Illustrator: Promina Shreshtha

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , Beginner English , Creative Commons , Culture , Grade K and Pre K , Read along video , Room to Read , Toddlers

A short story about conical hats and all their important uses. Great for young children, learning to read, and ESL. Sample page from The Conical Hat Author: Ram Babu Subedi Illustrator: Promina Shreshtha Brought to us by Room to Read. Read along with Kiwi Opa:  

Let’s Count Legs

Author: All Children Reading Cambodia Illustrator: Measa Sovonnarea

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , Animals , Beginner English , Counting , Grade K and Pre K , Insects , Read along video , Storyweaver-Pratham , Toddlers

A fun counting book featuring the numbers 2,4,6, and 8. Brought to us by The Asia Foundation and Storyweaver. Author: All Children Reading Cambodia Illustrator: Measa Sovonnarea Sample Page from Let’s Count Legs Read along with Kiwi Opa in the video of Let’s Count Legs:    

The Pottering Pig

Author: Rohit Kulkarni Illustrator: Priya Kuriyan

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Animals , Beginner English , Creative Commons , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Grade K and Pre K , Humour , Read along video , Storyweaver-Pratham , Toddlers

The pottering pig causes all sorts of chaos, but did she break the potter’s pots? A cute whodunnit, when the Pottering Pig is accused of a crime she may or may not have committed. Author: Rohit Kulkarni Illustrator: Priya Kuriyan Sample Page from The Pottering Pig: Brought to us by Pratham Books. Read along with …

Three Billy Goats Gruff – CKF

Core Knowledge Foundation

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , Animals , Children , Core Knowledge Foundation , Creative Commons , Editable Files , Fable , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Grade K and Pre K , moral , Toddlers

This classic tale is told with some beautiful imagery combined with some comprehension questions. Creator: Core Knowledge Foundation See more from CKF on FKB here: https://freekidsbooks.org/publisher/core-knowledge-foundation/ This book is also available in an editable version (created using Open Office): https://freekidsbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Three_Billy_Goats_Gruff-Landscape-Book-CKF-FKB.odt Sample Page from Three Billy Goats Gruff:    

Monster’s Day Out

Danielle Bruckert

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Beginner English , Children , Creative Commons , Danielle Bruckert , Free Kids Books , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Grade K and Pre K , Monsters , Toddlers

A sequel to the popular There’s a Monster this book explores, in rhyme, a day at the playground with Monster. Sample Page from Monster’s Day Out See also: There’s a Monster eBook More by the Author – Danielle Bruckert And, more books about Monster’s on FKB  

Happy Train

Author: Humayan Rashid Illustrator: Mehedi Haque

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , Creative Commons , Grade K and Pre K , Intermediate English , Room to Read , Toddlers , Trains , Transport

A train travels through the country side, first she is very happy, but then getting farther and farther from home and seeing strange people and animals she becomes worried and scared. Fortunately someone comes to help. A great story about exploring emotions. Author: Humayan Rashid Illustrator: Mehedi Haque Sample Page from The Happy Train: Another …

A Day at the Carnival

Author: Syamphay Fengsavanh, Illustrator: Nivong Sengsakoun

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , Animals , Beginner English , Family , Grade K and Pre K , mouse , Room to Read , Toddlers

Three brothers, Little Mouse, Littler Mouse, and Tiny Mouse go out for a day to the carnival, they have a really great time, but safety must come first, and it’s important to look out for each other. Luckily they are keeping track! Author: Syamphay Fengsavanh, Illustrator: Nivong Sengsakoun, Translator: Alisha Berger Originally published by Room …

Books for Benjamin

Author R.G. de Rouen, Illustrator Uliana Barabash

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Children , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Insects , Intermediate English , Toddlers

A worm yearns for reading, will he find the answer to his passion? Sample Page from Books for Benjamin         This book is also available in hard cover, paperback, and kindle edition on Amazon Author R.G. de Rouen Illustrator Uliana Barabash See more from the author at R.G. de Rouen’s Website. Books …

Rat Cat – Early Reader

Author: Dropti Sharma Illustrator: Rajeev Verma 'Banjara'

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , All FKB Books , Animals , Beginner English , Cats , Early Reader , Grade K and Pre K , mouse , Toddlers

Rat Cat is a very short book with cute illustrations featuring Cat and Rat. Perfect for building confidence in early readers! Sample Page Author: Dropti Sharma Illustrator: Rajeev Verma ‘Banjara’ See more Eary Readers on FKB in our Early Readers Section    

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Free Stories for Kids

Showing 21 - 30 of 50 Free Children's Books

021: DO YOU WONDER ABOUT RAIN, SNOW, SLEET AND HAIL?

Categories:  Age 4-7  /  Age 8-12

“What’s to wonder about water?”, you might ask. Professor Ture will tell you why.  Filled with compelling illustrations, this free children’s book takes a dive  into a whirlpool of knowledge about the ubiquitous water that we often take for granted.

022: I FOUND A FROG

Something magical was happening in the fish bowl  and he wasn’t  quite ready for what lay in store.  Read this captivating free illustrated book for kids that encourages them to explore and be awed by the many wonders of nature. 

023: A DOG ON A LOG

Categories:  Age 0-3  /  Age 4-7

Is there ever an ordinary day at the beach? Read what happens when a flea, a dog and a hog meet on a warm sunny day by the sea.  This Free Children’s Book is great read for children aged 3 to 8. 

024: ARE WE THERE YET?

Looking for a Free Bedtime story books? Jim and Jen are going to the zoo and the drive never seems to end. EVER! They just made a song for the road and the tune is growing on mom and dad.Let’s tap our feet and sing along..

025: DRAGONS

Dragons come in many shapes and sizes and speak different tongues. Some are mean, some are kind, some have legs while some don’t. No matter what they all have one thing in common..they grab eyes wherever they go.  Join our free children’s book giveaway to read more about these wonderful creatures.

026: THE HIKE

Mandy and grandpa went on a hike . But it was more than that. Together they explored the woods, learnt to be at peace with nature and talked their hearts out about things that mattered. It was a special bond between them and you’ve got to read this great free illustrated children’s book to experience it. Happy Exploring!!

027: PIRATES COVE

Sandy chances upon an old treasure map and as the events roll out one after another, he becomes richer both by pennies and by thoughts. Here’s a treasure hunt to embark upon  in this free children’s storybook. Sail Away Captain! The seven seas are yours.

028: THE WAY OF THE WOODS

Shh!  Did you hear that? The jungle’s saying a story and you cannot afford to miss it. A colorful narrative set in the woods..camouflaged as a free children’s dog story. Happy Reading!

029: JIMMY'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Jimmy’s starting school and he doesn’t know what’s in store. One step at a time, slowly but surely, he made it to the school bus. And off he went! Just like that. The illustrations in the free bed time book for children evoke sweet memories of that very special first day at school.

030: BULLY BILL

He thought he was the Lord of the Farm. He thought he was Boss. But his vanity was short lived and soon he learnt a lesson he’ll never forget. Follow this funny and thoughtful story of a certain farm we chanced upon in this free bedtime storybook.

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Tell us, Tom Selleck: Who are you, really?

The 79-year-old actor opens up — kind of — in his memoir, “You Never Know.”

Unlike Ben Franklin, who arrived in Philadelphia after a long journey by foot and boat, with enough money to buy three puffy rolls, Tom Selleck entered Los Angeles in the family car, dad at the wheel, ready to settle down in Sherman Oaks, a short drive from Hollywood.

Though Franklin is not mentioned in Selleck’s memoir, “ You Never Know ,” his work ethic and didacticism are widely evident. Another great American is also present: Huck Finn. By combining Franklin’s homiletic pronouncements with Huck’s folksy immediacy of voice, Selleck, along with co-writer Ellis Henican, has created an easygoing, talky American memoir.

And why not? Sturdy as Mount Rushmore, athletic and eminently likable, Selleck exudes traditional American masculine traits; he’s the very embodiment of the strong, silent type. But silence can be a hazard when it comes to writing a memoir, which after all is a genre of self-reflection, confession and exposure.

Known for his privacy, Selleck has written a what book instead of a why book, a chronology of doing , as he writes about his life. As he says late in the book, “Feelings are hard to describe.” So readers can decide if they’re satisfied with a résumé — a running of the credits, if you will.

I like Tom Selleck, and while waiting for the book to arrive, I watched a lot of his movies and shows. Though I find the memoir disappointing, it will make a great audiobook, and I wonder if that’s what he had in mind, letting his easygoing voice tell a story that is soothing because he keeps it on the surface.

A quick list of some doings: student at USC, where a drama professor referred him to a Hollywood agent; acting classes to improve his “instrument”; joined California Army National Guard in 1967; appeared on “The Dating Game”; TV commercials; print ads; B movies, then better ones; survived the Hollywood cattle calls until he was chosen for a new TV show titled “Magnum, P.I.” By now it’s 1980, and Selleck is 35. He’s paid his dues and lived up to his principle of “Don’t know where I’m goin’, but there’s no use bein’ late.” Hi, Huck.

This Hollywood education exposes a ruthless industry that both tests and forms Selleck’s values. He sums up his success by quoting Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence,” a very Franklinesque aphorism. But, despite Selleck’s persistence, he wrestles with the “critic on my shoulder,” that voice that says you’re not good enough. Soon, though, another phrase — a mantra, really — takes its place: “Tom, you’re good enough.”

The book gives us a lot of doing and name-dropping. We may learn about the risqué incident when Carol Burnett had her legs around Selleck’s neck, and his photo shoot with a naked Barbara Parkins, but we learn nothing about his love life — according to my research outside the book, he’s been involved with more than three famous actresses — and little about his first marriage. He dilutes his inward thoughts with vague phrasing such as “I kinda knew,” “I don’t know why … well, actually, yes, I do know why,” or “I sit here, pen in hand, trying to explain my emotions … I can’t.”

Such coy deflections and elisions try our patience and may leave some of us wondering why he wrote a memoir if he can’t express feelings. Instead, we get clichés like “In the film business, work is waiting for you every day, and you owe it your commitment every day” and repetitions of the line he uses in his TV commercials for reverse mortgages: “This isn’t my first rodeo.” In his memoir, does Selleck have difficulty separating himself from the characters he depicts? He’s selling himself to his readers, and we’ll buy it because we like him and he’s a good actor, but cliché and evasion erode intimacy .

Ten chapters detail the creation and success of “Magnum, P.I.,” and we learn much about television production and its grueling deadlines, and that actors chew ice before doing a scene so their breath won’t show up on camera. We also learn how loyal and dedicated Selleck is to his crew, those folks who make our favorite shows possible. During the last season of “Magnum,” Selleck asked his network to give his hard-working team of seven years a bonus; the studio refused. So Selleck arranged to have his own bonus docked and gave $1,000 to each crew member. Commendable.

“Magnum” is firmly part of what scholar Susan Jeffords calls the “remasculinization of America,” a post-Vietnam cultural shift that, through films and popular culture, reinvigorated hypermasculine images and traditional male values. “Magnum” featured a Vietnam veteran, an ex-Navy SEAL, who relocates to Hawaii and becomes a private investigator. He became a character millions of men admire and emulate. But Selleck says little about his longest-lived iteration of American masculinity, Frank Reagan of the TV hit “Blue Bloods,” now in its 14th and final season. A lifelong Republican, Selleck, I’m sure, enjoys playing a character who has the same last name as a president he admires.

Reagan is an aging patriarch who wields his masculinity both as the NYPD police commissioner and as a father who sits at the head of the table during family Sunday dinners. Selleck does not share what it’s like playing this older man who covers up his body with an overcoat and a cowl-neck sweater. Instead, we’re told the business details of “Blue Bloods,” not its personal impact on its star.

Selleck is completely silent about the nine “Jesse Stone” TV movies he made beginning in 2005. Stone, a cop, does open up, revealing both the whats and the whys of his character, especially in the exchanges between him and his male therapist. Selleck is also at his sexiest, lounging in bed, the famous chin doubling as he reaches for his reading glasses. How does a masculine icon age? Selleck doesn’t say.

Closing on a pastoral note in the epilogue, the 79-year-old actor walks around his ranch and checks the water tanks he needs for his avocado crop while reminiscing about the stories he’s just told us and the ones he’s keeping to himself. In the book’s penultimate sentence he writes, “I am the steward of those stories, the same way I am steward of my land.” Unsurprisingly, Selleck fails to mention his allegedly improper transfer of over 1 million gallons of water onto “my land” in 2015.

It’s hard to separate the dancer from the dance, the mustache from the man, but not impossible. Memoir is supposed to puncture the facade of performance, or at least try to. Perhaps Selleck will trust his audience enough to write a more intimate sequel. He’s been speaking to us for a long while now, and I’m sure he has more to say.

Sibbie O’Sullivan, a former teacher in the Honors College at the University of Maryland, is the author of “My Private Lennon: Explorations From a Fan Who Never Screamed.”

Tom Selleck

You Never Know

By Tom Selleck with Ellis Henican

Dey Street. 352 pp. $29.99

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Check out our coverage of this year’s Pulitzer winners: Jayne Anne Phillips won the fiction prize for her novel “ Night Watch .” The nonfiction prize went to Nathan Thrall, for “ A Day in the Life of Abed Salama .” Cristina Rivera Garza received the memoir prize for “ Liliana’s Invincible Summer .” And Jonathan Eig received the biography prize for his “ King: A Life .”

Best books of 2023: See our picks for the 10 best books of 2023 or dive into the staff picks that Book World writers and editors treasured in 2023. Check out the complete lists of 50 notable works for fiction and the top 50 nonfiction books of last year.

Find your favorite genre: Three new memoirs tell stories of struggle and resilience, while five recent historical novels offer a window into other times. Audiobooks more your thing? We’ve got you covered there, too . If you’re looking for what’s new, we have a list of our most anticipated books of 2024 . And here are 10 noteworthy new titles that you might want to consider picking up this April.

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A Collection of Stories for 5 Year Olds Hardcover – Illustrated, February 1, 2020

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Snuggle up to your favorite nursery rhymes and drift into the magical worlds of all your most beloved fairytale characters with this unique collection of e nchanting stories carefully selected to enthrall 5-year-olds . Enjoy the classic tales of Rumpelstiltskin, Thumbelina, and Pinocchio along with exciting new stories and rhymes in this sturdy collectible format filled with playful illustrations your preschooler will adore. A perfect book to celebrate your favorite 5-year-old

• Short, easy-to-read stories are ideal for capturing the attention of preschoolers and kindergartners.
• Playful illustrations fill every page perfectly for keeping children entertained and engaged.
• Includes favorite classic stories, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes such as Puss in Books, The Lion and the Mouse, and Snow White, designed to delight your little one during storytime and become a bedtime favorite
• A wonderful gift for any occasion : birthdays, holidays, and more!
• Collect the series for every milestone! Ages 2-5 available.
• Print length 96 pages
• Language English
• Grade level 2 - 5
• Dimensions 8.25 x 0.5 x 10.25 inches
• Publisher Cottage Door Press
• Publication date February 1, 2020
• ISBN-10 1680528572
• ISBN-13 978-1680528572
• See all details

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A perfect book to celebrate your favorite 5-year-old!

Snuggle up to your favorite nursery rhymes and drift into the magical worlds of all your most beloved fairytale characters with this unique collection of e nchanting stories carefully selected to enthrall 5-year-olds . Enjoy the classic tales of Rumpelstiltskin, Thumbelina, and Pinocchio along with exciting new stories and rhymes in this sturdy collectible format filled with playful illustrations your preschooler will adore.

• Short, easy-to-read stories are ideal for capturing the attention of preschoolers and kindergartners. Short stories and rhymes allow adults to adjust how many stories and how much time to spend reading every day
• Includes classic stories, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes such as Puss in Boots, The Lion & the Mouse, and Snow White, designed to delight your little one during storytime and become a bedtime favorite
• Collect the series for every milestone! Ages 1-5 available

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

The Parragon name  means quality, entertainment, and value and has been at the forefront of publishing for nearly 40 years. Going forward as an imprint of Cottage Door Press, the Parragon brand includes books that are interesting, entertaining, and affordable. The Parragon tradition continues....

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cottage Door Press; Illustrated edition (February 1, 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 96 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1680528572
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1680528572
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5+ years, from customers
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 2 - 5
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.25 x 0.5 x 10.25 inches
• #19 in Children's Folk Tale & Myth Anthologies
• #27 in Children's Short Story Collections
• #122 in Short Stories Anthologies

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The Best Gifts for 5 Year Old Girls (That They'll Love)

A re you looking for amazing toys and gifts for 5 year old girls that will get them thinking, moving, inventing, building, exploring, and playing?

I’ve curated this list of ideas for parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors.

You Might Also Like:

Best Books for 4-and 5-Year Olds

The Best Educational Games for Preschoolers

Activity Books for Preschoolers Ages 3 – 5

The Best Toys and Gifts for 5 Year Old Girls

Polly Pocket Pineapple Purse Playset

How darling is this purse that opens up to become a treehouse set with a hammock and zipline? Comes with Polly and Lila dolls and accessories.

Hurry Up, Chicken Butt

See how many activities you can complete before the timer goes off. Fast-paced and fun, this game encourages quick thinking, creativity, and physical activity.

Disney Princess Dolls

These popular Disney princesses will be your kids’ favorite pretend play toys. My daughters would play with their princesses for hours.

Disney Ursula Doll Styling Head

Won’t your kids love to style this Disney Villain’s purple hair?

Pick from any theme (unicorns, animals, space, dinosaurs), then create pictures using the foil sheets and picture canvases. What a wonderful creative craft that develops fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination!

Tea Cup Pile–Up!

Flip a challenge card and find the first teacup shown. Race to place it on your saucer and continue, relay-style, until your tower matches the stack on the card. Correctly complete the tower and ring the teapot bell first and you win the game. Be the first to build and complete your tower correctly to win this royal relay race.

Sticker Palooza

1500 stickers with lots of cute subjects from animals to aliens.

LEGO Classic Around the World

Kids will love this LEGO collection of 950 bricks for creative building and play, plus find directions for 15 models.

Unicorn Terrarium Kit

Design a unicorn garden with crystals, mini mushrooms, and a unicorn. How fun is this gift for a 5 year old girl?

Shark Floor Puzzle

A shark-shaped puzzle made of sturdy pieces with shiny foil accents.

LEGO Mickey Castle

Do you like castles and Disney ? Build a medieval castle for Mickey and his friends, including a buildable dragon.

Coding Critters

These cute critters get kids excited to learn by combining coding with real toy pet play!

Animal Village Create a Story

Cards with woodland animal characters , locations, and props encourage imagination and storytelling.

Rainforest Fuzzy Puzzle

Your kids will love to touch and feel these fuzzy 42 pieces with rainforest animals, plants, insects, and more!

Animals Upon Animals

You’ll love this wobbly stacking game where players race to place all their animals on the animal pile first. Roll the die to see how many animals you can stack up– or if you get to add to the base. A fun interactive game (that we love) that fosters hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

This Is a Taco!  by Andrew Cangelose, illustrated by Josh Shipley

Our narrator wants to tell you about squirrels with the help of Taco, a squirrel who loves tacos. Taco gets more irritated with the narrator when he hears facts like “squirrels love to eat nuts, acorns, and even tree bark.” (He only agreed to be in the book because he thought there would be tacos!)  This is a good  nonfiction book  with facts paired with hilarious commentary and a surprise ending.

eeBoo Tea Party Game

My girls LOVE this game so much — they get to set up for a tea party and it’s hours and days of fun play!

BFF Bright Fairy Friends

Unbox to reveal a surprise doll! Press your fairy dolls necklace to make her fairy wings light up with multi-colored fairy lights. Each BFF Fairy Doll comes in its very own fairy jar home with motion-activated twinkle fairy lights. Activate the night light switch to use your fairy home as a night light for kids.

My First Castle Panic

For 1 to 4 players, stop the monsters from smashing the castle!

Little Tikes First Oven

Kids love to use this pretend oven to make and serve meals.

LEGO Friends Horse Trailer

Build a horse trailer for two horses that you can pull using the SUV which fits your three mini-figures. Horse-crazy girls will love playing and building with this new LEGO Friends set

Pretend Play Props for World Travelers 

Use the 40 tickets, passports + stickers, 10 postcards + postage, bank card, ID card, luggage tags and map to play world traveler.

The Fairy Game

Kids love this cooperative matching and gathering game! Work together to match Fairy Cards to gather the hidden Magic Gems before 4 snowflakes land on one flower. For 2 – 4 players.

Let’s Tell a Story! Fairy Tale Adventure by Lily Murray, illustrated by Wesley Robins

Pick the story elements and craft your own stories…Choose something on each page (using the pictures) and invent millions of different stories. Do you want to be a prince, a troll, a princess, a black cat, these are just some of the main characters you could be. Then choose your outfits and accessories, where you want to go, who you’ll take with you, how you’ll get there, which path you’ll take, and so on until you get to the end of your dangerous adventure. Then start over and tell a new story!

Mama Guinea Pig and Hutch

When the mama guinea pig lights up, she’s ready to enter her hutch and have her three babies.

My Little Pony Cotton Candy

How cute is this pony? Brush and style her mane!

Melissa & Doug Pattern Blocks and Boards

These pattern boards are a perfect way for any child to learn problem solving and color recognition while having a lot of fun playing a hands on, creative game!

Skyrocket Blume Doll

Water your doll and see who emerges from the flower pot! Which will your 5 year old girl Blume?

Cafe Barista Coffee Shop

Pretend you are the barista with a coffee shop counter, expresso maker, drink dispenser, pay terminal, and much more. A fun pretend play experience for kids!

Don’t Eat Bees (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog) by Mike Boldt

HILARIOUS! Narrated by Chip, a dog with a big personality, Chip helpfully gives us the dos and don’ts for life. “ Do: Eat Socks…Don’t eat bees .” Kids will crack up through the whole story and will love the clever ending.

Story Time Chess

Learn to play chess with chess pieces that have unique stories and 30 mini-games, all of which teach children the rules of the chess game.

Crayola Scribble Scrubbie Pets Scrub Tub

Color & customize your animals, then wash them and start again!

PaperCraft Fashion Parade Paper Dolls

24 large, easy-to-color dolls and 160 fashions that you can color and customize.

Gathering a Garden

This new eeBoo game develops basic skills like patience, counting, and an understanding of different categories of plants and gardening-related elements.

Rainbocorns Memaidcorn

Hatch your Mermaidcorn and discover a glittery mermaid with a water globe horn and 35 surprises!

The Little Butterfly That Could  by Ross Burach

A distressed butterfly gets lost from her migrating group.  She talks with a whale about her fears and resistance. The whale encourages the reluctant butterfly to find its gumption and courage, kicking it out of his stomach and telling it to keep trying. It’s funny, emotional, and relatable — all narrated in dialogue bubbles. Kindergarteners will ADORE this cute little creature’s  adventures  and valuable life lessons.

Playmobil Magical Mermaid Play Box

Let your 5 year old girl pretend they’re in a magical world with two mermaids, sea creatures, a chair, pearls, and lots more! 

Crayola Silly Scented Washable Markers

Get artistic with these smelly markers in cherry, orange, lemon, Apple, fresh air, blueberry, grape, tropical punch, cotton candy, marshmallow, coconut, and root beer. Pair with this spiral-bound sketchpad.

GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope

This awesome talking microscope teaches children using 60 different images and a couple of different modes all while encouraging them to take an interest in science!

Don’t Let the Pigeon Finish This Activity Book

My daughter loves this book so much and your five-year-old girl will, too. It’s filled with things to write, color, draw, and build. Highly recommended.

MindWare Dig It Up! Giant Gem

Excavate a gigantic gem stone with 12 polished gemstones hidden inside!

Mudpuppy Llama Llama Fuzzy Puzzle

Not only is the artwork adorable but kids will love to feel these 42 chunky pieces with fuzzy accents perfect for 5 year old girls.

Brain Flakes Interlocking Plastic Disc Set

This set of over 500 interlocking discs will keep children busy with all of the amazing designs they can create and build out into different forms!

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

After a rough first day at school, Penelope’s dad explains that even though children are tasty, it’s not good to eat them. The next day, Penelope accidentally eats her classmates again. (She just can’t stop herself!) But when the class goldfish chomps on Penelope’s finger and it HURTS, she realizes that it’s no fun to be someone else’s snack. So even when her classmates look delicious, Penelope tries to remember what it felt like…and she resists eating them. Which means now she has friends and playmates at school. Talk about a great life lesson — do unto others…:)

Uncle Milton Moon In My Room

Watch the moon’s lunar phases that you can change with a remote control.

Educational Insights Playfoam Pals Snowy Friends

Mystery globes are packed with Playfoam plus 12 snowy friends and 1 rare Pal.

Playhouse Blank Castle

Customize your castle with stickers, markers, crayons, or paint!

Design & Drill BrightWorks

This STEM / STEAM toy is the total package with technology, engineering, art, and math! Follow the 12 included patterns or create your own design. Insert the translucent bolts, use the kid-friendly power drill to drill them in, and watch as your illuminated creation comes to life.

Foil Fun Unicorns & Princesses

Create beautiful pictures with stickers and foil papers!

Created by Me! Flower Magnets

Use the provided paint, stickers, glitter glue, and paintbrushes to decorate your wooden flower magnets.

Crayola Pip-Squeaks Washable Markers

This carrying case makes it easy to carry your markers anywhere. And washable markers are a must-buy arts and crafts gift for creative kids !

5 year old kids and parents adore this literacy game– it’s a fun way to build reading skills for pre-readers and beginning readers!

Gears, Gears, Gears Robot Factory

My kids and their friends love this gears kit SO MUCH. Parents, you’ll love to see how the gears inspire creativity through building and engineering. See my full review here .

Chutes and Ladders

This classic game remains a favorite for 5 year old kids — my own included. The first player to reach the 100 square wins. It’s a game of chance but for some reason, my kids always win. What’s up with that?

ZOOB 250 Piece Set

ZOOBs are colorful snap-together plastic gears, axels, and joint pieces.  They’re not electronic; they’re totally battery-free. AND WE LOVE THEM!  Without a doubt, ZOOBs are one of our most-played with, favorite open-ended toys that have lasted for years of childhood! (If you can’t tell, we highly recommend them.)

Highlights Hidden Pictures Sticker Book

Use the stickers to find the hidden objects. It’s fun! My kids always preferred the sticker hidden picture books to the color books.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs as retold by Mo Willems

Don’t miss this unpredictable and side-splitting story,  Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs . In this remix, we have Dinosaurs instead of bears;  Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. And “ one day, for no particular reason, the three Dinosaurs made up their beds, positioned their chairs just so, and cooked three bowls of delicious chocolate pudding at varying temperatures. ”

Pinkalicious: The Pinkatastic Giant Sticker Book

Does your 5 year old girl love Pinkalicious? Here you’ll find 600+ stickers to use throughout the book– decorate cupcakes, go to school, be silly, and more. (You might also want this Take-Along Storybook Set !)

The Original AirFort

Quickly and easily inflate this roomy 4″+ tall fort with a box fan! Then play inside for hours!

Kindi Kids Marsha Mello

Meet Marsha Mello, a Kindi Kid who will show you how much fun Kindergarten can be with big glittery eyes, bobbling heads, brushable hair, and removable clothes and shoes!

My Toothbrush is Missing  by Jan Thomas

Dog tells his friends that his toothbrush is missing. Donkey asks Dog to describe it. Which leads to hilarious fun! Because for every description Dog shares (bristles, long handle), Donkey thinks he’s found it — but he finds other things that also fit those descriptions (Fat Cat, a broom, an egg beater,…) Entertaining dialogue, brilliant brightly-colored comic-style illustrations, and a funny, funny ending. Perfection. (Can you tell I love Jan Thomas?)

Create with Clay Mythical Creatures

Isn’t this a wonderful gift for a 5 year old girl? Create a unicorn, dragon and phoenix sculptures with this colorful clay set!

Kids (my own included) love to cruise around on this super fun car. It’s great for inside or outside, too. (Even on my hardwood floors.)

Craft-tastic Make a Fox Friend

Make your own fox stuffie, clothes, and accessories with a few simple stitches through precut holes.

Chickens to the Rescue  by John Himmelman

Good thing for this farming family that their chickens will help with EVERYTHING! Except on Sunday. A delightful adventure that reminds kids of the days of the week, too.

Melissa & Doug Fairy Tale Stamp Set

Get creative with 30 fairy tale stamps. Use to tell stories or create art on cards, notebooks, and more!

This classic board game that never ceases to entertain kids. Use color matching and simple counting to race to the castle. Always a crowd favorite in my house.

Get creative with over 840 jewel and solid beads in 16 colors. Design on the layout table with the new flip tray.

Kaleidoscope

Twist to mix up the characters outside then look inside for a beautiful kaleidoscope.

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Here is what Stormy Daniels testified happened between her and Donald Trump

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Porn performer Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday in the hush money case against former President Trump, who looked on as she detailed their alleged sexual encounter and the payment she got to keep it quiet.

Prosecutors allege Trump paid Daniels to keep quiet about the allegations as he ran for president in 2016. Her testimony aired them very publicly as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee seeks to win the White House again.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels , and his lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial midway through her testimony.

It was a major spectacle in the first criminal trial of a former American president, now in its third week of testimony in Manhattan.

Here are some takeaways from Daniels’ testimony:

Who is Stormy Daniels?

The case centers on a $130,000 payment to Daniels from Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Prosecutors say it was part of a scheme to illegally influence the campaign by burying negative stories about him.

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His lawyers have sought to show that Trump was trying to protect his reputation and family — not his campaign — by shielding them from embarrassing stories about his personal life.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told jurors that she started exotic dancing in high school and appearing in adult films at age 23, eventually moving to direct more than 150 films and winning a roster of porn industry awards.

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Meeting Trump

Daniels testified she first met and chatted with Trump at a 2006 Lake Tahoe celebrity golf outing where her studio was a sponsor.

He referred to her as “the smart one” and asked her if she wanted to go to dinner, she said. Daniels testified that she accepted Trump’s invitation because she wanted to avoid dinner with her co-workers and thought it might help her career. Trump had his bodyguard get her number, she said.

When they met up later in his penthouse, she appreciated that he seemed interested in the business aspects of the industry rather than the “sexy stuff.” He also suggested putting her on his TV show, “The Apprentice,” a possibility she hoped could help establish her as a writer and director.

She left to use the bathroom and was startled to find Trump in his underwear when she returned, she said. She didn’t feel physically or verbally threatened but realized that he was “bigger and blocking the way,” she testified.

“The next thing I know was: I was on the bed,” and they were having sex, Daniels recalled. The encounter was brief but left her “shaking,” she said. “I just wanted to leave,” she testified.

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Payments for silence

Daniels was asked if Trump ever told her to keep things between them confidential, and said, “Absolutely not.” She said she learned in 2011 that a magazine had learned the story of their encounter, and she agreed to do an interview for $15,000 to make money and “control the narrative.” The story never ran.

In 2016, when Trump was running for president, Daniels said she authorized her manager to shop the story around but did not initially receive interest from news outlets. She said that changed in October with the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged about grabbing women sexually without asking permission . She said she learned that Cohen wanted to buy her silence.

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Mistrial push

Midway through her testimony, Trump’s lawyers moved for a mistrial.

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Daniels’ testimony about the alleged encounter and other meetings with him had “nothing to do with this case,” and would unfairly prejudice the jury.

The judge rejected it, and he faulted defense attorneys for not raising more of their objections while she was testifying.

Before Daniels took the stand, Trump’s lawyers had tried to stop her from testifying about the encounter’s details, saying it was irrelevant in “a case about books and records.”

Prosecutors countered that Daniels’ testimony gets at what Trump was trying to hide and they were “very mindful” not to draw too much graphic detail. Before Daniels took the stand, they told the judge the testimony would be “really basic,” and would not “involve any details of genitalia.”

While the judge didn’t side with Trump’s lawyers, he acknowledged that some details were excessive. The objections could potentially be used by Trump’s lawyers if he is convicted and they file an appeal.

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Cross-examination

Trump’s lawyers tried to attack Daniels’ credibility, suggesting she was motivated by money and that her account has shifted over the years.

“Am I correct that you hate President Trump?” defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked Daniels at one point. Daniels acknowledged she did.

“And you want him to go to jail?” the lawyer asked.

“I want him to be held accountable,” Daniels said. Pressed again whether that meant going to jail, she said: “If he’s convicted.”

The defense pressed Daniels on the fact that she owes Trump hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees stemming from an unsuccessful defamation lawsuit, and on a 2022 tweet in which she said she “will go to jail before I pay a penny.” Daniels dug in at times in the face of pointed questions, forcefully denying the idea that she had tried to extort money from Trump.

Trump whispered frequently to his attorney during Daniels’ testimony, and his expression seemed to be pained at one point as she recounted details about the dinner she says they shared. He shook his head and appeared to say something under his breath as Daniels testified that Trump told her he didn’t sleep in the same room as his wife.

On the way out of the courthouse, Trump called it “a very revealing day.” He didn’t address Daniels’ testimony explicitly but claimed the prosecutors’ case was “totally falling apart.”

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Jarring split screen

Trump’s appearance in court Tuesday, like all other days he’s stuck in the courtroom, means he can’t be out on the campaign trail as he runs for president a third time. It’s a frequent source of his complaints, but Daniels’ testimony in particular might underscore how much of a distraction the trial is from the business of running for president.

While Trump was stuck in a Manhattan courthouse away from voters and unable to speak for much of the day, President Biden was attending a Holocaust remembrance ceremony and condemning antisemitism .

It’s an issue Trump has sought to use against Biden in the campaign by seizing on the protests at college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war .

Associated Press writer Price reported from New York, Whitehurst from Washington. AP writers Michael Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Offenhartz and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this story.

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Screen Rant

10 a song of ice & fire characters that game of thrones was actually right to cut.

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Major Rhaenyra Targaryen Theory Is More Likely After New House Of The Dragon Season 2 Reveal

You're wrong about game of thrones' worst season - 8 wasn't even second worst, 5 years ago, one of game of thrones' most hated episodes nailed the entire point of grrm's story.

• Game of Thrones cut critical book narratives for TV adaptation, but not all omissions were detrimental.
• TV show faced challenges as book series remained incomplete, making finding a proper ending difficult.
• Removing certain book characters in GOT helped avoid unnecessary complexity, better fit TV format, and reach a successful conclusion.

The latter seasons of Game of Thrones infamously cut several critical narratives from the novels, though, in some cases, it was right to do so. The HBO drama was a cultural phenomenon in the 2010s, transforming the television landscape permanently in terms of scale and narrative risk. The series is adapted from George R.R. Martin's acclaimed fantasy series, A Song of Ice & Fire , which provided the TV interpretation with stellar source material from which to draw. However, the book series' incompletion was, unfortunately, a significant reason for its decline and the ultimate failure of the Game of Thrones ending .

George R.R. Martin has compared his writing method to that of a gardener rather than an architect. He plants seeds and allows them to grow fluidly without as much consideration for their role in the grand design. With that in mind, the two most recent A Song of Ice & Fire novels, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons , continued to add new, massive story threads . With that added complexity, finding a proper ending seems to have grown into an immense challenge, with The Winds of Winter taking over a decade to write .

The events of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons occur in the Game of Thrones TV series roughly around seasons 5 and 6, which is when the HBO drama began to shift away from the source material. While George R.R. Martin was still planting fresh seeds in his ever-growing garden, the TV show was already beginning to wind down, introducing fewer characters per season. Game of Thrones arguably had to cut certain book characters to avoid unnecessary complexity , better fit the television medium, and, for better or for worse, reach an ending.

Game of Thrones season 8 had plenty of problems and faced a major backlash, but it shouldn't be thought of as the worst season of HBO's hit series.

10 Quentyn Martell

The dornish prince's narrative would've felt insignificant.

One of the first red flags book readers saw in the Game of Thrones TV adaptation was the handling of Dorne in season 5. The schemes of various Martell family members are some of the most intricate, compelling aspects of George R.R. Martin's book series, and they were reduced to one of the show's silliest plotlines. Some great Dornish characters were wrongfully cut or simplified , though the absence of Quentyn Martell is rarely a complaint.

In A Dance with Dragons , Quentyn Martell is sent to Meereen by Doran Martell with the intent of bringing Daenerys to Dorne to broker an alliance. Quentyn attempts to tame Viserion and is ultimately killed by dragon fire, promptly ending his story. In the sprawling narrative of A Song of Ice & Fire , there's certainly a place for such insular narratives, and it undoubtedly speaks to the tone and aesthetic of Martin's world, subverting the hero's journey. However, it's not significant enough of a narrative to have taken up time on the series .

9 Young Griff

Adding another targaryen late in got would've been confusing.

In A Dance with Dragons , the character Young Griff is introduced, further complicating the impending war for the Iron Throne and Daenerys Targaryen's invasion of Westeros. Young Griff is revealed to allegedly be Prince Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell , who claims to have been rescued as a baby by Varys. Aegon, mentored by his adoptive father, Lord Jon Connington, assembles an army in the stormlands and prepares to make his claim for the throne. There are notable advantages to this plotline, but that doesn't mean it would work in the show.

There are notable advantages to this plotline, but that doesn't mean it would work in the show.

The introduction of Young Griff provides Varys with his own viable scheme, provides a distinct purpose for the Golden Company, and creates a direct threat to Daenerys, who could contribute to her downfall to becoming the Mad Queen, like in Game of Thrones . While this works excellently in novel form, integrating this narrative in season 7 without properly laying the foundation would've felt shoehorned . Adding another Targaryen that late in the series would be too enormous of a reveal to suddenly drop on television audiences. However, halfway merging the Aegon plotline with Jon Snow was also a mistake.

8 Jeyne Westerling

Replacing jeyne with talisa stark improved the red wedding twist.

One of the Game of Thrones changes that was genuinely successful was the omission of Jeyne Westerling, replacing Robb Stark's love interest with the original character Talisa. In the books, Jeyne nurses Robb to health after a battle, and a romantic relationship forms between them, much like in the show. However, Robb isn't a POV character in the books , and there's a distinct purpose in altering his storyline.

The Red Wedding is regarded as one of, if not the most, shocking television scene ever. While the moment was jaw-dropping in A Storm of Swords , the TV series constructed a more emotionally impactful value by focusing more on Robb and building a lovable relationship between him and Talisa . By developing the original character instead, Game of Thrones transformed the indistinct Jeyne Westerling into an unforgettable character with a heartbreaking demise.

Game of Thrones season 8 was extremely controversial, but one episode is clearly rooted in the themes of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.

7 The Kettleblack Brothers

The kettleblacks didn't add enough to the story.

One of the most fascinating aspects of reading A Song of Ice & Fire is the immense amount of detail George R.R. Martin puts into minor characters. Three characters of moderate significance in the King's Landing chapters are the Kettleblacks, Osney, Osmund, and Osfryd. Osney is the most significant of the three due to his relationship with Cersei in A Feast for Crows , which ties to the High Sparrow plotline from the TV series. Adding complications to the situation, the Kettleblacks are employed by Littlefinger .

The TV series reduced its cast to only the essential noble characters

As for the Kettleblacks being removed from Game of Thrones , it's most likely a matter of them simply not being vital enough to the story . As supporting military characters throughout Game of Thrones , such as Meryn Trant, Rodrik Cassel, or Ilyn Payne, many of them are killed off, with the latter just disappearing entirely. One of the primary differences with the books is that once these minor characters are killed off, they're often replaced. The TV series reduced its cast to only the essential noble characters, which makes sense given how many there are to keep track of.

6 Jeyne Poole

Sansa's season 5 plotline removed the need for jeyne poole.

Jeyne Poole is a Northern noblewoman and Sansa Stark's best friend from childhood. The changes to Sansa's storyline replace her potential plotline in the TV series, removing any need to bring her into the show. In season 5, Sansa is brought to Winterfell to wed Ramsay Bolton, which never happens in A Song of Ice & Fire , where Sansa was last seen still in The Vale in A Feast For Crows .

In the books, the Boltons believe that they've captured Arya Stark, who actually turns out to be Jeyne Poole. Poole, under the guise of Arya, essentially checks off all the same boxes as Sansa in season 5, including an escape from Winterfell with Theon at the end of A Dance with Dragons . While Sansa's season 5 narrative in the series was divisive, introducing Jeyne Poole would've been an unnecessary complexity that wouldn't have fit with the direction the show was headed.

5 Edric Storm

Combining edric's storm into gendry allowed a more concise cast.

It's revealed in Game of Thrones season 1 that King Robert Baratheon had several bastards , though the TV series only ever introduces Gendry. In George R.R. Martin's novels, much of Gendry's narrative belongs to another bastard named Edric Storm. In Game of Thrones season 3, when Gendry is brought to Dragonstone and is leeched for the blood ritual, the scenes are drawn directly from Edric's story in A Storm of Swords .

In A Song of Ice & Fire , Gendry doesn't do very much after joining the Brotherhood Without Banners. Similarly to the show, where Gendry disappears for several seasons, neither he nor Edric plays a significant role in A Feast for Crows or A Dance with Dragons . It's unclear what will happen to either of them going forward, but Game of Thrones managed to trim down their cast by reducing them to one character , which proved effective.

4 Lady Stoneheart

Keeping catelyn stark dead added to the red wedding's impact.

The Red Wedding is one of the most heartbreaking Game of Thrones moments , and part of the reason why was the definitive conclusion to beloved protagonists Robb and Catelyn Stark. In A Song of Ice & Fire , the massacre isn't actually the end for Catelyn Stark, who returns as Lady Stoneheart . In the epilogue of A Storm of Swords , the same book where the Red Wedding occurs, the Brotherhood Without Banners finds Catelyn's body after it's been retrieved from the river by the direwolf Nymeria.

Beric Dondarrion resurrects Catelyn Stark, giving his life for her, and she becomes Lady Stoneheart. In the following two books, she's seen roaming the Riverlands with the Brotherhood, killing Freys in vengeance for the Red Wedding. While this is an engaging storyline in the books, it might've detracted from the finality of the Red Wedding in the show , ruining its drama.

Tyrion's Changed Storyline Omitted The Need For Penny

Penny is a supporting character in A Dance with Dragons tied primarily to Tyrion Lannister's arc. She's a dwarf woman who forms a bond with Tyrion during his journey to Essos. She has a romantic affection for him, but he hasn't overcome the trauma of killing Tywin and the awful experience with Shae, which is depicted in Game of Thrones season 4.

The removal of Penny from the TV series is, in large part, due to the changes in Tyrion's character arc. In A Dance with Dragons , Tyrion undergoes an incredibly dark arc, dealing with depression, self-loathing, and a bitter hatred for his family. Since the TV show wanted Tyrion to remain a likable character , it eased through his travels without allowing for much character interaction outside of Varys and Jorah, allowing him to get to Daenerys and find a new purpose as quickly as possible.

2 Aeron Greyjoy

Aeron greyjoy is the least impactful greyjoy.

Aeron Greyjoy is technically in Game of Thrones season 6 during the kingsmoot where Euron becomes King of the Iron Islands, but he's barely in the series. In A Song of Ice & Fire , Aeron is one of Balon Greyjoy's younger brothers, who's a priest of the Drowned God. In A Feast for Crows , Aeron becomes a POV character who supports Victarion and opposes Asha and Euron Greyjoy as potential monarch candidates.

Asha Greyjoy was renamed Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones.

Aeron is a compelling character, but he's certainly the least impactful Greyjoy. Victarion is a character that could've improved Game of Thrones , adding some complexity to the Iron Islands plotline and ideally improving upon Euron. Euron Greyjoy is a far more complex character in the novels, and his adaptation was one of the many things that went wrong with Game of Thrones season 8 .

1 Arys Oakheart

Arys oakheart is a one-off pov character.

Arys Oakheart is a knight of the kingsguard sent with Myrcella Baratheon to protect her in Dorne. There, he's seduced by Princess Arianne Martell, who ropes him into her plans. In his first major conflict, he's quickly killed by Areo Hotah, begging the question of why Arys was a POV character to begin with. Again, Arys is a compelling character, but he's not particularly significant in the grand scheme of things.

Arianne Martell is a character Game of Thrones could have greatly benefited from, vastly improving the botched Dorne narrative. In the case of her appearance, Arys Oakheart could've been worthwhile as a brief minor character. Even still, he likely would've been framed as comedic relief in Game of Thrones , with the show honing in on his repeated breaking of kingsguard vows and, ultimately, his near-instant death to an actual warrior.

Game Of Thrones

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Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones is a TV series based on the book “A Song of Ice of Fire” by George R. R. Martin. It tells the story of the ongoing battle between the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros - as they fight for control of the coveted Iron Throne. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the far north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, led by House Stark's Jon Snow, is the first to encounter icy horrors that threaten all realms of men. The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and quickly became one of the biggest event series in the "Golden Age" of TV. Winner of 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, Game of Thrones has attracted record viewership on HBO and has a broad, active, international fan base.

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Stormy Daniels, Who Testified About Sex With Trump, Will Return to Stand

The porn star at the center of the ex-president’s criminal trial, who will testify again on Thursday, spoke under oath about their encounter at a golf tournament in 2006, a meeting that could shape American history.

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By Ben Protess ,  Jonah E. Bromwich ,  Maggie Haberman ,  Michael Rothfeld and Jonathan Swan

When Donald J. Trump met Stormy Daniels, their flirtation seemed fleeting: He was a 60-year-old married mogul at the peak of reality television fame, and she was 27, a Louisiana native raised in poverty and headed to porn-film stardom.

But that chance encounter in Lake Tahoe, Nev., some two decades ago is now at the center of the first criminal trial of an American president, an unprecedented case that could shape the 2024 presidential race.

This week, Ms. Daniels has been on the witness stand telling her side of the story, often in explicit detail. She has already faced five hours of questioning, and after the trial’s midweek hiatus, she is expected to return on Thursday to undergo additional cross-examination from Mr. Trump’s legal team.

The charges against Mr. Trump stem from her story of sex with him during that 2006 celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, a story she was shopping a decade later, in the closing days of the presidential campaign. Mr. Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 in hush money before Election Day, and the former president is accused of falsifying business records to cover up reimbursements for Mr. Cohen.

The Links Between Trump and 3 Hush-Money Deals

Here’s how key figures involved in making hush-money payoffs on behalf of Donald J. Trump are connected.

On Tuesday, Ms. Daniels’s fast-paced testimony lasted nearly five hours, during which she described an encounter with Mr. Trump, now 77, that he has long denied. Tension gripped the courtroom, her voluble testimony filling a heavy silence. She made jokes; they did not land.

After about a half-hour on the stand, she began to unspool intimate details about Mr. Trump, so much so that the judge balked at some of the testimony. He implied it was gratuitously vulgar, and the defense sought a mistrial.

Ms. Daniels said the future president had invited her to dinner inside his palatial Lake Tahoe hotel suite. He answered the door wearing silk pajamas. When he was rude, she playfully spanked him with a rolled-up magazine. And when she asked about his wife, he told her not to worry, saying that they didn’t even sleep in the same room — prompting Mr. Trump to shake his head in disgust and mutter “bullshit” to his lawyers, loud enough that it drew a private rebuke from the judge, who called it “contemptuous.”

Ms. Daniels then recounted the sex itself in graphic detail. It happened, she said, after she returned from the bathroom and found Mr. Trump in his boxer shorts and T-shirt. She tried to leave and he blocked her path, though not, she said, in a threatening manner. The sex was brief, she said, and although she never said no, there was a “power imbalance.”

“I was staring up at the ceiling, wondering how I got there,” she told the jury, adding that Mr. Trump did not wear a condom.

The testimony was an astonishing moment in American political history and a crowning spectacle in a trial full of them: a porn star, across from a former and potentially future president, telling the world what she was once paid to keep quiet about.

Ms. Daniels, 45, has told her story widely — to prosecutors, reporters, her friends, in a book — but never to jurors, and not with Mr. Trump in the room. Her appearance on the stand appeared to unnerve Mr. Trump as she aired his dirty laundry, under oath, in mortifying detail.

But Ms. Daniels’s story is not just a sordid kiss-and-tell tale; it spotlights what prosecutors say was Mr. Trump’s criminality. He is accused of engineering the false business records scheme to cover up all traces of their tryst: the hush money, the repayment to Mr. Cohen and, yes, the sex.

While the defense cast the testimony as a smear, Ms. Daniels provided prosecutors with some useful details. She established the fundamental story of her encounter with Mr. Trump. And she testified that she would have told the same uncomfortable tale in 2016, had she not taken the hush money from Mr. Trump’s fixer.

Who Are Key Players in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial?

The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.

But her testimony, at times, seemed problematic for the prosecutors who had called her. Ms. Daniels testified that money was not her motivation, and that she wanted to get her story out. That could draw skepticism from jurors, who have heard that she accepted the $130,000 and, in exchange, did not tell her story for more than a year.

“My motivation wasn’t money,” she said. “It was motivated out of fear, not money.”

The jury also saw the judge, Juan M. Merchan, scold Ms. Daniels at least twice, instructing her to stick to the questions asked of her. At one point, he even issued his own objection, interrupting her testimony as she began to describe the sexual position she and Mr. Trump assumed.

Justice Merchan, generally a stoic presence with a tight grip over his courtroom, showed rare exasperation as the testimony veered in a scurrilous direction and the trial took on a circuslike atmosphere.

He also asked Ms. Daniels to slow down. She was a rapid-fire talker, prone to laughter and lengthy asides.

Outside the jury’s presence, the judge said that “there were some things better left unsaid” in her testimony and suggested that Ms. Daniels might have “credibility issues.”

Yet he rejected the defense’s bid for a mistrial, instead inviting Mr. Trump’s lawyers to mount an aggressive questioning of Ms. Daniels.

“The more times this story has changed, the more fodder for cross-examination,” he said.

Susan Necheles, the Trump lawyer who led the cross-examination, heeded the judge’s advice.

She painted Ms. Daniels as a lying opportunist. She unearthed excerpts from Ms. Daniels’s book to suggest that her story had changed over time. And in a potentially troublesome moment for Ms. Daniels, Ms. Necheles implied that she had fabricated an account of a Trump supporter threatening her and her daughter in a Las Vegas parking lot, a story she did not share with her baby’s father.

“Your daughter’s life was in jeopardy, and you did not tell her father, right?” Ms. Necheles asked, the implication being that the story was phony.

Ms. Daniels was indignant. And during some cross-examination, she parried effectively, performing even better than she did with her answers to prosecutors.

Her testimony brought full circle one of the earliest scandals that loomed over Mr. Trump’s presidency. Ever since The Wall Street Journal broke the news six years ago that Mr. Cohen had paid her to keep quiet, her story has changed the course of American politics and laid the groundwork for the case.

Over the years, Ms. Daniels has leaned into her Trump-adjacent fame. She has sold merchandise, filmed a documentary, sat for high-profile interviews and written a book that was so tell-all it included detailed descriptions of the former president’s genitalia. Mr. Trump has also dished out insults that ridiculed her appearance, calling her “horseface.”

But at other times, Ms. Daniels appeared tortured, detailing the personal toll of outsize exposure. Suddenly, she was not just a porn star but a threat to a man who commands the most fervent political movement in modern American history. She told reporters she was inundated by threats from Trump supporters, many of which were graphic. She feared for her family and has divorced her third husband, the father of her daughter.

“I have been just tormented for the last five years or so,” she said in the opening scene of “Stormy,” a documentary about her life that was released on Peacock. “And here I am, I’m still here.”

Ms. Daniels joined the trial at a pivotal moment. On Monday, prosecutors had asked two veterans of the Trump Organization’s accounting department to show jurors the 34 records they say Mr. Trump falsified to conceal his reimbursement of Mr. Cohen for the hush money. Those include 11 invoices, 11 checks and 12 entries in Mr. Trump’s ledger that portrayed the payments as normal legal expenses.

The Donald Trump Indictment, Annotated

The indictment unveiled in April 2023 centers on a hush-money deal with a porn star, but a related document alleges a broader scheme to protect Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

In the weeks ahead, Mr. Cohen is expected to take the stand and connect the dots between the salacious details and the substantive documents. On Tuesday, Ms. Daniels’s testimony took jurors through the smuttier elements of the case.

She began by recounting a difficult childhood in Baton Rouge. Her parents split up when she was young, she said.

She wanted to be a veterinarian and was editor of her high school newspaper. Eventually, she began stripping, she says, because she earned more than she did shoveling manure at a horse stable.

By the time she met Mr. Trump at the golf tournament in 2006, she was a player in porn. She was an actress, and would ultimately find her footing as a director and producer.

Asked to identify Mr. Trump in the courtroom, she called him out as the man in a navy suit jacket. Ms. Daniels, dressed in all black and wearing glasses, reduced the singular former president to just another man in the courtroom.

She spent much of her testimony describing that first encounter in Lake Tahoe. When she met Mr. Trump, she knew he was a golfer and the host of the “The Apprentice,” the reality show that revived Mr. Trump’s celebrity for a new generation. In a memorable line, Ms. Daniels said she also knew that he was “as old or older than my father.”

Later that day, she said, Mr. Trump’s aide approached and invited her to dinner. She says he took her number, but that her initial reaction was “eff no,” abbreviating an expletive.

But her publicist encouraged her: “What could possibly go wrong?”

She then transported jurors inside his hotel room, painting the sprawling suite in minute detail, capturing every aspect down to the color of the tiles.

She said Mr. Trump had taken an interest in her business and asked about unions, residuals and health insurance, as well as about testing for sexually transmitted diseases. “He was very interested in how I segued from becoming just a porn star to writing and directing,” she said.

Ms. Daniels said Mr. Trump told her, “You remind me of my daughter. She is smart and blond and beautiful, and people underestimate her as well.”

She recalled going into the bathroom to do her lipstick, where, she said, she noticed gold tweezers and Old Spice.

Later, they stayed in touch, she said. In 2007, they met at Trump Tower in New York, at a Trump Vodka launch party in Los Angeles and at a Beverly Hills hotel — all interactions that appeared to undercut Mr. Trump’s claims that he barely knew her.

The jury was also shown contact logs from Ms. Daniels’s phone and from Mr. Trump’s assistant’s phone showing that they remained in touch. And when they did talk, she said, Mr. Trump had a nickname for her: “honeybunch.”

They have only spoken through lawyers since then, most notably during the hush-money negotiations. When Ms. Necheles accused Ms. Daniels of using that effort to “extort money from President Trump,” Ms. Daniels objected.

“False,” she said.

“That’s what you did, right?” Ms. Necheles persisted.

“False!” Ms. Daniels shouted.

Reporting was contributed by William K. Rashbaum , Kate Christobek , Jesse McKinley , Wesley Parnell and Matthew Haag .

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption. He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump and his allies. More about Ben Protess

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent reporting on the 2024 presidential campaign, down ballot races across the country and the investigations into former President Donald J. Trump. More about Maggie Haberman

Michael Rothfeld is an investigative reporter in New York, writing in-depth stories focused on the city’s government, business and personalities. More about Michael Rothfeld

Jonathan Swan is a political reporter covering the 2024 presidential election and Donald Trump’s campaign. More about Jonathan Swan

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

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