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RESOURCES FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Books for Preschoolers

Looking for great books to share with your preschooler? Here you will find a list of books to share with your children from birth through their preschool years.

Animal Stories	Especially for Babies
Bedtime Stories	Folk and Fairy Tales
Classics	Me and My Family
Concept Books	School Stories
Cumulative and Pattern Stories	Stories in Rhyme

Animal Stories

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
JE CRONI	Cronin, Doreen	Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type When Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter in the barn they start making demands, and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want.	2000
JE HENKE	Henkes, Kevin	Kitten's First Full Moon When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it.	2004
JE KEATS	Keats, Ezra Jack	Whistle for Willie Willie longs to be able to whistle for his dog and makes many ingenious attempts.	1964
JE RATHM	Rathmann, Peggy	Officer Buckle and Gloria The children at Napville Elementary School always ignore Officer Buckle's safety tips, until a police dog named Gloria accompanies him when he gives his safety speeches.	1995
JE WADDE	Waddell, Martin	Farmer Duck When a kind and hardworking duck nearly collapses from overwork while taking care of a farm because the owner is too lazy to do so, the rest of the animals get together and chase the farmer out of town.	1991
JE YOLEN	Yolen, Jane	Owl Moon On a winter's night under a full moon, a father and daughter trek into the woods to see the Great Horned Owl.	1987

Bedtime Stories

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
JE FOX	Fox, Mem	Time for Bed As darkness falls, parents everywhere try to get their children ready for sleep.	1993
JE HOBAN	Hoban, Russell	Bedtime for Frances Frances finds it difficult to go to sleep with the strange noises and menacing shapes that seem to fill her room after dark.	1960
JE HUTCH	Hutchins, Pat	Good-night, Owl! Because all the other animals' noises keep him from sleeping, Owl watches for a chance to take his revenge.	1972
JE MCBRA	McBratney, Sam	Guess How Much I Love You During a bedtime game, every time Little Nutbrown Hare demonstrates how much he loves his father, Big Nutbrown Hare gently shows him that the love is returned even more.	1995
JE RATHM	Rathmann, Peggy	Good Night, Gorilla An unobservant zookeeper is followed home by all the animals he thinks he has left behind in the zoo.	1994
JE WILLE	Willems, Mo	Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! A pigeon comes up with many reasons why he should not go to bed.	2006
JE YOLEN	Yolen, Jane	How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? Mother and child ponder the different ways a dinosaur can say good night, from slamming his tail and pouting to giving a big hug and kiss.	2000

Classics

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
JE CORDU	Freeman, Don	Corduroy A toy bear in a department store searches for a button missing from his overalls, but finds instead the thing he misses most, a home.	1968
JE LEAF	Leaf, Munro	The Story of Ferdinand A gentle bull who likes to sit quietly and smell flowers is entered in a bullfight.	1936
JE LIONN	Lionni, Leo	Swimmy Swimmy is the tale of a shy fish who turns into a clever and courageous leader.	1963
JE MARSH	Marshall, James	George and Martha Relates several episodes in the friendship of two hippopotamuses.	1972
JE MCCLO	McCloskey, Robert	Make Way for Ducklings Mr. and Mrs. Mallard proudly return to their home in the Boston Public Garden with their eight offspring.	1941
JE PIPER	Piper, Watty	The Little Engine that Could When the other engines refuse, the Little Blue Engine tries to pull a stranded train full of toys and good food over the mountain.	1930
JE POTTE	Potter, Beatrix	The Tale of Peter Rabbit Naughty Peter Rabbit disobeys his mother by going into Mr. McGregor's garden and almost gets caught.	1902
JE CURIO	Rey, H. A.	Curious George The curiosity of a newly-captured monkey gets him into continual trouble.	1941
JE SENDA	Sendak, Maurice	Where the Wild Things Are A naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.	1963
JE TABAC	Taback, Simms	Joseph Had a Little Overcoat A very old overcoat is recycled numerous times into a variety of garments.	1977

Concept Books

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
JE AYLES	Aylesworth, Jim	Old Black Fly Rhyming text and illustrations follow a mischievous old black fly through the alphabet as he has a very busy bad day landing where he should not be.	1992
JE CARLE	Carle, Eric	From Head to Toe Encourages the reader to exercise by following the movement of various animals; presented in a question and answer format.	1997
JE CARLE	Carle, Eric	The Very Hungry Caterpillar A hungry little caterpillar eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep.	1969
JE EHLER	Ehlert, Lois	Color Zoo Visit the Color Zoo, and see all sorts of shapes and colors!	1989
JE EHLER	Ehlert, Lois	Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z An alphabetic tour of the world of fruits and vegetables, from apricot and artichoke to yam and zucchini.	1989
JE EHLER	Ehlert, Lois	Planting a Rainbow A mother and child plant a rainbow of flowers in the family garden.	1988
JE MARTI	Martin, Bill	Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Children see a variety of animals, each one a different color, and a mother looking at them.	1983
JE MARTI	Martin, Bill	Chicka Chicka Boom Boom An alphabet rhyme/chant that relates what happens when the whole alphabet tries to climb a coconut tree.	1989
JE WALSH	Walsh, Ellen Stoll	Mouse Paint Three white mice discover jars of red, blue and yellow paint and explore the world of color.	1989

Cumulative and Pattern Stories

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
J398.2 BRETT	Brett, Jan	The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folktale A retelling of the traditional tale of how a boy's lost mitten becomes a refuge from the cold for an increasing number of animals.	1989
J398.2 BROWN	Brown, Marcia	Stone Soup When three hungry soldiers come to a town where all the food has been hidden, they set out to make soup of water and stones, and all the town enjoys a feast.	1975
J398.21	Egielski, Richard	The Gingerbread Boy A freshly baked gingerbread boy escapes when he is taken out of the oven and eludes his pursuers until he meets a clever fox.	1997
J398.21	Marshall, James	Goldilocks and the Three Bears While three bears go for a spin on their bicycle, a naughty little girl enters their house, eats a bowl of porridge, tries out their chairs and beds, and falls asleep.	1988
J398.24	Galdone, Paul	The Three Billy Goats Gruff Three clever billy goats outwit a big ugly troll that lives under the bridge they must cross on their way up the mountain.	1973
J398.24 KIMME	Kimmel, Eric A.	Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock Anansi the Spider uses a strange moss-covered rock in the forest to trick all the other animals, until Little Bush Deer decides he needs to learn a lesson.	1988
JE FEIFF	Feiffer, Jules	Bark, George The story of a dog that meows, oinks, and generally does everything but bark.	1999
JE FOX	Fox, Mem	Hattie and the Fox Hattie, a big black hen, discovers a fox in the bushes, which creates varying reactions in the other barnyard animals.	1986
JE GAG	Gag, Wanda	Millions of Cats How can an old man and his wife select one cat from a choice of millions and trillions?	1928
JE GINSB	Ginsburg, Mirra	Mushroom in the Rain How can an ant, butterfly, mouse, sparrow, and rabbit all take shelter from the rain under the same mushroom when originally there was only room for the ant?	1974
JE HUTCH	Hutchins, Pat	Titch Nothing Titch owned amounted to much except the smallest thing of all--a seed.	1971
JE NEITZ	Neitzel, Shirley	The Jacket I Wear in the Snow A young girl names all the clothes that she must wear to play in the snow.	1989
JE NUMER	Numeroff, Laura Joffe	If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Relating the cycle of requests a mouse is likely to make after you give him a cookie takes the reader through a young child's day.	1985
JE ROSEN	Rosen, Michael	We're Going on a Bear Hunt Brave hunters go through grass, a river, mud, and other obstacles before the inevitable encounter with the bear forces a headlong retreat.	1989
JE SLOBO	Slobodkina, Esphyr	Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business The monkeys steal the peddler's caps while he is asleep.	1940

Especially for Babies

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
J782.72 PINKN	Pinkney, J. Brian	Hush, Little Baby An illustrated version of the traditional folk song in which a father promises the world to his restless baby daughter.	2006
J793.7 HAND		Hand Rhymes Fingerplays and nursery rhymes collected and illustrated by Marc Brown.	1985
JE BROWN	Brown, Margaret Wise	Goodnight Moon Say goodnight to each of the objects in the great green room: goodnight house, goodnight mouse, goodnight air, goodnight chair.	1947
JE FLEMI	Fleming, Denise	The Everything Book A collection of simple works which introduce colors, shapes, numbers, animals, food, and nursery rhymes.	2000
JE MEYER	Meyers, Susan	Everywhere Babies Describes babies and the things they do from the time they are born until their first birthday.	2001
JE MURPH	Murphy, Mary	I Kissed the Baby Various animals tell how they saw, fed, sang to, tickled, and kissed the new duckling.	2003
JE OXENB		The Helen Oxenbury Nursery Collection Presents a collection of more than 25 classic nursery rhymes and stories illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.	2004

Folk and Fairy Tales

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
J398.2 MOSEL	Mosel, Arlene	Tikki Tikki Tembo When the eldest son fell in the well and most of the time getting help was spent pronouncing the name of the one in trouble, the Chinese, according to legend, decided to give all their children short names.	1968
J398.2 ZELIN	Zelinsky, Paul O.	Rapunzel A retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. Includes a note on the origins of the story.	1997
J398.20972 MORAL	Morales, Yuyi	Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book In this version of a traditional tale, Señor Calavera arrives at Grandma Beetle's door, ready to take her to the next life, but after helping her count, in English and Spanish, as she makes her birthday preparations, he changes his mind.	2003
JE DEPAO	De Paola, Tomie	Strega Nona: Her Story Grandma Concetta heals everyone with her remedies and advice, and when she retires, she leaves Nona her magic pasta pot with its secret ingredient.	1996
JE PINKN	Pinkney, Jerry	The Ugly Duckling An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.	1999
JE STEPT	Steptoe, John	Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.	1987

Me and My Family

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
JE FALCO	Falconer, Ian	Olivia Whether at home getting ready for the day, enjoying the beach, or at bedtime, Olivia is a feisty pig who has too much energy for her own good.	2000
JE HOFFM	Hoffman, Mary	Amazing Grace Although a classmate says that she cannot play Peter Pan in the school play because she is black, Grace discovers that she can do anything she sets her mind to do.	1991
JE RYLAN	Rylant, Cynthia	The Relatives Came The relatives come to visit from Virginia and everyone has a wonderful time.	1985
JE VIORS	Viorst, Judith	Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day On a day when everything goes wrong for him, Alexander is consoled by the thought that other people have bad days, too.	1972
JE WABER	Waber, Bernard	Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Lyle is perfectly happy living with the Primms on East 88th Street until irritable Mr. Grumps next door changes all that.	1965
JE WILLI	Williams, Vera B.	A Chair for My Mother A child, her waitress mother, and her grandmother save dimes to buy a comfortable armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire.	1982
S J 306.85 LOMAS	Lomas Garza, Carmen	Magic Windows In Spanish and English, Carmen Lomas Garza portrays her family's Mexican customs through cut-paper work.	1999

School Stories

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
JE CARLS	Carlson, Nancy L.	Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! Even though Henry is looking forward to going to kindergarten, he is not sure about staying once he gets there.	1999
JE CREWS	Crews, Donald	School Bus Follows the progress of school buses as they take children to school and bring them home again.	1984
JE HENKE	Henkes, Kevin	Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later.	1996
JE HEST	Hest, Amy	Off to School, Baby Duck! Baby Duck experiences the fear of the first day of school, but with a little help from Grampa, everything turns out okay in the end.	1999
JE SCHWA	Schwartz, Amy	Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner Although some of the things her older sister taught her at home seem a little unusual at school, other lessons help make Annabelle's first day in kindergarten a success.	1988
JE SHANN	Shannon, David	David Goes to School David's activities in school include chewing gum, talking out of turn, and engaging in a food fight, causing his teacher to say over and over, "No, David!"	1999
JE SLATE	Slate, Joseph	Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten Introduces the letters of the alphabet as Miss Bindergarten and her students get ready for kindergarten.	1996
JE WELLS	Wells, Rosemary	Timothy Goes to School Timothy learns about being accepted and making friends during the first week of his first year at school.	1981

Stories in Rhyme

Note: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

CALL #	AUTHOR	TITLE	DATE
J398.8 MY		My Very First Mother Goose A collection of more than sixty nursery rhymes including "Hey Diddle, Diddle", "Pat- a-Cake", "Little Jack Horner", and "Pussycat, Pussycat". Illustrated by Rosemary Wells.	1996
J782.42164 HORT	Hort, Lenny	The Seals on the Bus Different animals--including seals, tigers, geese, rabbits, monkeys, and more--make their own sounds as they ride all around the town on a bus.	2000
J784.6	Raffi	Down by the Bay In this song, two children imagine their mothers asking, "Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose, a fly wearing a tie, or llamas eating their pajamas down by the bay?"	1987
J811	Merriam, Eve	What in the World? A poetic guessing game that offers clues about the appearance and behavior of a variety of animals.	1997
JE ALBOR	Alborough, Jez	Duck in the Truck Duck's truck is stuck. Will he ever get his truck out of the muck?	1999
JE BEMEL	Bemelmans, Ludwig	Madeline Tells of the adventures of Madeline, the smallest and naughtiest of the twelve little charges of Miss Clavel.	1939
JE CHRIS	Christelow, Eileen	Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed A counting book in which one by one the little monkeys jump on the bed only to fall off and bump their heads.	1989
JE DEGEN	Degen, Bruce	Jamberry A little boy walking in the forest meets a big lovable bear who takes him on a delicious berry-picking adventure in the magical world of Berryland.	1983
JE GUARI	Guarino, Deborah	Is Your Mama a Llama? A young llama asks his friends if their mamas are llamas and finds out, in rhyme, that their mothers are other types of animals.	1989
JE HARPE	Harper, Charise Mericle	There Was a Bold Lady who Wanted a Star In this variation of the traditional cumulative rhyme, a feisty woman tries roller skates, a bicycle, and even a rocket to reach a star.	2002
JE KIRK	Kirk, David	Miss Spider's Tea Party When lonely Miss Spider tries to host a tea party, the other bugs refuse to come for fear of being eaten!	1994
JE MCPHAI	McPhail, David M.	Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! Pigs galore invade a house and have a wonderful party.	1993
JE SEUSS	Seuss, Dr.	Horton Hears a Who Horton tries to protect the tiny town of Whoville and its inhabitants, the Whos, from a "sour" kangaroo and a whole family of mischievous monkeys.	1954
JE SHAW	Shaw, Nancy	Sheep in a Jeep Tells of the misadventures of a group of sheep that go riding in a jeep.	1986
JE SIERR	Sierra, Judy	Wild about Books A librarian names Mavis McGrew introduces the animals in the zoo to the joy of reading when she drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake.	2004
JE WILLI	Williams, Sue	I Went Walking During the course of a walk, a young boy identifies animals of different colors.	1989
JE WILSO	Wilson, Karma	Moose Tracks! A homeowner remembers visits from all the animals whose tracks, feathers, and other traces are visible--except for the moose whose prints are everywhere.	2006

This list was compiled and is maintained by Children's Services librarians. Other materials may be available. If you need help finding these or other Library materials, please ask a librarian in Children's Services. We look forward to seeing you at the Library!

General comments and suggestions can be sent to Becky White at bwhite@acpl.lib.in.us, or to Mary R. Voors, Manager, Children's Services at mvoors@acpl.lib.in.us.

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