The most recommended preschool books

Who picked these books? Meet our 729 experts.

729 authors created a book list with preschool books, and here are their favorites.

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Book cover of Guess How Much I Love You

Eugenia Yoh & Vivienne Chang Author Of This Is Not My Home

From my list on making you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Why am I passionate about this?

Weā€™re picture book lovers and best friends that met in college at Washington University in St. Louis. Our friendship started out with long telephone conversations during the pandemic, and have now blossomed into a picture book partnership where we hope to write books that make people feel warm and fuzzy through the universality of the human experience. Vivienne is still currently a student at WashU, but will move to New York post-graduation. Eugenia has since graduated and is currently a designer in the childrenā€™s department at Chronicle Books in the Bay Area.

Vivienne's book list on making you feel warm and fuzzy inside

Eugenia Yoh & Vivienne Chang Why did Vivienne love this book?

There is so much we love about this book. Every page stretches the imagination on how much one can love in physical distance form and it makes you realize that love, in a sense, has not bounds. You canā€™t guess how much Little Nutbrown Hare is loved, but he are loved endlessly. Not only is this book warm and fuzzy vibes, it makes you want to cry with this father and child relationship. Vivienneā€™s dad is a big inspiration in my life and it makes her realize how much she love him and hope to be just like him one day.

By Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Guess How Much I Love You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Celebrate twenty-five years of love right up to the moon and back! A new board-book edition is perfect for little hands.

How much does Little Nutbrown Hare love his daddy? And how much does Big Nutbrown Hare love him back? The cherished tale of boundless affection is ready for boundless sharing in a durable board-book edition for the younger set.


Book cover of Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise

Nancy Vo Author Of Boobies

From my list on with sideways humor and irony.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born where the sun rose in the prairies and set behind the Rockies. Now I live on the West Coast of Canada. I am a picture bookmaker, and from my recommendations, you might think that I also have a thing for thieves: cupcake thieves, underwear thieves, hat thieves, chicken thieves, pie thieves. But Iā€™m really here for the element of surprise and well-earned laughs in childrenā€™s picture books. They say comedy is hard, but comedy in picture books is even harder. These five picks are a great place to start if you like smartly silly picture books with a bit of off-kilter humor and a sense of irony. Bonus points for puns.

Nancy's book list on with sideways humor and irony

Nancy Vo Why did Nancy love this book?

Can a picture book be any more dramatic! The title! Those eyes! Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise pairs Sean Taylorā€™s purple prose with Jean Jullienā€™s graphic characters against a sky, ā€œas black as burnt toast.ā€ Readers meet an owl who thinks that he is clever and stealthy enough to land himself a meal ā€“ Rabbit? Mutton? Pigeon? Or simpler fare? Look there ā€“ hungry owl schemes, dramatically!

By Sean Taylor, Jean Jullien (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

A laugh-out-loud page turner from Sean Taylor with wickedly hilarious graphic art from Jean Jullien.

"This is the funniest picture book I have read in a long time" David Walliams

From masterful storyteller Sean Taylor and exciting, celebrated graphic artist Jean Jullien, comes the laugh-out-loud tale of Hoot Owl. Hoot Owl is no ordinary owl - oh no! - he's a master of disguise! And he will use his expert camouflage powers to trick his unsuspecting prey into succumbing to him! Tiny animals of the night ... beware! But, somehow, Hoot Owl's prey keeps escaping... Hmmm, perhaps he isn't quiteā€¦


Book cover of Battle Bunny

Frans Vischer Author Of Fuddles

From my list on childrenā€™s books that tickled my toes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child Iā€™ve loved comedy. Whether itā€™s Daffy Duck, the Pink Panther movies, or a Carl Hiaasen novel, I like to laugh and make people laugh. I grew up drawing cartoons, and as a Disney animator I learned the importance of creating characters that audiences could believe and empathize with. Humor has no geographic, religious, or racial boundaries ā€“ the human condition is universal, and humor speaks to us all, regardless of language. I strive to write and draw characters that connect with readers and then put them in silly, odd but believable situations to extract the maximum entertainment.

Frans' book list on childrenā€™s books that tickled my toes

Frans Vischer Why did Frans love this book?

I love this concept of a boy turning a saccharine, boring picture book called Birthday Bunny into Battle Bunny. A pencil his weapon of choice, he attacks the book, driven by his creativity, and turns it into a book he actually wants to read. A daring idea from the author, this hilarious and engaging book is something any young boy can relate to.

By Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, Matt Myers (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Battle Bunny as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Encourage creativity with this wildly entertaining picture book mash-up from the minds of Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett.

Alex has been given a saccharine, sappy, silly-sweet picture book about Birthday Bunny that his grandma found at a garage sale. Alex isnā€™t interestedā€”until he decides to make the book something heā€™d actually like to read. So he takes out his pencil, sharpens his creativity, and totally transforms the story!

Birthday Bunny becomes Battle Bunny, and the rabbitā€™s innocent journey through the forest morphs into a supersecret mission to unleash an evil planā€”a plan that only Alex can stop.

Featuring layered, originalā€¦


Book cover of Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?

Megan Preston Meyer Author Of Supply Jane & Fifo Fix the Flow: A Supply Chain and Logistics Adventure for Kids

From my list on Kidsā€™ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works.

Why am I passionate about this?

I spent 10+ years in supply chain and analytics, but now I tell the stories that data doesnā€™t. I love exposing the hidden logic that makes the world work. Correction: I love discovering the hidden logic that makes the world work, and what I figure out, I love to share. Whether itā€™s getting kids interested in supply chain (e.g., how the things in the Amazon package actually get to their mailbox) or shedding light on corporate absurdity in funny novels (e.g., Firebrand), I figure that the more we can pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, the more we can understandā€”and appreciateā€”the world around us.

Megan's book list on Kidsā€™ books about supply chain management and other ways the world works

Megan Preston Meyer Why did Megan love this book?

Richard Scarry books are nostalgic gold. Thereā€™s so much going on on every page, and I remember it all like it was yesterday (which it probably was, because half of the illustrations are on Twitter as memes).

The little vignettes cover all the traditional kidsā€™ book themesā€”firemen, policemen, ship voyages, road constructionā€”but then go further. Everyone is a Worker talks about how money flows through the economy, and Wood & How We Use It discusses a supply chain, from raw materials to production and manufacturing to transportation (albeit in grossly unrealistic trucks). 

By Richard Scarry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.


Book cover of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Matthew Sussman Author Of Stylistic Virtue and Victorian Fiction: Form, Ethics, and the Novel

From my list on Victorian novels written in a weird style.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved literature, especially for its daring use of language. Thatā€™s how I became interested in the weird and strange styles of the nineteenth century. For many scholars, the Victorian novel is the most realistic form of writing ever produced and the closest that the novel comes to cinemaā€”so if you notice an authorā€™s style, then somethingā€™s gone wrong because it disrupts the illusion of reality. But it doesnā€™t take much to realise that even the most realistic novels have styles that are highly distinct and that the Victorian period is full of other writers whose styles are bizarre, extreme, or fascinatingly eccentric. 

Matthew's book list on Victorian novels written in a weird style

Matthew Sussman Why did Matthew love this book?

This book has become so familiar to us through cartoons and movies that we often forget how very weird it is as a piece of writing. The book begins when Alice, bored of her sisterā€™s company, notices a white rabbit muttering to itself ā€œOh dear! Oh dear!ā€, and starts to become curiousā€”not, mind you, because talking rabbits are impossible, but only because they are so very intriguing.

The rest of the book shares this bemused tone: Alice will be subjected to all sorts of indignities, including a near-beheading, but as a ā€œgoodā€ Victorian girl, she will generally accept the bizarre reality that is presented to her. Carrollā€™s mastery of language is key to this effect. Nearly every character sounds sensible, turning well-formed logical sentences, but they never make much actual sense, and their speeches are riddled with so many puns, double meanings, and other linguistic tricks that one can neverā€¦

By Lewis Carroll,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.

One of the best-known and most popular works of English-language fiction, its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have been enormouslyā€¦


Book cover of Bedtime for Rosie Rabbit

Gillian Rogerson Author Of You Can't Eat a Princess!

From my list on children's picture books to read aloud.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since an early age, I loved getting lost in a good story and knew I wanted to be a writer one day. As an adult, I tried writing in many genres but it was when I had my children that I knew I wanted to write childrenā€™s bedtime stories. I loved that special time at the end of a busy day when I could snuggle down with my children and get lost in a story with them. I now write children's bedtime stories for a podcast called Koko Sleep. The stories are written in a soothing way and are designed to help the listeners drift easily to sleep.

Gillian's book list on children's picture books to read aloud

Gillian Rogerson Why did Gillian love this book?

My eldest daughter is called Rosie and she absolutely adored this book. It has lift-the-flaps inside which children always love. It's a simple story about a rabbit getting ready for bedtime, and it gently encourages children to have a bedtime routine. I read it every night and it wasn't long before my daughter knew the words and she started reading it to me. It is such a treasured book and I still have it in my family box of memories.

By Patrick Yee, Lucy Coats,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bedtime for Rosie Rabbit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

In this lift-the-flap book young readers can help Rosie Rabbit take off her dress, wash her face, brush her teeth and get ready for bed. '


Book cover of I'm Not Santa!

Constance Lombardo Author Of Tiny Spoon vs. Little Fork

From my list on hysterically funny picture books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve worked with kids in preschools and elementary schools, (plus Iā€™m a mom!) and to me, nothing is better than hearing kids laugh. I also just adore picture books and treasure my personal library, with its focus on (you guessed it!) humor. Sassy cats, bears who want to have kids for pets, chickens who interrupt, alphabets overrun by frustrated Zebras, picture books bravely go where other books might only tiptoe in a cowardly fashionā€”into the world of wild imagination and anthropomorphized everything. With amazing artwork!! Letā€™s be honest, Iā€™ll choose funny picture books over War and Peace every time.

Constance's book list on hysterically funny picture books

Constance Lombardo Why did Constance love this book?

One of my favorite picture books ever of all time, Iā€™m Not Santa features an exceptionally cute owlet. Heā€™s the same guy from Iā€™m Not Cute (but he is!!) except this time heā€™s out in the snow at Christmas time, wearing a red cap and pulling a sled. So, of course, when Baby Owl runs into Baby Hare, the little hare sees the red cap, mistakes the sled for a sleigh, and cries, ā€œSanta! Itā€™s you!ā€ Baby Owl insists, ā€œIā€™m not Santa! Iā€™m an owl!ā€ Baby Hare refuses to believe it and starts to cry. Soon theyā€™re both crying, until the real  Santa shows up to talk some sense into these two. Sweet and totally hysterical! 

By Jonathan Allen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I'm Not Santa! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Baby Owl is back in this follow-up to the highly successful I'm Not Cute!and I'm Not Scared! Baby Owl is taking a Christmas Eve stroll though the woods with his sledge, when Baby Hare mistakes him for Santa. "I'm not Santa!" Baby Owl insists, and a comic Christmas tale unfolds. 'Absolutely hilarious' - Kirkus 'Made me laugh out loud ...a delight' - The Observer


Book cover of Creepy Carrots!

Amanda Noll Author Of I Need My Monster

From my list on humorous picture books from someone who loves funny kid books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never actually stopped reading childrenā€™s literature. Even as a grown-up, I figured out a way to read picture books every day. After earning a masterā€™s degree in education, I found myself back in the library reading to students. I love reading funny books; they are more engaging and more likely to get kids reading and keep them reading. I love humor and think it is perfect in the shorter format of picture books. 

Amanda's book list on humorous picture books from someone who loves funny kid books

Amanda Noll Why did Amanda love this book?

I love the twists and turns of this book. Itā€™s always a favorite when I read it to children. I read it every year around Halloween, and it holds up.

Itā€™s also a great introduction to the series written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrator by Peter Brown. They are a fantastic team!

By Aaron Reynolds, Peter Brown (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Creepy Carrots! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

In this Caldecott Honor-winning picture book, The Twilight Zone comes to the carrot patch as a rabbit fears his favorite treats are out to get him.

Jasper Rabbit loves carrots-especially Crackenhopper Field carrots.
He eats them on the way to school.
He eats them going to Little League.
He eats them walking home.
Until the day the carrots start following him...or are they?
Celebrated artist Peter Brown's stylish illustrations pair perfectly with Aaron Reynold's text in this hilarious picture book that shows it's all fun and games...until you get too greedy.


Book cover of Rabbit and the Motorbike

Amanda Rawson Hill Author Of You'll Find Me

From my list on for guiding your child through grief.

Why am I passionate about this?

In the past ten years, I have had to guide my young children through two unexpected and tragic deaths of loved ones. Both times, I was struggling with my own grief and wasnā€™t sure what my kids understood or didnā€™t. I made a lot of mistakes (as my sonā€™s therapist can attest) but through it all, I learned a great deal about how much children notice, how deeply they feel a loss, and how to tend to our own grief and our childrenā€™s. From that pain, I wrote Youā€™ll Find Me, and since then, have been able to use that book as a jumping-off point to discuss grief with others.

Amanda's book list on for guiding your child through grief

Amanda Rawson Hill Why did Amanda love this book?

When I picked up Rabbit and the Motorbike, I didnā€™t know it had a death in it. I grabbed it for the beautiful cover and artwork. But the story inside deeply resonated with me, especially so soon after releasing my own grief book. Rabbit has a friend, Dog, who rides all over on his motorbike and comes back and tells Rabbit all his great adventures. Rabbit never goes anywhere but he loves Dogā€™s stories. One day, Dog dies and leaves his motorbike to Rabbit. Rabbit is mystified. Why would Dog leave him his motorbike? Rabbit never goes anywhere. But then one day he does, and the whole world opens up and now Rabbit has stories of his own to tell.

A beautiful book about how life goes on after grief and learning to live fully and make our own stories.

By Kate Hoefler, Sarah Jacoby (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rabbit and the Motorbike as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Rabbit isn't sure he'll ever be brave enough to go on an adventure. He's a homebody who lives in a quiet field of wheat he dreams of leaving every night. His world is enlarged by his friend Dog and Dog's tales of motorbike adventures. But one day, Dog is gone, and with him, go the stories Rabbit loves so much. Dare Rabbit pick up the motorbike and live his own story? This timeless fable of the journey from grief to acceptance will touch every reader. For those confronting loss and those eager to explore and experience, Rabbit's bravery in theā€¦


Book cover of The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Why am I passionate about this?

Lots of us rely occasionally on technology to help us entertain a young child, but the connection we form when looking at a book together cannot be beaten. I have found, both personally and professionally, that great books are born when a kind of magical mix-up is created in a childā€™s imagination between the words you read and the pictures they see. It feels so wonderful when this happens that they want to revisit the book again and again. I have written many books for young children over more than 20 years, and I am always striving to help cast that magical spell.

Fiona's book list on families and growing upā€“the funny bits, the comforting bits. . .and the scary bits

Fiona Munro Why did Fiona love this book?

You may have seen the movie, but, for me, there is absolutely nothing to compare to Beatrix Potterā€™s classic original tale. This story about a family of rabbits has been on my bookshelf since my mother introduced Peter Rabbit to me as a young child. Her copy has been read to my children, who I hope will pass it on again. 

Even though this book was written well over a century ago, I think it really stands the test of time. Mrs. Rabbit is a busy single mom with three good-as-gold daughters and a naughty son called Peter. I find the intricate illustrations unrivaledā€“open the book to be transported straight into an English country garden. 

By Beatrix Potter,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Tale of Peter Rabbit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

"Now run along, and don't get into mischief," Mrs. Rabbit tells her bunnies. But frisky Peter runs straight to Mr.. McGregor's tasty garden and sneaks under the gate! This beloved classic is once again available in an 8x8 format, now with beautifully remastered artwork.


Book cover of Guess How Much I Love You
Book cover of Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise
Book cover of Battle Bunny

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