Great Books for Kids

Use the dropdown menus below to find suggested reading lists lovingly curated by DC Public Library staff, one for each year of a child's life from birth through sixth grade. More book suggestions and new titles for kids can be found at Find and Borrow: Kids.

Adult and young child reading a book together on a library bench, both smiling.

Great Books for Birth to Pre-K

For more book suggestions for young children, as well as ways to build early literacy skills from birth, check out STAR: Sing, Talk, and Read. And if you know a young child who lives in DC, make sure they're signed up for the Books from Birth program so they'll receive a free book every month until their fifth birthday, mailed right to their home!

Babies

Baby Signs : A Baby-Sized Guide to Speaking with Sign Language by Joy Allen

Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim

Toes, Ears, & Nose: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Marion Dane Bauer

Moo, Baa, La, La, La! by Sandra Boynton

Tickle Time! by Sandra Boynton

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

My Very First Book of Animal Sounds by Eric Carle

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Caroline Jayne Church

You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Caroline Jayne Church

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Book cover of This Little Piggy/Este Cochinito. Simple illustration of a baby touching their toes, holding a piglet, with another piglet in the background.

Hello Baby! by Mem Fox

In My Tree by Sara Gillingham & Lorena Siminovich

Global Babies by Global Fund for Children

White on Black by Tana Hoban

Choo Choo by Petr Horáček

Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora

Baby's Shapes by Karen Katz

This Little Piggy / Este Cochinito adaptado por Yanitzia Canetti, illustrated by Annie Kubler

Trucks Go by Steve Light

Look Look Outside! by Peter Linenthal

Book cover of Peekaboo Morning. Illustration of a baby with brown skin and curly black hair, peeking out from behind a grown-up who is standing in front of them.

First Words by Corrie Love

Baby Faces by Margaret Miller

I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy

The Baby Goes Beep by Rebecca O'Connell

Animals in Underwear ABC by Todd Parr

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Baby Cakes by Karma Wilson

Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Salina Yoon

1-Year-Olds

Book cover of A Kiss Means I Love You. Photograph of a child kissing a caregiver on the cheek.

A Kiss Means I Love You by Kathryn Madeline Allen

I Can Roar by Frank Asch

Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Quack and Count by Keith Baker

Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang

My Bus by Byron Barton

Clare Beaton's Animal Rhymes by Clare Beaton

Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton

Cinco Monitos Brincando en la Cama / Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Bath! Bath! Bath! by Douglas Florian

Count to Sleep, Washington, DC by Adam Gamble

Book cover of My Bus. Simple, brightly colored illustration of an orange bus on a yellow road, being driven by a person in a blue uniform and carrying dog and cat passengers

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Where is Baby's Belly Button? : A Lift-the-Flap Book

by Karen Katz

Ten Little Fingers by Annie Kubler

If You're Happy and You Know It / Si Te Sientes Bien Contento adaptado por Yanitzia Canetti, illustrated by Annie Kubler

Peek-a-who? by Nina Laden

Planes Go by Steve Light

Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel

Daytime Nighttime by William Low

Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin, Jr.

Book cover of Bath! Bath! Bath! Illustration of a child with brown skin surrounded by bubbles in an orange bathtub on a blue background.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin, Jr.

Leo Loves Baby Time by Anna McQuinn

Quick Duck! by Mary Murphy

Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli

Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee

Fiesta Babies by Carmen Tafolla

All Kinds of Kisses by Nancy Tafuri

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler

The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky

My First Real Mother Goose Board Book

2-Year-Olds

Book cover for Hooray for Birds! Simple, brightly-colored illustration of a pink flamingo standing on one leg, surrounded by several other types of birds on a blue background.

Hug by Jez Alborough

Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres

Who Ate All The Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont

Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera

Dear Zoo : A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell

Hooray for birds! by Lucy Cousins

Dancing Feet! by Lindsay Craig

Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs

Race Car Count by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

My Clothes / Mi Ropa by Rebecca Emberley

Book cover of The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk. Colorful illustration of many people riding in a tuk tuk on a city street. An elephant's trunk is spraying water on the top of the vehicle and a goat stands off to the side of the road.

Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell

5 Little Ducks by Denise Fleming

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox

Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Lullaby (for a Black mother) : A Poem by Langston Hughes

I Am So Brave by Stephen Krensky

Book cover of My Heart Fills With Happiness. Illustration from an aerial view perspective of a child with brown skin and black pigtails looking up into the air with closed eyes and a smile, with arms out and blue skirt twirling around, surrounded by white flowers on a yellow background.

Tickle Monster by Édouard Manceau

Ten On the Sled by Kim Norman

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jerry Pinkney

What Do Wheels Do All Day? by April Jones Prince

We're Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Supertruck by Stephen Savage

The Wheels On the Tuk Tuk by Kabir Sehgal

I'm the Biggest Thing In the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith

I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec

Green Is a Chile Pepper : A Book of Colors by Roseanne Greenfield Thong

Tails Are Not for Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick

You Are a Lion! : And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

3-Year-Olds

Book cover of Fire! Fuego! Brave Bomberos! Illustration of three firefighters and a Dalmatian dog in a red firetruck with lights flashing.

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont

Wild About Us! by Karen Beaumont

Stretch by Doreen Cronin

What Is Science? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya

Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

The Red Hen by Rebecca Emberley

The Wide-Mouthed Frog : A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner

Oh, No! by Candace Fleming

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone

There Was a Tree by Rachel Isadora

Who Am I? : An Animal Guessing Game by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

Rosie Goes to Preschool by Karen Katz

Book cover of Squeak! Rumble! Whomp, whomp, whomp! Illustration of a child in a red and white striped shirt playing a trumpet with one hand and holding a white cloth in the other, with a black cat sitting behind them. A tiny mouse is drawn in the upper right corner of the cover next to the word "squeak."

Squeak! Rumble! Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! : A Sonic Adventure by Wynton Marsalis

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. & John Archambault

Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn

Princess Hair by Sharee Miller

City Shapes by Diane Murray

If You Give A Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park

The Family Book by Todd Parr

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

At the Supermarket by Anne Rockwell

Book cover of Anywhere Farm. Illustration of an adult and child securing a sign to the side of a building behind a raised garden bed. The sign spells out the title of the book. Another adult and child pair look on, the adult steering a wheelchair and the child holding a dog leash.

Anywhere Farm by Phyllis Root

Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

Ball by Mary Sullivan

Construction by Sally Sutton

What Can You Do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla

The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman

Pre-K

Book cover of Marta! Big & Small. Illustration of a child wearing a backpack and standing on one foot atop a rock, with one arm stretched upwards. On one side of the child is a large elephant saying "hello" and on the other side is a tiny bug saying "hola."

Marta! Big & Small by Jen Arena

Cold, Crunchy, Colorful : Using Our Senses by Jane Brocket

Rex Wrecks It! by Ben Clanton

This Rocket by Paul Collicutt

Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins

Quinito's Neighborhood = El Vecindario de Quinito by Ina Cumpiano

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Apples and Robins by Lucie Félix

Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira

I Spy Pets by Edward Gibbs

Book cover of Rex Wrecks It! Cartoonish illustration of a green dinosaur, open mouthed and jumping enthusiastically, surrounded by colorful rectangles that appear to be askew or tumbling.

Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling

Waiting by Kevin Henkes

The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora

Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg

Keisha Ann Can! by Daniel Kirk

Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Me... Jane by Patrick McDonnell

I'm Smart! by Kate McMullan & Jim McMullan

Book cover of Before John Was a Jazz Giant. Full color illustration of a boy with brown skin holding a saxophone rendered in line-drawing style making it appear transparent. A window on the blue polka-dotted background is similarly drawn to the saxophone.

Princess! Fairy! Ballerina! by Bethanie Deenie Murguia

Maple by Lori Nichols

We're Rabbits! by Lisa Westberg Peters

How to Share with a Bear by Eric Pinder

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Can One Balloon Make an Elephant Fly? by Dan Richards & Jeff Newman

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters : An African Tale by John Steptoe

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas

Red Is a Dragon : A Book of Colors by Rosanne Thong

Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard

Before John Was a Jazz Giant : A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford

Elementary school aged child sitting cross-legged on a carpeted library floor reading a book.

Great Books for Kindergarten to Third Grade

For more great titles, as well as access to special events, activities, resources, and tips for developing readers in Kindergarten to third grade, join the Beyond the Book Club! And don't forget to check out fun programs happening at your neighborhood library.

Kindergarten

Book cover of Jabari Jumps. Illustration of a young child in a bathing suit and goggles standing on a diving board leaning out over the edge, with trees and a city skyline in the background.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett

Journey by Aaron Becker

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman

The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

Julia's House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Quit Calling Me a Monster! by Jory John

Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley

Wave by Suzy Lee

Book cover of Gravity. Illustration of a toy astronaut, a banana, a beach ball, and other items floating in outer space in front of one part of the very large planet Earth in the background. The sun is partially visible behind the Earth with a large halo of light around it.

The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley

City Shapes by Diana Murray

Welcome Home, Bear : A Book of Animal Habitats by Il Sung Na

The Earth Book by Todd Parr

Lizard From the Park by Mark Pett

This Day in June by Gayle Pitman

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Book cover of Summer Birds. Illustration of a woman in a green dress and white apron and bonnet holding plants among butterflies and foliage, with a yellow background.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

What this Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig by Emma J. Virján

Museum Day by Sindy McKay

How Are You Peeling? : Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann

The Airport Book by Lisa Brown

Gravity by Jason Chin

I'm Trying to Love Spiders (It Isn't Easy) by Bethany Barton

From Wax to Crayon by Robin Nelson

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews

Summer Birds : The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle

Frida by Jonah Winter

First Grade

Book cover of Yo Soy Muslim. Illustration of a head-and-shoulders close-up of a young child hugging their father on a colorful background

Don't Throw it to Mo! by David Adler

Fly Guy Presents : Castles by Tedd Arnold

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

The Wolf, the Duck & the Mouse by Mac Barnett

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The White Cat and the Monk : A Retelling of the Poem "Pangur Bán" by Jo Ellen Bogart

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt by Ben Clanton

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya

Yo Soy Muslim : A Father's Letter to his Daughter by Mark Gonzales

Flowers Are Calling by Rita Gray

Two Bobbies : A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson

Book cover of Star Stuff. An illustration of Carl Sagan as a child, head resting on a window sill next to a toy rocket, with a night sky and stars in the background.

Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson

We Shall Overcome : The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy

Ling & Ting : Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin

Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

Bring Me a Rock! by Daniel Miyares

Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers

Book cover of Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion. A young child with pigtails stands with hands on hips, looking skeptically at a lion who is holding a knife and fork and has a napkin tucked into the bowtie on his neck.

Be Who You Are by Todd Parr

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkney

Star Stuff : Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stéphanie Roth Sisson

Dog and Bear : Three to Get Ready by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick

Dance! Dance! Underpants! by Bob Shea

Madlenka by Peter Sís

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

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Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder

Diego Rivera : His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh

The Princess and the Warrior : A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh

It's Shoe Time! by Bryan Collier

Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter

This Is the Rope : A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson

Want to Play? by Paula Yoo

Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai

Second Grade

Book cover of Grand Canyon. Illustration of a sweeping canyon landscape, with a child wearing a backpack standing at the edge of a cliff looking out, and a large bird flying overhead.

A Bear for Miguel by Elaine Marie Alphin

Crown : An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick D. Barnes

Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows

America the Beautiful : Together we Stand by Katherine Lee Bates

Rabbit & Robot : The Sleepover by Cece Bell

Draw What You See : The Life and Art of Benny Andrews by Kathleen Benson

Bird & Squirrel On the Edge! by James Burks

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin

Firebird : Ballerina Misty Copeland Shows a Young Girl How to Dance Like the Firebird by Misty Copeland

The Trouble with Chickens : A J.J. Tully Mystery by Doreen Cronin

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Book cover of The Shark King. Illustration of a person in a red cape looking up at the night sky, which contains a very large constellation of a shark. A thought bubble above the person's head says "I will find you."

My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo

Islandborn by Junot Diaz (Lola - Spanish language title)

Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo

Drum Dream Girl : How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle

Firefly July : A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Up We grow! : A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm by Deborah Hodge

I Dissent : Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

Little Leaders : Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

The Shark King by R. Kikuo Johnson

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

Book cover of Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up. Illustrated portrait of a child with curly hair, holding a notebook and pen to their chest and standing in front of a chalkboard. The child's facial expression looks worried.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Every Day is Exciting by Jacqueline Jules

The Case of the Stinky Socks by Lewis B. Montgomery

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

Neighborhood Sharks : Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy

In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka

Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson

Separate Is Never Equal : Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

Nightmare of the Iguana by Ursula Vernon

The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems

Third Grade

Book cover of My Father's Dragon. Brightly colored illustration of a child wearing a knapsack in the woods with a fantastical lion, whose mane is in several braids with colorful bows at the end. A comb and brush lie between them on the ground.

Frogs by Nic Bishop

Ashley Bryan's ABC of African-American Poetry by Ashley Bryan

The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron

Great Migrations : Whales, Wildebeests, Butterflies, Elephants, and Other Amazing Animals on the Move by Elizabeth Carney

Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary

Unspoken : A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech

Sipping Spiders Through a Straw : Campfire Songs for Monsters by Kelly DiPucchio

Energy Island : How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World by Allan Drummond

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

Book cover of The First Rule of Punk. An older child with long braids and a Blondie T-shirt leaps through the air, giving rock and roll gestures with her hands. On the lime green background are objects and symbols of punk and rock music, such as skulls and records.

First Garden : The White House Garden and How it Grew by Robbin Gourley

The Village that Vanished by Ann Grifalconi

Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes

The Emperor Lays an Egg by Brenda Z. Guiberson

Underground Abductor : An Abolitionist Tale by Nathan Hale

Real Friends by Shannon Hale

A Story, a Story: An African Tale by Gail E. Haley

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke

The Top of the World : Climbing Mount Everest by Steve Jenkins

Goha the Wise Fool retold by Denys Johnson-Davies

Accidents May Happen by Charlotte Foltz Jones

George Did It by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain

Book cover of Radiant Child. Head-and-shoulders portrait of Jean Michel-Basqiat as a child, rendered in colorful paint on pieces of wood, imitating the art style of Basqiat himself.

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

Fa Mulan : The Story of a Woman Warrior by Robert D. San Souci

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter

Upper elementary or middle school aged child holds a large stack of books and smiles while standing in an aisle surrounded by library shelves.

Great Books for Fourth to Sixth Grade

In addition to the fantastic titles below, browse the collection of 4th-6th Grade titles available to read on your digital device through Overdrive Kids (or download the Libby app to access the same titles). Check out our Homework Help tools if you're looking for online resources for school projects, learning support, and even live tutoring -- all available to you for free with your library card!