Ultimate Guide to 5 Star Books for Kindergartners by Reading Level

The last few weeks I’ve been excitedly starting to plan for the next school year.  Why now?  Because I like to plan for the following school year during the final 9 weeks of the current school year so I remember where my girls are and where I want them to go.  Besides that, when I complete my planning by summer I can enjoy the summer break too!

This year is no exception and as such I’ve begun organizing a list of student readers for Peanut to read next year.  As a Pre-K student she completed Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann and is reading on a solid first grade level.  Next year she will be a Kindergartner and our hope is to round out her reading skills by completing Phonics Pathways by Dolores G. Hiskes and reading some classic picture books every day.  While we will just have to wait to see how fast she progresses through Phonics Pathways, the program boasts a solid 4th grade reading level by the end of the book so I’ve begun making plans to that end.

Recently I also discovered Scholastic’s Book Wizard in which you can search for books based on reading level, interest level, lexile measurement and more.  This source is great if you don’t know what your child’s reading level is or if you are searching for other books at a similar reading level for your child that is age appropriate.  Just type in a book your child recently read and click search.  The search results will not only tell you what the book’s reading and interest level are, but you can also search for other books with a similar interest and reading level.  It’s great!

With this wizard as a guide and Amazon review’s for customer ratings, I came up with the following list of readers appropriate for my upcoming Kindergartner.  Knowing that there are other parents out there searching for books to read and/or have their Kindergartner read this summer or next year, I thought I’d share.  Feel free to scroll through the list below or download a pdf of the list at the end for you to keep and browse later.  The choice is up to you.

Not sure where to start with this list?  The books with an asterisk are where we plan to start next year as most are classics that have stood the test of time and boast high reviews (often by more than 50 reviewers)  .  Whatever you choose I’m sure you’ll find several keepers in this 5 star list ranging from a 1.0 to a 4.5 reading level.

Criteria for This Reading List

• No Twaddle (meaning no books created as a result of movies or TV shows or what Charlotte Mason may have otherwise considered fluff)
• Only the first book of a series is included (even if others in the series would also qualify)
• Books must have a 4 1/2 or 5 star rating on Amazon with a minimum of 10 reviews
• Books must claim a Kindergarten or Pre-K interest level on Scholastic Book Wizard (meaning, it’s appropriate content for kindergartners to read and/or understand but also a great read for older elementary students as well)
• No books in the “Horror and Supernatural” Genre (yes, they have some even for this age)
• Only books with a year-round subject (no holiday books)

The Ultimate Guide to 5 Star Books for Kindergartners by Reading Level

1.0

• Chrysanthemum by Henkes*
• I Am the Artist! by Anderson
• The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Willems*
• Ten Black Dots by Crews
• Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Willems*

1.1

• One Fish, Two Fish by Dr. Seuss*
• Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss*
• No, David! by Shannon*
• Mice Squeak, We Speak by Shapiro
• Pancakes for Breakfast by dePaola
• Mean Soup by Everitt
• Grumpy Gloria by Dewdney

1.2

• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss*
• Good Night, Gorilla by Rathmann*
• Do You Want to Be My Friend? by Carle
• The Cat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss
• Sheep in a Jeep by Shaw*
• I Love You Sun, I Love You Moon by Pandell and dePaola
• Yo! Yes? by Raschka
• Diary of a Wombat by French
• Just Like Daddy by Asch
• Flying by Crews

1.3

• I Like Me by Carlson
• Best Nest by Eastman*
• Wacky Wednesday by LeSieg*
• My Friends by Gomi
• Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Slate*
• I Love Trucks! by Sturges
• Big Fat Hen by Baker
• The Eye Book by LeSieg
• Dim Sum for Everyone! by Lin

1.4

• Put Me in the Zoo by Lopshire*
• Go, Dog, Go by Eastman*
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Martin*
• Hondo and Fabian by McCarty
• I Love Trains! by Sturges
• A Hat for Minerva Louise by Stoeke
• I Went Walking by Williams and Vivas
• Lost! by McPhail
• Mouse Makes Words by Heling and Hembrook
• We Have a Baby by Falwell
• How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors? by Yolen

1.5

• Are You My Mother? by Eastman*
• Rosie’s Walk by Hutchins*
• Bread, Bread, Bread by Morris
• One Duck Stuck by Root*
• Three Bears by Barton
• Goodnight Moon by Brown
• Dinosaurs Roar! by Strickland
• Pumpkin Pumpkin by Titherington
• Whose Mouse are You? by Kraus
• The Enormous Potato by Davis
• More Spaghetti I Say! by Gelman
• Piggies by Wood
• Freight Train by Crew*
• Mouse Mess by Riley
• Today is Monday by Carle
• My Crayons Talk by Hubbard

1.6

• Is Your Mama a Llama by Guarino*
• The Cow That Went Oink by Most
• Silly Sally by Wood*
• Miss Mary Mack by Hoberman
• Clap Your Hands by Cauley*
• Off We Go! by Yolen
• Hi! Fly Guy by Arnold*
• Draw Me a Star by Carle

1.7

• Barnyard Banter by Fleming
• Inch by Inch by Lionni
• On Market Street by Lobel
• Little Blue and Little Yellow by Lionni*
• Leo the Late Bloomer by Kraus*
• Shape of Things by Dodds
• Dream Snow by Carle*
• Charlie Parker Played BeBop by Raschka
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Carle*

1.8

• Super Fly Guy by Arnold*
• Little Bear by Minarik*
• Sammy the Seal by Hoff*
• Circle Dogs by Henkes
• Quilt by Jonas
• Gone Fishing by Long
• Dog Who Cried Wolf by Kasza
• I Love You Because You’re You by Baker*

1.9

• Surprises by Hopkins
• Mama, Do You Love Me? by Joosse*
• Big Red Barn by Brown*
• Happy Birthday, Moon by Asch*
• Who Took the Farmer’s Hat by Nodset
• Flower Garden by Bunting
• Jessica by Henkes
• Charlie Needs a Cloak by dePaola
• Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Taback*
• Listening Walk by Showers

2.0

• I Love You Always and Forever by Emmett*
• Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy by O’Conner*
• So Few of Me by Reynolds
• Teddy Bear by McPhail
• Llama, llama Red Pajama by Dewdney*

2.1

• How Much is a Million by Schwartz
• Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Barner*
• The Doorbell Rang by Hutchins*
• Bread and Jam for Francis by Hoban*
• Apple Pie Tree by Hall
• King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Wood*
• Rap a Tap Tap by Dillion

2.2

• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss*
• Fire Cat by Averill*
• Frog and Toad All Year by Lobel*
• Time to Sleep by Fleming
• Tumble Bumble by Bond*
• Big Max by Platt
• Little Train by Lenski

2.3

• Frog and Toad Together by Lobel*
• Sheila Rae, the Brave by Henkes
• Princess Penelope by Mack
• My Friend Rabbit by Rohmann*
• A Tree is Nice by Udry*
• Magic Thinks Big by Cooper
• Oh My Baby, Little One by Appelt
• Albert by Napoli
• How I Became a Pirate by Long
• A Fish Out of Water by Palmer*
• Petunia by Duvoisin
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think by Dr. Seuss*
• A Porcupine Named Fluffy by Lester*

2.4

• Frog and Toad are Friends by Lobel*
• Curious George by Rey
• Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson*
• Zen Shorts by Muth*
• One Nighttime Sea by Rose
• Diary of a Worm by Cronin*
• Hattie and the Fox by Fox
• Grasshopper on the Road by Lobel
• Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day by Curtis*
• Fancy Nancy by O’Conner*

2.5

• The Bravest Dog Ever by Standiford*
• A Fly Went By by McClintock*
• Owl at Home by Lobel*
• Chicken Soup with Rice by Sendak*
• Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gibbons
• Yoko by Wells
• Jamberry by Degen*
• Quilt Story by Johnston
• In the Small Small Pond by Fleming
• Owl and Pussycat by Lear
• Each Peach Pear Plum by Ahlberg*
• One of Each by Hoberman
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! by Sciezka*

2.6

• Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss*
• Mouse Tales by Lobel*
• Peter’s Chair by Keats*
• Lon Po Po by Young*
• Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle*
• Duck for President by Cronin*
• Coming Home Soon by Woodson
• A Hole is to Dig by Krauss*
• Alligator’s All Around by Sendak
• Rocks in His Head by Hurst
• How a Seed Grows by Jordan
• Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll by Branley
• Arrow to the Sun by McDermott*
• Hazel’s Amazing Mother by Wells
• Niccolini’s Song by Wilcoxen
• Always and Forever by Durant
• Dahlia by McClintock

2.7

• Danny and the Dinosaur by Hoff*
• Apples and Pumpkins by Rockwell
• Ask Mr. Bear by Flack
• If You Give a Mouse a Muffin by Numeroff*
• A Very Special House by Krauss
• Pinkalicious by Kahn
• Skeleton Inside You by Balestrino
• A Rainbow of My Own by Freeman*
• Peter and the Wolf by Mikolaycak*
• Snowballs by Ehlert*
• One Monkey To Many by Koller
• What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile? by Sierra

2.8

• Angel Child, Dragon Child by Surat
• Quick as a Cricket by Wood*
• Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Fleming
• Noisy Nora by Wells*
• First Dog by Brett*
• House Mouse, Senate Mouse by Barnes
• Meanest Thing to Say by Crosby
• If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Numeroff*
• Poppleton by Rylant*

2.9

• Big Balloon Race by Coerr*
• Hill of Fire by Lewis*
• Caps for Sale by Slobodkina*
• Magic Fish by Littledale
• Big Al by Clements
• It’s Mine by Lionni
• Berlioz the Bear by Brett
• Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Carle
• House is a House for Me by Hoberman*
• Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Carlstrom*
• Giving Tree by Silverstein*
• Crictor by Ungerer
• Goggles by Keats
• Little Drummer Boy by Keats*
• America the Beautiful by Bates
• Magic Nesting Doll by Ogburn*

3.0

• Amelia Bedelia by Parish*
• Problem with Chickens by McMillan
• Sick Day for Amos McGee by Stead*
• Busy Tree by Ward
• Three Little Fish and the Bad Shark by Geist*
• Snowflake by Earhart*

3.1

• Miss Nelson is Missing by Allard*
• Chester’s Way by Henkes
• ABC by Dr. Seuss*
• A New Coat for Anna by Ziefert
• Whistle for Willie by Keats
• Big Orange Splot by Pinkwater*
• Very Quiet Cricket by Carle*
• Make Way for Ducklings by McCloskey*
• Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Lovell*
• Important Book by Brown*
• Harry, the Dirty Dog by Zion*

3.2

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Numeroff*
• Corduroy by Freeman*
• Owl Moon by Yolen*
• Cloudy with a Change of Meatballs by Barrett*
• Anansi the Spider by McDermott*
• Napping House by Wood*
• Mitten by Brett*
• Place to Grow by Pak
• Frida by Winter
• When the Root Children Wake Up by Wood
• Daisy Comes Home by Brett
• Three Questions by Muth*
• Bookshop Dog by Rylant
• Old Turtle and Broken Truth by Wood

3.3

• Babushka’s Doll by Polacco*
• Kissing Hand by Penn*
• Seven Blind Mice by Young*
• Fish is Fish by Lionni
• Wind Blew by Hutchins
• Chair for My Mother by Williams
• Milly and Macy’s Parade by Corey
• Red Blanket by Thomas
• Popcorn Book by dePaola
• On Top of Spaghetti by Johnson
• Prayer for a Child by Field*

3.4

•  Pocket for Corduroy by Freeman*
• Ming Lo Moves the Mountain by Lobel
• One Fine Day by Hogrogian*
• Birthday for Frances by Hoban
• Black is Brown is Tan by Adoff*
• No Roses for Harry! by Zion*
• There’s a Nightmare in My Closet by Mayer*
• When Lightning Comes in a Jar by Polacco

3.5

• Woodrow the White House Mouse by Barnes
• Cloud Book by dePaola
• Paperboy by Pikey*
• Best Friends for Frances by Hoban*
• Hey, Little Ant by Hoose*
• If You Were My Bunny by McMullan*
• Many Luscious Lollipops by Heller
• Swimmy by Lionni
• Thunder Cake by Polacco*
• Raising Dragons by Nolen
• Ribbon Rescue by Munsch*
• Extraordinary Egg by Lionni
• Friends by Heine
• I Love You the Purplest by Joosse*

3.6

• Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss*
• Aunt Flossie’s Hats by Howard
• Millions of Cats by Gag*
• Ben’s Trumpet by Isadora
• Dandelion by Freeman
• Doctor De Soto by Steig*
• Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Heller
• Smelly Socks by Munsch*
• Jambo Means Hello by Feelings
• Whale’s Song by Sheldon
• Uncle Andy’s by Warhola
• A Story for Bear by Haseley*
• Flight of the Dodo by Brown
• Radio Rescue by Barasch
• Alphabet Tree by Lionni
• Me First by Lester*

3.7

• Tikki Tikki Tembo by Mosel*
• Amos and Boris by Steig*
• From Seed to Plant by Gibbons
• When I Was Young in the Mountains by Rylant*
• Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Noble*
• Legend of the Bluebonnet by dePaola
• Pirate Girl by Funke
• Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Kustin*
• Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook by Garland
• Pinduli by Cannon*
• Moses Goes to a Concert by Millman

3.8

• Blueberries for Sal by McCloskey*
• Madeline by Bemelmans*
• Rapunzel by Zelinsky*
• Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo by Joyce
• Some Smug Slug by Edwards
• One Morning in Maine by McCloskey*
• Lentil by McCloskey
• Day the Goose Got Loose by Lindbergh
• Coolies by Yin
• If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss*
• Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss*
• Frederick by Lionni*

3.9

• Alphabears by Hague
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Viorst*
• Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss*
• Cat Heaven by Rylant*
• Come On, Rain by Hesse*
• Heckedy Peg by Wood*
• Two Bad Ants by Allsburg*
• Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down by Johnson
• Beach by Cooper

4.0

• Art Lesson by dePaola*
• The Snail and the Whale by Donaldson*
• Seven Chinese Sisters by Tucker*

4.1

• You are Special by Lucado*
• Diego by Winter
• Dear Juno by Pak
• My Rows and Piles of Coins by Mollel
• Snowflake Bentley by Martin*
• Story of Ferdinand by Leaf*
• Rumpelstiltskin by Zelinksy*

4.2

• Ox-Cart Man by Hall*
• To Everything There is a Season by Dillon
• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Aardema*
• Comet’s Nine Lives by Brett*
• Louis Braille by Davidson
• Cookie-Store Cat by Rylant
• Princess Knight by Funke
• Armadillo Tattletale by Ketteman
• Grandpa’s Teeth by Clement
• Story About Ping by Flack*
• Island of the Skog by Kellogg
• Huckabuck Family by Sandburg
• Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Best
• Miss Tizzy by Gray
• Little Bunny’s Sleepless Night by Roth
• A Story, a Story by Haley
• Brother Eagle, Sister Sky by Jeffers
• Very Last First Time by Andrews
• Great Joy by DiCamillo*

4.3

• Samuel Eaton’s Day by Waters
• Boy Called Slow by Bruchac
• Flag We Love by Ryan*
• Black and White by Macaulay
• Roxaboxen by McLerran*
• Cookies by Rosenthal*
• Yes We Can! by McBratney*
• Ella by Peet
• Hurricane by Wiesner
• Throw Your Teeth on the Roof by Beeler*
• Bracelet by Uchida
• Most Thankful Thing by McCourt
• Strega Nona by dePaola*
• Titanicat by Crisp

4.4

• Red Riding Hood by Marshall
• Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak*
• Great Kapok Tree by Cherry*
• Where Have the Unicorns Gone by Yolen
• Legend of the Poinsettia by dePaola
• No Jumping on the Bed by Arnold
• Town Mouse and Country Mouse by Brett
• Jumanji by Allsburg
• Can I Keep Him? by Kellogg
• Petite Rouge by Artell*
• House on East 88th Street by Waber
• Fire on the Mountain by Kurtz
• Billy and Blaze by Anderson
• Humphrey the Lost Whale by Tokuda
• Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book? by Child
• Reasons for Seasons by Gibbons
• Chicks and Salsa by Reynolds*

4.5

• Borreguita and the Coyote by Aardema
• Three Little Pigs by Marshall
• Babushka Baba Yaga by Polacco
• Song and Dance Man by Ackerman
• Over in the Meadow by Wadsworth
• Chato’s Kitchen by Soto
• Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Mitchell
• Dogteam by Paulsen
• Seashore Book by Zolotow
• Three Little Pigs by Kellogg
• Johnny Appleseed by Lindbergh
• The Library by Stewart

Prefer the PDF?

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Think I’ve missed a good book?

With so may good choices that wouldn’t surprise me a bit.  Please, let me know in the comments below and if it meets the criteria above, I’ll be more than glad to add it and send you a pdf update too!  Thanks!

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