Best Book Series for Preschool Children

Does your little one love for you to read the same book over and over again? Are you getting bored of the same story? Wishing you could entice your preschooler to pick a new book to add some variety to the reading experience? Well, we’ve got the solution for you. We find that preschool book series are amazing for spicing up your reading time with your little one.

We love to use book series with our preschool children. Book series are wonderful because you have many ways to interact with the characters in different environments, feelings, and situations. My children really grow to love the characters in these series. Additionally, they look forward to reading new books with the same characters. While we also include stand-a-lone books, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of our favorite series.

10 Preschool Book Series We Love

These 10 preschool book series are each amazing in their own ways. The books include exceptional language, beautiful pictures, and wonderful learning experiences for preschool children. Each preschool series has incited a love of reading with our little ones. Not only do they look forward to the next book or chance to interact with the characters, but they also start to desire more of the series. My youngest even can ask the library for books in her favorite series.

Bear and Friends

Bear and Friends series by Karma Wilson – this is a great series to introduce kids to holidays, feelings and friends. We have always loved Bear Feels Scared when our children first develop a fear of the dark. Bear Feels Sick is a great story to share when you child first feels sick or when a parent feels sick. Additionally, Karma Wilson explores so many different topics with kids in a friendly, easy-going way.

She even has books to work on colors and numbers too. These are great books to compliment your child’s favorite Bear and Friends books. Moreover, she also includes many great vocabulary words above a preschool level, introducing your child to some excellent new words. In addition, the rhymes found throughout the book are amazing for helping little ones develop rhyming. Check out the activities to pair with Bear and Friends books.

Llama Llama

Llama Llama series by Anna Dewdney – these books do an amazing job explaining new situations to kids in a way that makes sense for all. We love to use some of Anna Dewdney’s words when talk with our children about sharing, being patient, and dealing with angry feelings. Llama Llama Red Pajama is a great addition to any bedtime routine, while Llama Llama Misses Mama helps ease those first day of school worries.

In addition, she introduces children to some great vocabulary words above a preschool level, which helps them to grow their language more and more. The Llama Llama series includes rhyming words throughout to help assist with developing this concept. Plus, there are some easier reader books for when your child starts reading. These are great first readers for children who love the Llama Llama series. Grab the fun activities, posters, and sticker charts now.

Pout Pout Fish

Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen – we just adore the language in Pout Pout Fish books and the new vocabulary for our little ones. The author’s descriptive language weaves a beautiful story while sharing language that is fun to read aloud. We love the words that the author uses to describe the way the characters feel and find ourselves using these words when discussing feelings with our own children.

Not only does the author explore different feelings that little ones experience, but she also explores new situations that they may find themselves in as well as holidays and special experiences. Our very favorite is Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark. This is such an amazing story to share with your little one who suddenly finds themselves having a fear of the dark. She also has a Spanish book as part of the series, so that has brought some fun to our home in another language.

Check out of the Pout Pout fish activities, games, and coloring pages too.

Pigeon

Pigeon Series by Mo Willems – it’s so easy to fall in love with pigeon. We love that these books talk to the reader and bring you into the story. My little ones love shouting at the book and telling pigeon what to do (or more often not to do). Moreover, they begin to notice some of the common words used throughout the story and often can read the story with little assistance. It’s such a fun way to engage with your reader.

These books are great for the child who asks the same question again and again or finds ways to delay going to bed. We love Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late for bed time struggles and Don’t Let the Pigeon drive the Bus for accepting when the answer is “No.” The Pigeon has Feelings, Too is a great book for discussing how your child feels especially when he can’t have what he wants. Mo Willems puts such a fun spin on tackling these situations and questions.

Be sure to head on over to Mo Willems’ site to learn how to draw your favorite characters and get your hands on other fun activities.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr – we love all these books with our little one. Didn’t know there were more books? Be sure to check out Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? and Panda Bear Panda Bear, What Do You See? These are usually the first books that our children ask us to read again and again. They are also the first books that they read to us by retelling the story using the beautiful pictures.

These books have such a repetitive pattern that our little ones can usually “read” the book to us after just a few reads. Isn’t it so exciting when you little one can read to you? Additionally, you’ll love learning colors, sounds, animals names, and sequencing too. A definitely bonus is that many of the books can be found in Spanish too! Don’t miss out on the fun author created resources.

Pete the Cat

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin and James Dean – my children always fall in love with Pete the cat and his silly adventures. We love the repetitive structure to these books and the lesson that life goes on even when trouble comes. Not only do the authors teach children not to sweat the small stuff, but they often times add in colors and numbers too! These books are packed full of learning in every story.

Plus they explore so many different topics with Pete from holidays to special events and silly experiences. We love sharing the Pete to Cat holiday books around the special days and the stories that are based on songs are super fun to read all year. Moreover, there are many easy reader books for when your child begins reading.

These books are a win for all different types of readers. Your children will love them at every age. My youngest loved listening to these stories while my older preschool children loved the repetitive sentence structure and picture support. And even as adults, we enjoyed reading Pete the Cat books with our children. Moreover, these are favorites that our older children love to share with their siblings. Be sure to check out the games and coloring pages available too!

Todd Parr

Books by Todd Parr – we just love Todd Parr as an author. His stories span so many unique topics to children’s books, teaching about differences and similarities. His books help us see that we are all special and help younger children learn about situations that might be a little different from their own. We love It’s Okay to be Different when our children worry about their own differences. Another favorite is It’s Okay to Make Mistakes, especially when helping your child to learn the value of mistakes.

Plus we love the unique illustrations which let us all feel included in the book. Todd Parr creates characters in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Somewhere in the story, you will find a character or even a few characters that share a common characteristic with you. Additionally, he explores special events throughout the year and common feelings of children. And of course, be sure to check out Todd Parr’s amazing resources for families.

If You Give A…

If You Give A … series by Laura Numeroff – these books always take us on a journey. Our kids have always loved the outrageous things that the animals get up to and how the story cycles back to the beginning, so fun to be able expand the story after we finish reading. You can delight in creating your own stories and making up new adventures.

They are wonderful books for introducing words for common places and items which greatly help our children learn to use specific words over this and that. These books are also great for teaching sequencing. We love to make copies of the pictures or find an object to match each picture. Then work with your child to retell the story as you put the pictures or objects in order.

These are books our kids love to “read” to us based on the repetitive nature and the pictures. While they may not read all the words correctly, the pictures do an amazing job of telling the story. Usually our children are able to retell the story based on pictures alone. Plus there are so many hidden gems to discover in the background of each picture. The author’s include many fun resources too!

How Do Dinosaurs…?

How Do Dinosaurs …? series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague – my kids love dinosaurs so this was always a win for us. We love that these books start with the not-so-perfect behavior in a silly way and then also present the positive choices too. Your children will delight in telling the dinosaurs how not to act and what to do instead. Then, you will teach your child just what to do in each situation.

The authors explore so many everyday experiences of children. You will explore everything from eating meals to visiting the doctor. Our little ones love telling the dinosaurs no when they are making a not good choice and telling them what they should do instead. These are such a good way to highlight the better choices your child can make and teach them how to handle different situations.

Don’t miss the authors’ guides and resources paired with each book. These are differentiated by grade level too!

Eric Carle

Books by Eric Carle – we just love him from his timeless stories to his beautiful illustrations. These stories explore so many different concepts with children from colors, counting, and feelings to exploring our world and even body parts. These books are great for introducing your little one to common everyday language and experiences to help booster the vocabulary that they use.

These books are always some of the first ones that our littles ones gravitate towards and begin to read to us. We adore hearing them retell the story from the pictures and beginning to read the words. Don’t miss the matching cards, tags, and activities to complement Eric Carle’s books.

The best trick to find books for your little one is to find books you love to read because they will often ask you to read the same book many nights in a row. These are our favorite series, which ones do you absolutely love? Drop up a comment below and let us know.

Do you have a little one who is reading to begin reading? Check out our Learning to Read Series, beginning with Developing Interest. This series works through most beginning reader skills to help boost your child’s reading. Looking for other ways to help your child to grow? Try some family board games and be sure not to miss our tips on developing a good pencil grasp. If you are worried about your child’s development, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to IEP Meetings for Parents.

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Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.