1000 Books Before Kindergarten

1000 Books Before KindergartenWhat is “1000 Books Before Kindergarten?”

Numerous studies estimate that as many as one in five children have difficulties learning to read. Reading has been associated as an early indicator of academic success. Public formal education does not typically start until ages 5-6. Before then, parents and caregivers are the first education providers during the 0-5 early critical years. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge is a simple (read a book, any book to your child, with the goal of reading 1000 before kindergarten) and very manageable endeavor.

Our goal is to provide a simple, innovative yet fun approach to establishing strong early literacy skills. We help young children gain the confidence necessary to become strong readers.

Getting Started at the Yorba Linda Public Library!

Pick up a 1000 Books Before Kindergarten reading log at the Children’s Services desk. Read books to your newborn, infant, toddler, and/or preschooler. The goal is to read 1,000 books before your child starts kindergarten. For every 100 books read, your child will receive a finger puppet. When you have reached 1,000 books, your child will receive a certificate of completion.

A Collection of Suggested Reading

Alborough: Where’s My Teddy?
Asch: Happy Birthday, Moon

Bang: Ten, Nine, Eight
Barrett: Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing
Barton: The Three Bears
Bauer: How Do I Love You?
Becker: A Visitor for Bear
Bergen: Dora’s Sleepover
Bemelmans: Madeline
Benton: The End (Almost!)
Blackstone: Bear’s Busy Family
Bornstein: Little Gorilla
Brett: The Mitten
Brown: Stone Soup
Brown: Goodnight Moon
Brunhoff: The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant
Burningham: Mr. Gumpy’s Outing
Burton: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Campbell: Dear Zoo
Cannon: Stellaluna
Capucilli: Biscuit Loves the Library
Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Christelow: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Chung: Ninja!
Coffelt: Fred Stays with Me
Crews: Freight Train
Cronin: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type

Day: Good Dog, Carl
Degen: Jamberry
Dorros: Abuela

Eastman: Are You My Mother?
Ehlert: Feathers for Lunch
Emberley: Go Away, Big Green Monster!

Falconer: Olivia
Feiffer: Bark, George
Flack: Ask Mr. Bear
Fleming: Mama Cat Has Three Kittens
Fox: Where is the Green Sheep?
Freeman: Corduroy

Gag: Millions of Cats
Galdone: The Three Little Pigs
Gerstein: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Goble: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Guarino: Is Your Mama a Llama?

Henkes: Kitten’s First Full Moon
Hill: Where’s Spot
Ho: Hush!: A Thai Lullaby
Hoban: Bread and Jam for Frances
Hoban: Is it Red? Is it Yellow? Is it Blue?
Hoffman: Amazing Grace
Holabird: Angelina Ballerina
Hutchins: Rosie’s Walk

Jenkins: What do you do with a tail like this?
Johnson: Harold and the Purple Crayon
Juster: The Hello, Goodbye Window

Kasza: The Wolf’s Chicken Stew
Keats: The Snowy Day
Kennedy: The Teddy Bears’ Picnic
Kent: The Caterpillar and the Polliwog
Kimmel: Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock
Kraus: Whose Mouse are You?
Kraus: The Carrot Seed
Krosoczka: Baghead

Leaf: The Story of Ferdinand
Lester: A is for Salad
Lionni: Little Blue and Little Yellow
Lobel: On Market Street
Lobel: Frog and Toad Are Friends
London: Froggy Gets Dressed

Martin: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Martin: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Mayer: Frog Goes to Dinner
McBratney: Guess How Much I Love You
McCloskey: Make Way for Ducklings
McFarland: Widget
McKissack: Goin’ Someplace Special
McLimans: Gone Wild: An Endangered Alphabet
McMulla: I Stink!
McPhail: Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore
Meddaugh: Martha Speaks
Meltzer: I am Abraham Lincoln
Munari: Bruno Munari’s ABC

Noble: The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash
Numeroff: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

O’Connor: Fancy Nancy

Penn: The Kissing Hand
Pinkney: Shades of Black
Piper: The Little Engine that Could
Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Rathmann: Good Night, Gorilla
Rey: Curious George
Rohman: My Friend Rabbit
Rosen: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Rossetti-Shustak: I Love You Through and Through
Rylant: The Relatives Came

Say: Grandfather’s Journey
Scarry: Cars and Trucks and Things that Go
Seeger: First the Egg
Sendak: Where the Wild Things Are
Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham
Seuss: The Cat in the Hat
Shannon: Duck on a Bike
Shaw: It Looked Like Spilt Milk
Simont: The Stray Dog
Sis: Fire Truck
Slobodkina: Caps for Sale

Taback: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Walter: Hi, Pizza Man!
Wells: Noisy Nora
Westcott: The Lady with the Alligator Purse
Wiesner: The Three Pigs
Willems: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Willems: Elephant and Piggie Books
Wood: The Napping House

Yolen: How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
Yolen: Owl Moon
Young: Seven Blind Mice

Zimmerman: Trashy Town
Zion: Harry, The Dirty Dog
Zschock: Hello, America!