Book List: Top 100 Books for Preschoolers

One of the challenges of living in the Philippines is not having access to public libraries where one could peruse and borrow certain books for a period time. So I’ve become to realize that one of the biggest investments that you could provide for your children, while living in a tropical country with little to no access to libraries like the Philippines, is a modest collection of good books in your home library.

The first 30 selections are from my Top 3 Children’s Book Authors, and are definite must-haves on my list. But I also took the liberty of highlighting in bold the ones that I highly recommend if you do not wish to purchase all one hundred of them. I reckon this is a list that I will be updating as the years progress, even as my children and I grow in our literary loves.

Updated last 26 May 2020

Books by Eric Carle

1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
3. Does a Kangaroo Have A Mother, Too? by Eric Carle
4. From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
5. Papa, Will You Get the Moon For Me? by Eric Carle

6. Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
7. Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle
8. Walter the Baker by Eric Carle
9. The Little Seed by Eric Carle
10. The Very Busy Spider Eric Carle

Books by Margaret Wise Brown

11. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
12. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
13. Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
14. Home For A Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
15. Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown

16. The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
17. The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown
18. The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown
19. Mister Dog by Margaret Wise Brown
20. Bunny’s Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown

Books by Julia Donaldson

21. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
22. The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson
23. Tiddler by Julia Donaldson
24. Zog by Julia Donaldson
25. Stick Man by Julia Donaldson

26. Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson
27. Charlie Cook’s Favorite Book by Julia Donaldson
28. The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson
29. A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson
30. The Smartest Giant In Town by Julia Donaldson

31. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
32. Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
33. Dr. Seuss’s ABC by Dr. Seuss
34. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
35. Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss

36. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
37. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
38. Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss
39. Fox on Socks by Dr. Seuss
40. The Grinch by Dr. Seuss

41. Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman
42. Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman
43. Big Dog, Little Dog by P. D. Eastman
44. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins
45. Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

46. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
47. Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman
48. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
49. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
50. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

41. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crickett Johnson
42. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
43. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
44. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
45. Saggy Baggy Elephant by Kathryn Jackson

46. Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field
47. Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
48. Busy Timmy by Kathryn and Byron Jackson
49. We Help Mommy by Jean Cushman
50. Baby Dear by Esther Wilkin

61. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
62. Curios George by H. A. Rey
63. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
64. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
65. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

61. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
62. Frances books by Russell Hoban
63. My Mommy, My Teacher by Johanna Bluedorn

64. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
65. The Story of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff

71. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey
72. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom
73. Frederick by Leo Lionni
74. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
75. Katy No Pocket by Emmy Payne

71. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiesez
72. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
73. We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
74. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
75. The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow

81. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
82. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
83. Little Bear books by Else Homelund Minarik
84. Good Night, Little Bear by Patsy Scarry
85. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

86. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
87. A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
88. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
89. The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
90. Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

91. The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Friends by Beatrix Potter
92. Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
93. The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman
94. Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel
95. Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney

96. Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne
97. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
98. The Real Mother Goose Board Book
99. A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
100. My First Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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No doubt there is room for more than a hundred. But I’ve tried to select the best ones that we have cherished over the years.

Did I miss any of your family favorites? Please share them in the comments!