Shortly before quarantine, I learned about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program at the local library. Aiden loves to read so I thought it would be a perfect challenge for us to take on. Scroll down to see all the preschooler books we’ve loved adding to our collection!
When quarantine hit the libraries closed so we ended up building up our home library. We have lots of new favorites so I thought I would round them up here.
Essential Books for the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program:
The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program is exactly what it sounds like — a challenge to read 1000 books before your child begins kindergarten. You can print out log sheets from the website. We read at least two books before bed and often more during the day so even though we are starting late I think we can accomplish it!
Here is a roundup of our favorite books we added during quarantine to take part in the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program:
1. Ada Twist Scientist and Iggy Peck Architect:
These two books come from a series of STEM-inspired books called the questioneers. We have also read Rosie Revere Engineer. These are fun books about kids in Miss Greer’s second-grade class. Aiden loves how he can spot his favorite characters in each of the other books.
2. Dear Boy:
This is a sweet love letter for the boy(s) in your life. It has a positive message about how the boy in the story is cool, clever, compassionate, and one of a kind
3. The Day You Begin:
This is a great book about differences and having the courage to share your story. I like walking through some of the scenarios in the book with Aiden to talk about what he would do, for example, if he saw a boy standing by himself watching him play with friends.
4. Press Here:
This is a fun interactive book. It’s great for Aiden because he has to follow directions.
5. Finding Kindness:
This book is very simple with its message. It illustrates how small acts of kindness make a difference. I love the diversity of the characters on the pages.
6. The Last Stop on Market Street:
This is a sweet book about a curious boy who travels with his grandmother to volunteer at a soup kitchen. This is a great book to start a conversation on the importance of giving back to the community. It also illustrates a different environment than Aiden has experienced so I like that it exposes him to that.
7. The Three Ninja Pigs:
This is a fun version of The Three Little Pigs — ninja style. Aiden is all about Ninjas these days so he loves this version which features the pigs doing karate.
8. The Gruffalo:
We heard this for the first time in one of Josh Gad’s readings during quarantine and Aiden fell in love with the story. We decided to add the book to our collection.
9. Waiting is Not Easy:
This is a perfect book for any young child who needs to learn about patience. It is a fun, easy read.
10. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend:
We learned about the author Dan Santat from the Mo Willems Lunchtime Doodles series we did during quarantine. This is a sweet book about courage.
Have you read any of these books or added others to your library during quarantine? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
