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Talking, singing, and reading-- these are the steps to early literacy! When you talk to children, they learn language. When you sing together, they learn rhymes. When you read aloud, they learn about books! These are important skills your child needs for school and reading.

Here are 100 books to share together before school.
Babies and Toddlers     Non-Fiction     Picture Books    
 

Babies and Toddlers

Bear in a Square - Blackstone, Stella
- With the help of a lovable bear, children will learn shapes and counting in this sturdy board book featuring colorful, bold illustrations and simple rhymes.
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Bear Snores On - Karma Wilson
- Bear is snoring while the other animals have a party in his cave.
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Big Red Barn - Margaret Wise Brown
- What goes on in the barn while the people are away? Find out in this story.
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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See - Bill Martin
- What does Brown Bear see? Learn colors and animals in this rhyming story.
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Freight Train - Donald Crews
- Toddlers will enjoy looking at the many colours of this train.
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From Head to Toe - Eric Carle
- What does an elephant do? It stomps its foot. Can you?

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Good Night, Gorilla - Peggy Rathmann
- At bedtime, the little gorilla cleverly grabs the zookeeper's keys and frees a parade of animals to follow the keeper home to bed.
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Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
- Say good night with this classic book.

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Guess How Much I Love You - Sam McBratney
- During a bedtime game, every time Little Nutbrown Hare demonstrates how much he loves his father, Big Nutbrown Hare gently shows him that the love is returned even more.
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Here Comes Mother Goose - Iona Opie
- More than sixty traditional nursery rhymes, including "Old Mother Hubbard," "I'm a Little Teapot," and "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe".
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Hooray for Fish - Lucy Cousins
- A splashy, fun-filled adventure that pays tribute to all things fishy.

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Is Your Mama a Llama - Deborah Guarino
- Readers will learn to identify many animals as they follow a baby llama in search of its mother.
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Jamberry - Bruce Degen
- A boy and an endearing, rhyme-spouting bear journey through a world of berries.
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Little Gorilla - Ruth Bornstein
- Little Gorilla is growing up – and his friends still love him.
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Maisy Goes to the Library - Lucy Cousins
- Maisy goes to the library in search of a book about fish and a quiet place in which to read it.
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Mouse Paint - Ellen Stoll Walsh
- Three mice cleverly use colour to hide from the snake.
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Peek a who - Nina Laden
- You and baby can look through die-cut pages for a visual clue to complete a rhyming game of peek-a-boo.
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Piggies - Don Wood
- Count along on your little piggies in this fun rhymed book.
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Red is Best - Kathy Stinson
- Red is the best colour for Kelly, but she has to convince her mother to let her wear it.
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The Baby goes beep - Rebecca O'Connell
- You and baby can explore the world with lots of sounds!
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Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
- A hungry little caterpillar eats his way through lots of food before becoming a butterfly.
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Where is the Green Sheep - Mem Fox
- The search is on for green sheep in this cozy, sheep-filled story.
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Where s Spot - Eric Hill
- Spot's mum Sally searches around the house for her little pup, with the young reader playing out the game of hide-and-seek by lifting the flaps on every page.
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Non-Fiction

Animal faces - Darlyne Murawski
- Get up close and personal with creatures from the wild in this photographic book. Each image offers an intimate view of an animal's face that will engage and fascinate children of all ages.
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From Tadpole to Frog - Kathleen W. Zoehfeld
- The life cycle of a frog is presented in clear language and vivid photographs.
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Houses and Homes - Ann Morris
- A simple discussion of different kinds of houses and what makes them homes.
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I am Canada - Heather Patterson
- Bright photographs and simple text celebrate the many faces of Canada, through the seasons and across the land.
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Mabel Murple - Sheree Fitch
- A collection of poems for young children featuring Mabel's wacky purple world.
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Move! - Jenkins, Steve
- Readers follow animals as they swing, dance, and float, then learn why these animals move the way they do.
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Red Eyed Tree Frog - Joy Cowley
- This frog, found in the rain forest of Central America, spends the night searching for food while also being careful not to become dinner for some other animal.
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You and Me Together - Barbara Kerley
- This book looks at parent-child relationships as a global cultural theme.
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Picture Books

A Splendid Friend Indeed - Suzanne Bloom
- When a studious polar bear meets an inquisitive goose, they learn to be friends.
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Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock - Eric Kimmel
- Anansi the spider tricks the forest animals with a magical rock.
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Bark George - Jules Feiffer
- George’s mother is worried when he does not learn to bark.
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Beastly Feast - Bruce Goldstone
- Enjoy a rhyming treat as the animals come to a potluck feast.
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Bunny Cakes - Rosemary Wells
- Max makes an earthworm cake for Grandma's birthday and helps Ruby with her angel surprise cake.
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Canada 123 - Kim Bellefontaine
- See and count the sights on a colourful tour of Canada from coast to coast to coast.
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Caps for Sale: a tale of a peddler, some monkeys, and their - Esphyr Slobodkina
- When a peddler’s caps disappear, who has them? Monkeys!

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Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss
- Mom goes out and the cat comes to play in this rhyming classic.
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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - Bill Martin
- In a rhythmic alphabet chant, all the letters race one another up the coconut tree. Young readers and their parents can recite the familiar rhythmic refrain.
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Click Clack Moo - Doreen Cronin
- Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears Click, clack, MOO. But Farmer Brown's problems REALLY begin when his cows start leaving him notes.
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Daddy is a Doodlebug - Bruce Degen
- What do doodlebugs do together? Daddy and his doodlebug doodle the things that doodlebugs like to do.
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Don't let the pigeon drive the bus! - Mo Willems
- Pigeon pleads, wheedles, and begs to drive!
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Doorbell Rang - Pat Hutchins
- Ma has made enough cookies to share … and then the doorbell rings.

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Duck on a Bike - David Shannon
- An adventurous Duck goes for a farmyard bike ride.

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Elizabeti's doll - S. Bodeen
- When a young Tanzanian girl gets a new baby brother, she finds a rock, which she names Eva, and makes it her baby doll.
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Farmer Duck - Martin Waddell
- All day long, poor Farmer Duck must cook and tend the fields because the farmer himself is too lazy to do anything expect shout "How goes the work?" from the comfort of his bed.
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Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale - Margaret Read MacDonald
- Have you ever heard the saying, Your eyes are bigger than your stomach? Well, Cat's stomach is bigger than a lot of things!
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Froggy Gets Dressed - Jonathan London
- When Froggy decides to go out in the snow, he forgets an important piece of clothing!
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Giraffes can't dance - Giles Andreae
- Gerald the giraffe is too clumsy to dance with all the other animals at the Jungle Dance, until he finds the right music.

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Good Boy, Fergus! - David Shannon
- Follow Fergus as he experiences the perfect doggy day--well, except for his bath, of course!
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Harry the Dirty Dog - Gene Zion
- Harry is a white dog with black spots who loves everything . . . except baths!
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Hatseller and the Monkeys - Baba Wague Diakite
- An African version of the familiar story of a man who sets off to sell his hats, only to have them stolen by a treeful of mischievous monkeys.
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Hello, Goodbye Window - Norton Juster
- A little girl finds magic in the kitchen window of her grandparents' house.
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Henny Penny - Zimmermann
- Henny Penny and her friends are on their way to tell the king that the sky is falling when they meet a hungry fox.
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How do dinosaurs say good night - Jane Yolen
- Featuring ten sleepy dinosaurs, this adorable book celebrates the funny, endearing, naughty bedtime behavior of young children . . . and young dinosaurs.
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I Stink - Kate McMullan
- Follow a night in the life of a cool garbage truck with a bad attitude as he makes the rounds and picks up an A-to-Z list of stinky garbage.
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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Laura Numeroff
- If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache...
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Imogene's antlers - David Small
- Imogene awakens one morning to find she has grown antlers.
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In the Rain with Baby Duck - Amy Hest
- Baby Duck doesn’t like the rain until she discovers rubber boots.
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It's the bear! - Jez Alborough
- Eddie and his mom go into the woods for a picnic and meet a very large, very hungry bear.
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Jump, Frog, Jump - Robert Kalan
- A cumulative tale in which a frog tries to catch a fly without getting caught itself.
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Kitten's first full moon - Kevin Henkes
- Kitten sees her first full moon, but she thinks it's a bowl of milk and tries to get at it.
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Leaf Man - Lois Ehlert
- A man made of leaves blows away, traveling wherever the wind may take him.
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Little Engine That Could - Watty Piper
- The classic story of a train filled with toys and gifts for little boys and girls that breaks down before reaching the children.
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Madeline - Ludwig Bemelmans
- Madeline gets special attention when she is ill, and the other girls want to copy her.
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Make Way for Ducklings - Robert McCloskey
- Mr. and Mrs. Mallard proudly return to their home in the Boston Public Garden with their eight offspring.
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Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel - Virginia Lee Burton
- Mike Mulligan proves that, although dated, his steam shovel is still useful.
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Mirandy and Brother Wind - Patricia McKissack
- Mirandy determines to catch Brother Wind and have him for her partner in the upcoming junior cakewalk.
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My Friend Rabbit - Eric Rohmann
- Mouse’s friend rabbit always gets into trouble, but he means well.
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My Granny Went to Market - Stella Blackstone
- A child's grandmother travels around the world, buying gifts in quantities that illustrate counting from one to ten.
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Napping House - Audrey Wood
- Delightful cumulative rhyme leads up to the consequences of piling too many sleepy people and animals in a cozy bed.
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Off to School, Baby Duck - Amy Hest
- Baby Duck experiences the fear of the first day of school, but with a little help from Grampa, everything turns out okay in the end.
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Olivia - Ian Falconer
- Whether at home getting ready for the day, enjoying the beach, or at bedtime, Olivia is a feisty pig who has too much energy for her own good.
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One Duck Stuck - Phyllis Root
- Can two fish, tails going swish, help? Will four crickets, chirping in the thickets, be able to pull the unlucky duck out of the muck?
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One Wish - Francis Wolfe
- A young girl wishes for a seaside cottage.
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Owen - Kevin Henkes
- Owen's parents try to get him to give up his favourite blanket before he starts school, but when their efforts fail, they come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
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Owl Babies - Martin Waddell
- Three worried owlets wait for their mother to return from her night flight.
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Pancakes for breakfast - Tomie DePaola
- This wordless story follows the trials of a woman who attempts to make pancakes for her breakfast.
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Paper Bag Princess - Robert Munsch
- The Princess Elizabeth is slated to marry Prince Ronald when a dragon attacks the castle and kidnaps Ronald. In resourceful and humorous fashion, Elizabeth finds the dragon, outsmarts him, and rescues Ronald.
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Peg and the Yeti - Kenneth Oppel
- Sea-faring Peg gets adventurous and befriends a Yeti.
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Seven Blind Mice - Ed Young
- In this retelling of the Indian fable, seven blind mice discover different parts of an elephant and argue about its appearance.
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Sheep in a Jeep - Nancy Shaw
- Silliness and rhymes as sheep learn to drive.
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Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats
- Enjoy the wonder and pure pleasure a child experiences when the world is blanketed in snow.
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So Many Bunnies - Rick Walton
- A bedtime ABC and counting book.
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Stella Queen of the Snow - Marie-Louise Gay
- Stella introduces Sam to the fun of playing in the snow.
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Stone Soup - Marcia Brown
- This story, about three hungry soldiers who outwit the greedy inhabitants of a village into providing them with a feast, is based on an old French tale.
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Story of Ferdinand - Munro Leaf
- Ferdinand is a little bull who much prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree to jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls.
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Subway Mouse - Barbara Reid
- Little mouse is born into a family of mice who have, for generations, lived within the tunnels of the subway. One day he decides to adventure out…
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Swimmy - Leo Lionni
- A little fish devises a plan to camouflage himself and his new companions.
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Tacky the Penguin - Helen Lester
- Tacky's perfect friends find him annoying until his odd behavior saves the day.
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Three Billy Goats Gruff - Paul Galdone
- The three goat brothers brave the terrible troll in a colorful version of the classic tale.
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Tops and Bottoms - Janet Stevens
- This tale celebrates the trickster tradition of overcoming hardship by using one's wits.
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Two Eyes, a Nose, and a Mouth - Roberta G. Intrater
- More than 100 vibrant, full-color photographs eloquently illustrate a wide variety of eyes, noses, and mouths on multigenerational, multicultural faces.
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We re Going on a Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen
- Have you ever gone on a bear hunt? Come along on this one with a brave young family.
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Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
- Max, a wild and naughty boy, is sent to bed without his supper by his exhausted mother. In his room, he imagines sailing far away to a land of Wild Things.
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Who Sank the Boat - Pamela Allen
- Beside the sea, there once lived a cow, a donkey, a sheep, a pig, and a tiny little mouse. One warm, sunny morning--for no particular reason--they decided to go for a row in the bay. Do you know who sank the boat?
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Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People s Ears - Verna Aardema
- This retelling of a traditional West African tale reveals how the mosquito developed its annoying habit.
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Wild About Books - Judy Sierra
- In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly the librarian introduces birds and beasts to this new something called reading.
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