Use the dropdown menus below to find suggested reading lists lovingly curated by DC Public Library staff, one for each year of a child's life from birth through sixth grade. More book suggestions and new titles for kids can be found at Find and Borrow: Kids.
Great Books for Birth to Pre-K
For more book suggestions for young children, as well as ways to build early literacy skills from birth, check out STAR: Sing, Talk, and Read. And if you know a young child who lives in DC, make sure they're signed up for the Books from Birth program so they'll receive a free book every month until their fifth birthday, mailed right to their home!
Babies
Baby Signs : A Baby-Sized Guide to Speaking with Sign Language by Joy Allen
Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim
Toes, Ears, & Nose: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Marion Dane Bauer
Moo, Baa, La, La, La! by Sandra Boynton
Tickle Time! by Sandra Boynton
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
My Very First Book of Animal Sounds by Eric Carle
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Caroline Jayne Church
You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis & Caroline Jayne Church
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Hello Baby! by Mem Fox
In My Tree by Sara Gillingham & Lorena Siminovich
Global Babies by Global Fund for Children
White on Black by Tana Hoban
Choo Choo by Petr Horáček
Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora
Baby's Shapes by Karen Katz
This Little Piggy / Este Cochinito adaptado por Yanitzia Canetti, illustrated by Annie Kubler
Trucks Go by Steve Light
Look Look Outside! by Peter Linenthal
First Words by Corrie Love
Baby Faces by Margaret Miller
I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy
The Baby Goes Beep by Rebecca O'Connell
Animals in Underwear ABC by Todd Parr
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Baby Cakes by Karma Wilson
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Salina Yoon
1-Year-Olds
A Kiss Means I Love You by Kathryn Madeline Allen
I Can Roar by Frank Asch
Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker
Quack and Count by Keith Baker
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
My Bus by Byron Barton
Clare Beaton's Animal Rhymes by Clare Beaton
Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton
Cinco Monitos Brincando en la Cama / Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Bath! Bath! Bath! by Douglas Florian
Count to Sleep, Washington, DC by Adam Gamble
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
Where is Baby's Belly Button? : A Lift-the-Flap Book
by Karen Katz
Ten Little Fingers by Annie Kubler
If You're Happy and You Know It / Si Te Sientes Bien Contento adaptado por Yanitzia Canetti, illustrated by Annie Kubler
Peek-a-who? by Nina Laden
Planes Go by Steve Light
Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel
Daytime Nighttime by William Low
Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin, Jr.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin, Jr.
Leo Loves Baby Time by Anna McQuinn
Quick Duck! by Mary Murphy
Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli
Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee
Fiesta Babies by Carmen Tafolla
All Kinds of Kisses by Nancy Tafuri
Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler
The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky
2-Year-Olds
Hug by Jez Alborough
Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres
Who Ate All The Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont
Hippos Go Berserk! by Sandra Boynton
Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera
Dear Zoo : A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell
Hooray for birds! by Lucy Cousins
Dancing Feet! by Lindsay Craig
Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs
Race Car Count by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
My Clothes / Mi Ropa by Rebecca Emberley
Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell
5 Little Ducks by Denise Fleming
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Lullaby (for a Black mother) : A Poem by Langston Hughes
I Am So Brave by Stephen Krensky
Tickle Monster by Édouard Manceau
Ten On the Sled by Kim Norman
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jerry Pinkney
What Do Wheels Do All Day? by April Jones Prince
We're Going On a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Supertruck by Stephen Savage
The Wheels On the Tuk Tuk by Kabir Sehgal
I'm the Biggest Thing In the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec
Green Is a Chile Pepper : A Book of Colors by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
Tails Are Not for Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick
You Are a Lion! : And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo
3-Year-Olds
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
Wild About Us! by Karen Beaumont
Stretch by Doreen Cronin
What Is Science? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos by Susan Middleton Elya
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
The Red Hen by Rebecca Emberley
The Wide-Mouthed Frog : A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner
Oh, No! by Candace Fleming
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
There Was a Tree by Rachel Isadora
Who Am I? : An Animal Guessing Game by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Rosie Goes to Preschool by Karen Katz
Squeak! Rumble! Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! : A Sonic Adventure by Wynton Marsalis
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. & John Archambault
Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn
Princess Hair by Sharee Miller
City Shapes by Diane Murray
If You Give A Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park
The Family Book by Todd Parr
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
At the Supermarket by Anne Rockwell
Anywhere Farm by Phyllis Root
Where's Walrus? by Stephen Savage
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
Ball by Mary Sullivan
Construction by Sally Sutton
What Can You Do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla
The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman
Pre-K
Marta! Big & Small by Jen Arena
Cold, Crunchy, Colorful : Using Our Senses by Jane Brocket
Rex Wrecks It! by Ben Clanton
This Rocket by Paul Collicutt
Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins
Quinito's Neighborhood = El Vecindario de Quinito by Ina Cumpiano
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
Apples and Robins by Lucie Félix
Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira
I Spy Pets by Edward Gibbs
Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper
Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling
Waiting by Kevin Henkes
The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort
Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora
Move! by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg
Keisha Ann Can! by Daniel Kirk
Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang
Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
Me... Jane by Patrick McDonnell
I'm Smart! by Kate McMullan & Jim McMullan
Princess! Fairy! Ballerina! by Bethanie Deenie Murguia
Maple by Lori Nichols
We're Rabbits! by Lisa Westberg Peters
How to Share with a Bear by Eric Pinder
The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Can One Balloon Make an Elephant Fly? by Dan Richards & Jeff Newman
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters : An African Tale by John Steptoe
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas
Red Is a Dragon : A Book of Colors by Rosanne Thong
Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard
Before John Was a Jazz Giant : A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford
Great Books for Kindergarten to Third Grade
For more great titles, as well as access to special events, activities, resources, and tips for developing readers in Kindergarten to third grade, join the Beyond the Book Club! And don't forget to check out fun programs happening at your neighborhood library.
Kindergarten
Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett
Journey by Aaron Becker
Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney
Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett
Julia's House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
Quit Calling Me a Monster! by Jory John
Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley
Wave by Suzy Lee
The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley
City Shapes by Diana Murray
Welcome Home, Bear : A Book of Animal Habitats by Il Sung Na
The Earth Book by Todd Parr
Lizard From the Park by Mark Pett
This Day in June by Gayle Pitman
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
What this Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig by Emma J. Virján
Museum Day by Sindy McKay
How Are You Peeling? : Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann
The Airport Book by Lisa Brown
Gravity by Jason Chin
I'm Trying to Love Spiders (It Isn't Easy) by Bethany Barton
From Wax to Crayon by Robin Nelson
Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews
Summer Birds : The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle
Frida by Jonah Winter
First Grade
Don't Throw it to Mo! by David Adler
Fly Guy Presents : Castles by Tedd Arnold
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett
The Wolf, the Duck & the Mouse by Mac Barnett
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The White Cat and the Monk : A Retelling of the Poem "Pangur Bán" by Jo Ellen Bogart
Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt by Ben Clanton
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya
Yo Soy Muslim : A Father's Letter to his Daughter by Mark Gonzales
Flowers Are Calling by Rita Gray
Two Bobbies : A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson
Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson
We Shall Overcome : The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy
Ling & Ting : Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin
Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Bring Me a Rock! by Daniel Miyares
Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales
Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers
Be Who You Are by Todd Parr
The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Jerry Pinkney
Star Stuff : Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stéphanie Roth Sisson
Dog and Bear : Three to Get Ready by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick
Dance! Dance! Underpants! by Bob Shea
Madlenka by Peter Sís
Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
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Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder
Diego Rivera : His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh
The Princess and the Warrior : A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh
It's Shoe Time! by Bryan Collier
Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter
This Is the Rope : A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson
Want to Play? by Paula Yoo
Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai
Second Grade
A Bear for Miguel by Elaine Marie Alphin
Crown : An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick D. Barnes
Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows
America the Beautiful : Together we Stand by Katherine Lee Bates
Rabbit & Robot : The Sleepover by Cece Bell
Draw What You See : The Life and Art of Benny Andrews by Kathleen Benson
Bird & Squirrel On the Edge! by James Burks
Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
Firebird : Ballerina Misty Copeland Shows a Young Girl How to Dance Like the Firebird by Misty Copeland
The Trouble with Chickens : A J.J. Tully Mystery by Doreen Cronin
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Islandborn by Junot Diaz (Lola - Spanish language title)
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo
Drum Dream Girl : How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle
Firefly July : A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko
Up We grow! : A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm by Deborah Hodge
I Dissent : Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy
The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
Little Leaders : Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
The Shark King by R. Kikuo Johnson
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Every Day is Exciting by Jacqueline Jules
The Case of the Stinky Socks by Lewis B. Montgomery
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
Neighborhood Sharks : Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka
Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson
Separate Is Never Equal : Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
Nightmare of the Iguana by Ursula Vernon
The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems
Third Grade
Frogs by Nic Bishop
Ashley Bryan's ABC of African-American Poetry by Ashley Bryan
The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
Great Migrations : Whales, Wildebeests, Butterflies, Elephants, and Other Amazing Animals on the Move by Elizabeth Carney
Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary
Unspoken : A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
Sipping Spiders Through a Straw : Campfire Songs for Monsters by Kelly DiPucchio
Energy Island : How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World by Allan Drummond
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni
First Garden : The White House Garden and How it Grew by Robbin Gourley
The Village that Vanished by Ann Grifalconi
Meet Danitra Brown by Nikki Grimes
The Emperor Lays an Egg by Brenda Z. Guiberson
Underground Abductor : An Abolitionist Tale by Nathan Hale
Real Friends by Shannon Hale
A Story, a Story: An African Tale by Gail E. Haley
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
The Top of the World : Climbing Mount Everest by Steve Jenkins
Goha the Wise Fool retold by Denys Johnson-Davies
Accidents May Happen by Charlotte Foltz Jones
George Did It by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
Fa Mulan : The Story of a Woman Warrior by Robert D. San Souci
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe
You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter
Great Books for Fourth to Sixth Grade
In addition to the fantastic titles below, browse the collection of 4th-6th Grade titles available to read on your digital device through Overdrive Kids (or download the Libby app to access the same titles). Check out our Homework Help tools if you're looking for online resources for school projects, learning support, and even live tutoring -- all available to you for free with your library card!
Fourth Grade
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
The incredible Journey by Sheila Every Burnford
The Dog that Stole Football Plays by Matt Christopher
Sahara Special by Esmé Raji Codell
The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Bunnicula : A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by Deborah Howe
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Zeus: King of the Gods by George O'Connor
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Summer Reading Is Killing Me! by Jon Scieszka
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick
Freedom on the Menu: the Greensboro Sit-ins by Carole Boston Weatherford
Scooter by Vera B. Williams
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Adventures in Cartooning: Characters in Action! by James Sturm
Joe and the Skyscraper: The Empire State Building in New York City by Dietrich Neumann
Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot by Mike Kennedy & Mark Stewart
How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer
Fifth Grade
Bugged: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson
Common Ground : The Water, Earth, and Air We Share by Molly Bang
Dazzle Ships : World War I and the Art of Confusion by Chris Barton
The Penderwicks : A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach
Not So Different : What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability by Matt Carr
Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust by Loïc Dauvillier
Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle
Melissa by Alex Gino
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
Alamo All-Stars by Nathan Hale
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups by Chris Harris
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Masterminds by Gordon Korman
Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lai
The Great White Shark Scientist by Sy Montgomery
Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Peirce
A Poem for Peter : The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka
As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds
Rad American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz
Guys Read: Heroes & Villains edited by Jon Scieszka
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Maniac Magee : A Novel by Jerry Spinelli
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Bronze and Sunflower by Cao WenXuan
Newsprints by Ru Xu
Sixth Grade
Booked by Kwame Alexander
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Serafina's Promise : A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg
Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Spy School by Stuart Gibbs
One Half from the East by Nadia Hashimi
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley
Paperboy by Vince Vawter
Princeless, Book 1: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang
Strange But True! by Andrea Mills
Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Auliaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns
We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart by Walter Dean Myer
s
Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill
Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
Marley Dias Gets it Done: And So Can You! by Marley Dias
Dream Big Dreams: Photographs from Barack Obama's Inspiring and Historic Presidency by Pete Souza