Thank you so much for your purchase of Playing Preschool Year 1. I am delighted to have you here and can’t wait to for the upcoming year of learning to unfold for your family.
A Reminder About Books
While the books in Playing Preschool have been carefully selected and vetted for developmental appropriateness and adherence to the unit’s theme, they are suggestions only.
Only a few times in Playing Preschool does an activity align exactly with a book. The vast majority of book titles can be exchanged for any book that aligns with the topic. For example, any children’s book on apples can be used. I have merely offered a few recommendations.
Thoughts on Collecting Books
Do not feel any pressure to buy every book used in the program. Check out books from the library, look online, borrow from neighbors, ask friends on Facebook – see what your community has to offer.
After finishing a unit, if a book became a treasured favorite, that’s a better reason to buy a book now that the relationship with the text has been established.


Download the Year 1 Book List
Print this PDF book list for Playing Preschool Year 1. Use it as a quick reference for books in your current unit and to find future recommendations.
Busy Toddler is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.
I am also a Bookshop affiliate and earn from qualifying purchases through Bookshop. Bookshop also supports your local book store.
1: Apples

How Do Apples Grow?
by Jill McDonald

An Apple’s Life
by Nancy Dickmann

Apple Picking Day
by Candice Ransom

Apples Apples Apples
by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

How Do Apples Grow?
by Betsy Maestro

The Mouse’s Apples
by Frances Stickley
2: Colors

Freight Train
by Donald Crews

Mouse Paint
by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Green
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

The Rainbow Fish
by Marcus Pfister

Harold and the Purple Crayon
by Crockett Johnson

Ten Black Dots
by Donald Crews

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
by Eric Litwin

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle
3: Nursery Rhymes

The Real Mother Goose
by Blanche Fisher Wright

The Neighborhood Mother Goose
by Nina Crews
4: Clothing

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
by Eric Litwin

Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing
by Judi Barrett

Red Shoes
by Karen English

Fancy Nancy
by Jane O’Connor

The Runaway Shirt
by Kathy MacMillan
5: Food

Hot Pot Night!
by Vincent Chen

Right This Very Minute: A Table-to-Farm Book About Food and Farming
by Lisl H. Detlefsen

Stone Soup
by Marcia Brown

Growing Vegetable Soup
by Lois Ehlert

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle

The Little Red Hen
by Diane Muldrow

From Grass to Milk
by Diane Muldrow

Cookies: Bite Size Life Lessons
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
6: Five Senses

My Five Senses
by Aliki

Look, Listen, Taste, Touch and Smell
by Pamela Hill Nettleton

Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!
by Wynton Marsalis

The Listening Walk
by Paul Showers

I Hear a Pickle
by Rachel Isadora

Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings
by Matthew Van Fleet
7: Teddy Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears
by Mara Alperin

Where’s My Teddy?
by Jez Alborough

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
by Michael Rosen

Corduroy
by Don Freeman

Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light
by Apryl Stott

The Teddy Bear Picnic
by Jimmy Kennedy
8: Things That Go Together

We Belong Together
by Joyce Wan

We Go Together
by Link Dyrdahl

Friends
by Helme Heine

We are Best Friends
by Roger Priddy

When Pencil Met Eraser
by Karen Kilpatrick

Peanut Butter & Cupcake
by Terry Border
9: Community Helpers

Helpers in My Community
by Bobbi Kalman

Helpers in Your Neighborhood
by Shira Evans

Whose Hat is This?
by Sharon Katz Cooper

Tinyville Town Gets to Work
by Brian Biggs

Let’s Meet a … (Cloverleaf Books)
Choose the right job for your child

The ABCs of What I Can Be
by Caitlin McDonagh
10: Transportation

Truck
by Donald Crews

The Little Engine the Could
by Watty Piper

Boats Float!
by George Ella Lyon

The Old Truck
by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey

The Airport Book
by Lisa Brown

The Little Red Caboose
by Marian Potter
11: On the Farm

Farming
by Gail Gibbons

Big Red Barn
by Gail Gibbons

Farm
by Heather Alexander

Farm Animals
by Joanne Mattern

Mrs. Wishy Washy’s Farm
by Joy Cowley

Acoustic Rooster and the Barnyard Band
by Kwame Alexander
12: Weather

All About Weather
by Huda Harajli

Shapes in the Sky
by Josepha Sherman

In the Rain
by Elizabeth Spurr

Hello, World! Weather
by Jill McDonald

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring
by Kenard Pak

A Rainbow of My Own
by Don Freeman
13: Eggs

Chickens Aren’t the Only One
by Ruth Heller

Guess What’s Growing Inside This Egg
by Mia Posada

An Egg is Quiet
by Dianna Hutts Aston

Hattie Peck
by Emma Levey

The Odd Egg
by Emily Gravett

The Golden Egg Book
by Margaret Wise Brown
14: Plants

How a Seed Grows
by Helene J. Jordan

Lola Plants a Garden
by Anna McQuinn

If You Plant a Seed
by Kadir Nelson

The Tiny Seed
by Eric Carle

Plants Feed Me
by Lizzy Rockwell

Plants Feed Me
by Lizzy Rockwell
15: Construction

Builders & Breakers
by Steve Light

Busy Busy Construction Site
by Richard Scarry

The Construction Alphabet
by Jerry Pallotta

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
by Sherri Diskey Rinker

Building a House
by Byron Barton

Brick by Brick
by Heidi Woodward Sheffield
16: Pets

My Pet Wants a Pet
by Elise Broach

Not Norman
by Kelly Bennett

Strictly No Elephants
by Lisa Mantchev

Some Pets
by Angela DiTerlizz

How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs?
by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

Alfie: The Turtle that Disappeared
by Thyra Heder
17: Opposites

The Opposite Zoo
by Il Sung Na

A World of Opposites
by Gray Malin

Big Bear, Small Mouse
by Karma Wilson

You and Me: We’re Opposites
by Harriet Ziefert

Olivia’s Opposites
by Ian Falconer

Opposites
by Sandra Boynton
18: Fairy Tales and Folk Tales

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas
by Natasha Yim

Strega Nona
by Tomie dePaola
19: Water

I Get Wet
by Vicki Cobb

Water is Water
by Miranda Paul

Hey, Water!
by Antoinette Portis

Wet
by Carey Sookocheff

Water Can Be…
by Laura Purdie Salas

Rain!
by Linda Ashman
Need the book list for Year 2 as well? Follow this link for Year 2.







Subscribe to my free newsletter and I’ll send you “35 Easy Toddler Activities to Break Up the Day!”

Leave a Comment