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.
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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.
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