Kindergarten English Writing Reading List by

Pig the Pug

ashtynramey — 2024-10-13 14:43:00 UTC

Pig the Pug is a very greedy dog, he loves his toys, balls, and bones and does not like to share. He refuses to share with his friend Trevor, and soon finds out the consequences of being greedy. This book uses rhyming as well as a lesson about sharing that can be beneficial to kindergarteners. When teaching, I would use this book to explain the middle, beginning, and end of the story and look at the rhyming in the story to see how it changes the story.

Fox in Socks

ashtynramey — 2024-10-13 14:46:00 UTC

The Fox in Socks uses a series of tongue twisters that can improve speech for kindergarten students. Rhyming is present through the whole text, and is a classic Dr. Seuss book. I would try to have the students try these tongue twisters to improve their speech and highlight the rhyming throughout the book. I would then ask the students if they can create the own rhymes.

The Girl Who Makes a Million Mistakes

ashtynramey — 2024-10-13 14:58:04 UTC

Millie has always dreamed of being a star athlete. She does whatever she can, but still makes a million mistakes, but throughout the book Millie develops perseverance and mental toughness to achieve her goals. This story enhances mistakes and tells students to never give up on their achievements. I would then have the students draw and write about how them might've had a hard time doing something, but how they persevered. This might be learning how to ride a bike or the first day of school.

Chrysanthemum

ashtynramey — 2024-10-13 15:00:05 UTC

Chrysanthemum always believed she had the perfect name, but on her very first day of school, no one had the same thoughts as she did. Other students would make fun of her name, and it made Chrysanthemum believe the things they said. However, at the end, Chrysanthemum appreciates her name and doesn't care what others think. After the read aloud, I would have each student create their own "chrysanthemum". They would make a flower with each letter of their name and appreciate the differences in their name. They can also count how many letters are in their name and why their name is so special.

Grumpy Monkey

ashtynramey — 2024-10-13 15:00:58 UTC

Jim the chimpanzee is always in a grumpy mood, even on a perfect day, he is still upset. His friends give him advice because they cannot understand his mood that has no good reason, and Jim has a meltdown. This story allows students to understand that confusing feelings can be okay as long as you can work through them and persevere. With this text, I can do an activity that will show emotions and how they are represented. Not all emotions are shown physically, but we can express the physical ones and students can describe how each emotion was represented by the grumpy monkey.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

ashtynramey — 2024-10-13 15:02:18 UTC

This story uses all the alphabet letters, while using onomatopoeias. The alphabet letters crawl up the coconut tree, while tumbling down when z climbs on the tree. This book can help students clearly understand the alphabet, in order and builds literacy. During the activity, I will have the students make their own coconut tree and have the letters crawl up in order. This allows them to use creativity while learning.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?

ashtynramey — 2024-11-06 23:31:19 UTC

This story asks several questions, making inferences on how dinosaurs go to school. Different types of sentences are in the standards for kindergarten so this is a perfect story. It also shows things to not do in school in some silly ways that captures students' attention. After reading, the students will review the vocabulary throughout the book. Each student will be given a notecard with the vocab word, and the student can draw a picture of what the vocabulary means to them.

The Buddy Bench

ashtynramey — 2024-11-06 23:39:24 UTC

The children in this story have wild imaginations on the playground. The students come together to share their imaginations while helping students that are lonely and who may need a friend. They finally encourage the teacher to build a buddy bench so no one feels lonely. This story can help students reach out to those who do not have as many friends. Beginning school can be tough for some, which is why having buddies can be so important. After reading, the class and I can tour the school, finding our own buddy bench. They could tell their friends where this spot is, and they can share experiences and play with each other at the spot we decide as a class.

You Are (Not) Small

ashtynramey — 2024-11-06 23:40:14 UTC

Two of the characters have a big debate on who is small and who is not small. They are finally able to see each others' perspective, which is a big part of school and life. Coming to agreements and seeing other perspectives is crucial, especially in school. I would create a more mathematic activity with this, and the students can help me differentiate different objects based on their size. They can reorder the objects from biggest to smallest.

The Queen of Kindergarten

ashtynramey — 2024-11-06 23:43:07 UTC

MJ's mom is encouraging her for the first day of school, and gives her the title of the queen of kindergarten. A queen shows kindness and leadership throughout the classroom and allows one to be a role model. This is a great story for the first day of school and can help establish rules and understandings of kindness and leadership. After reading, I would allow collaboration with the students. They can pick a partner or group, and they can share how they felt on the first day of kindergarten. They can share and feel each other's experience and this would allow them to create a closer relationship with each other.

The Day Punctuation Came to Town

ashtynramey — 2024-11-06 23:45:52 UTC

Each punctuation has their own personality, while each punctuation is making a sentence. The comma realizes his importance and why he can easily change a sentence. This story reflects why punctuation is so important and would be a great introduction for a lesson. Students will write the four types of sentences. Since this is an introduction of punctuation, students might not be certain what each punctuation means. Therefore, we could write a statement, question, and exclamatory sentence while drawing a picture.

Llama Llama Red Pajama

ashtynramey — 2024-11-06 23:46:59 UTC

This story used to be one of my favorites, using rhyming in a storytelling way. This llama is ready for bed, but starting all the drama. He is scared once he is put to bed, but Mama quickly resolves the problem. Several students might relate to this story and they could even compare it to their nights at home. When looking at the activities I would do with this text, I would have paper quilt created, just like the llama's. I would then create a letter matching activity, as each part of the quilt would have a letter. This will help with the identification of letters that are uppercase and lowercase.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

ashtynramey — 2024-12-02 21:09:06 UTC

This small town called ChewandSwallow, was a town that had crazy weather. There was food falling from the sky! This could be considered a good thing at first, until the town was flooded by giant food. This is a classic story, and some children might even had seen the movie version. This would be a great way to keep them engaged, and they could understand where they movie originated. After reading, I would review the beginning, middle, and end. I would assign each student apart of BME and allow them to draw a picture that depicts the story.

Last Stop on Market Street

ashtynramey — 2024-12-02 21:14:23 UTC

CJ and his grandmother ride the bus home from church one afternoon. CJ is wondering why they don't have a car like others, but his grandmother perfectly explains her optimism of the bus. He is able to see a variety of people and learns to appreciate the trip every Sunday with his grandmother. This is one of my favorite books and perfectly represents appreciating differences, happiness, and inequity. During the activity after this read aloud, I would have the students do a sequencing activity, organizing each part of the story in order.

Click, Clack, Moo

ashtynramey — 2024-12-02 21:18:44 UTC

When finding a type writer, Farmer Brown's cows write letters to him demanding the things they want. After Farmer Brown does not meet their orders, the cows and rest of the farm animals go on strike and refuse to produce milk. When discussing the book with the class after the reading, I will have the students do an activity that deals with problems and solutions. I will ask when they might've had a problem and how it was resolved by drawing a picture with labels.

The BFG

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:17:18 UTC

Wonder

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:17:33 UTC

Charlotte’s Web

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:18:11 UTC

Last Stop on Market Street

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:20:19 UTC

The Boxcar Children

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:22:02 UTC

Frindle

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:22:45 UTC

The Day You Begin

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:23:40 UTC

Henry’s Freedom Box

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:25:04 UTC

Third Grade Detectives

ashtynramey — 2025-09-08 02:26:06 UTC

Judy Moody

ashtynramey — 2025-10-13 20:15:16 UTC

Judy Moody is full of personality, moody, funny, and creative. Each story involves problem-solving and emotional growth, making it perfect for comprehension discussions around character motivation and sequencing. My student will relate to Judy’s expressive personality and love of “style” and individuality.

The Princess in Black

ashtynramey — 2025-10-13 20:17:55 UTC

A comical early chapter book about a princess who secretly fights monsters. The repetitive phrasing supports fluency and expression while allowing for discussions of plot and character duality. This book combines fashion, adventure, and confidence, perfect for my student who enjoys stylish, brave hero.

The Babysitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea

ashtynramey — 2025-10-13 20:20:33 UTC

This graphic format supports visual comprehension and inference skills, while using dialogue-rich storytelling, which promotes fluency and expression. This directly aligns with my students interests and is relatable in her young adult life.

Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes

ashtynramey — 2025-10-13 20:23:31 UTC

This picture book offers rich vocabulary and playful word choice, ideal for building expressive language and introducing new, “fancy” words in context. This directly appeals to her love for Fancy Nancy and her interest in words, fashion, and creativity.

Amelia Bedelia Means Business

ashtynramey — 2025-10-13 20:25:34 UTC

Amelia’s literal misunderstandings of figurative language are excellent for exploring idioms and oral comprehension. Students can act out scenes and discuss word meanings. Great for a student who enjoys humor and shopping (since Amelia starts her own lemonade stand to earn money for a new bike).

Drama

ashtynramey — 2025-10-13 20:26:30 UTC

A story about friendship and teamwork in a middle school theater production. Students can role-play scenes or discuss dialogue and character emotions. Relates to social interactions and interests like fashion and expressive storytelling, perfect for building oral communication skills.

Sheila Rae, the Brave

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:21:51 UTC

Includes repeated consonant blends (br-, st-, fl-) and multisyllabic words that help students practice chunking, segmenting, and decoding patterns. Great for highlighting spelling patterns and practicing sound–symbol correspondences.

A Bad Case of Stripes

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:22:42 UTC

Packed with multisyllabic and morphologically rich words (ex., “embarrassed,” “incredibly”). Students can practice identifying syllable types, breaking words into meaningful parts, and analyzing vowel sounds within longer words.

The Name Jar

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:23:22 UTC

Features names with diverse phoneme–grapheme patterns and unique sound combinations. Students can compare sounds, identify blends/digraphs, and practice accurate pronunciation while discussing identity and culture.

Those Shoes

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:23:53 UTC

Contains accessible multisyllabic words and repeated patterns that allow students to practice decoding, blending, and segmenting. Useful for sorting vowel teams, r-controlled vowels, and inflectional endings.

The Word Collector

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:24:55 UTC

Encourages curiosity about words and exposes students to rich Tier 2 vocabulary. Excellent for teaching shade-of-meaning, synonyms, and building personal word collections.

The One and Only Ivan

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:25:59 UTC

Includes powerful Tier 2 vocabulary (ex., “domain,” “patient,” “gentle,” “expression”). Great for teaching context clues and analyzing how word choice builds character and theme.

Each Kindness

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:26:55 UTC

Uses precise, emotional Tier 2 words that deepen comprehension (ex., “ripple,” “kindness,” “regret”). Perfect for vocabulary discussions tied to character motivation and social-emotional themes.

Thank You, Mr. Falker

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:27:50 UTC

Contains advanced descriptive vocabulary that can be unpacked using context clues and morphology. Also supports discussions about perseverance and growth mindset.

Mango, Abuela, and Me

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:29:28 UTC

Shows language learning within a family context and includes Spanish-English connections. Rich visuals and predictable patterns help ELs make meaning while discussing bilingualism, culture, and communication.

Islandborn

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:30:09 UTC

Provides rich cultural representation and highly descriptive imagery. Perfect for developing oral language as students retell, describe, and make connections. Supports vocabulary development through context and illustrations.

Say Hello!

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:30:53 UTC

Features greetings in multiple languages with clear visuals. Excellent for building pragmatic language skills, comparison of languages, and creating a welcoming classroom for multilingual learners.

My Name is Yoon

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:32:00 UTC

Focuses on a child navigating a new language and alphabet. Supports phonological mapping for ELs transitioning between orthographies and encourages conversations about identity and language differences.

The Invisible Boy

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:32:36 UTC

Simple, accessible text paired with expressive illustrations supports comprehension even when decoding is challenging. Builds confidence, emotional vocabulary, and inferencing skills.

The Wild Robot

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:33:05 UTC

Clear, concise chapter structure and predictable syntax make it approachable as a read-aloud. Helps students with dyslexia build listening comprehension, vocabulary, and stamina without decoding overload.

Zoey & Sassafras

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:33:39 UTC

Highly decodable language with supportive illustrations and predictable text features. Excellent for dyslexic readers needing practice with multisyllabic decoding and scientific vocabulary in context.

Fish in a Tree

ashtynramey — 2025-12-09 19:34:32 UTC

Centers a character with dyslexia and celebrates her strengths. Good for discussing growth mindset, reducing stigma, and helping struggling readers understand they’re capable.