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Foundation for Learning and Literacy

Booklists and Literature Resources

Books Recommended for Reading Aloud to Young Children

Why read to young children?

Children who are read to in the pre-school years have many advantages. For a good summary of research findings about the connections between parents reading to their young children and their child's later reading and other cognitive skills, check out the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Victoria's Reading to Young Children: A Head-Start in Life resource.

One of the key findings in this research is:

  • 'The frequency of reading to children at a young age has a direct causal effect on their schooling outcomes regardless of their family background and home environment.'

Other findings in this research document include:

  • 'Children who are read to more frequently at an early age enter school with larger vocabularies and more advanced comprehension skills.'
  • 'Reading storybooks to children is one of the most important activities for developing the knowledge required for eventual success in reading.'

What can children learn if they are read to frequently?

Children love the sound of language when they are being read to, long before they even notice any of the features of a book. The rhythm and melody of the language when reading aloud from a book is quite different from the sound patterns of oral language and very young children who are read to frequently can mimic the read-aloud intonations even before they can speak in sentences.

Children can learn many important aspects of reading by being read to, including general knowledge about print such as:

  • knowing the front and the back of a book,
  • that we read from left to right and top to bottom (in English),
  • the difference between the print (the part we read) and the artwork (which provides information related to the print)
  • opportunities for children to learn the meaning of 'page', 'sentence', word, letter, sound, 'author' and 'illustrator',
  • hear the structures of written language compared with oral language.

Discussion about the print can also lead to children learning how to recognise and name the letters of the alphabet and to identify sound in words. They also learn that reading books is an enjoyable experience because of the interesting stories and information about the world.

It's important to read a wide range of nonfiction books to children to build world knowledge, which helps them to understand the content of other books, including stories. All children love stories, and in particular they love books that have a predictable plot or pattern, with repetitive text that they can soon join in with.

Some of these books with a repetitive element usually become their favourites and children request them to be read over and over again. This enables children to join in with the reading and perhaps memorise the whole book. So the children perceive themselves as successful readers, which is a great start if we want them to have a lifelong love of reading.

There are many wonderful books to choose from and the following is a list of those that tend to be loved by all children. The rich language and strong storylines are excellent models for children’s language development. The books stimulate discussion between the child and the adult reader, which is a crucial part of the read-aloud experience.

A special note for teachers

Some children do not have the rich experience of these books being read to them frequently in the preschool years so it is extremely important that such children are not further deprived when they begin school. These books or similar ones should be read aloud many times over and children should be
encouraged to join in and make comments or ask questions as part of the discussion about the books.

In the home situation children often have easy access to the books being read aloud and love to spend time browsing through them and reading or pretending to read them. To allow children in Foundation and Year 1 to have the same experiences your classrooms need to have multiple copies of the class favourites.

Explore the Booklist

  • The following lists of books are organised in alphabetical order according to the author’s last name.
  • They will most likely be available at public libraries and children’s book shops or online booksellers.

Useful websites: