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The Kindergarten Canon: The 100 Best Children's Books by Michael J. Petrilli

The Kindergarten Canon: The 100 Best Children's Books

October 09, 2012

Thomas B. Fordham Institute

One of the great joys of parenthood is reading to my two young sons. Partly it’s the visceral experience: Little guys curled up on my lap, in their PJ’s, soft light overhead, the day winding down, sleep coming (well, one can hope). But it’s also about the books: An endless treasure trove of stories to share, pictures to enjoy, traditions to pass along.

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So I got to wondering: Is there a list of the must-read picture books for preschoolers? The greatest classics, old and new? A “canon,” if you will? I couldn’t find one, so I decided to create one. With help from some friends, I now present to you the Kindergarten Canon (download the pdf version here):

1 is One - Tasha Tudor

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Judith Viorst & Ray Cruz

Anansi the Spider

Anansi the Spider - Gerald McDermott

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace - Mary Hoffman & Caroline Binch

Are You My Mother?

Are You My Mother? - P.D. Eastman

Bear Called Paddington, A - Michael Bond

Click for full list.

Bear Snores On - Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman	Beauty and the Beast, The - Brothers Grimm*
Big Red Barn, The - Margaret Wise Brown	Birthday for Frances, A - Russell Hoban & Lillian Hoban
Blueberries for Sal - Robert McCloskey	Bremen Town Musicians, The - Brothers Grimm*
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Bill Martin, Jr. & Eric Carle	Caps for Sale - Esphyr Slobodkina
Carrot Seed, The - Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson	Cars and Trucks and Things that Go - Richard Scarry
Cat in the Hat, The - Dr. Seuss	Chair for My Mother, A - Vera B. Williams
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - Bill Martin, Jr. (author), John Archambault (author), and Lois Ehlert	Cinderella - Brothers Grimm*
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type - Doreen Cronin & Betsy Lewin	Corduroy - Don Freeman
Curious George - Margret Rey & H.A. Rey	Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell
Emperor's New Clothes, The - Hans Christian Andersen*	Fisherman and his Wife, The - Brothers Grimm*
Frederick - Leo Lionni	Freight Train - Donald Crews
Frog and Toad are Friends - Arnold Lobell	George and Martha - James Marshall
Gingerbread Man, The - Fairy Tale*	Giving Tree, The - Shel Silverstein
Go, Dog. Go! - P.D. Eastman	Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Brothers Grimm*
Good Night, Gorilla - Peggy Rathmann	Good Night, Moon - Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd
Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss	Guess How Much I Love You - Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram
Hansel and Gretel - Brothers Grimm*	Harold and the Purple Crayon - Crockett Johnson
Harry and the Dirty Dog - Gene Zion & Margaret Bloy Graham	Horton Hears A Who! - Dr. Seuss
The House on East 88th Street - Bernard Waber	If You Give A Mouse A Cookie - Laura Numeroff & Felicia Bond
In the Night Kitchen - Maurice Sendak	Jack and the Beanstalk - Fairy Tale*
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub - Audrey Wood & Don Wood	Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale - Mo Willems
Lion and the Mouse, The - Aesop's Fable*	Little Bear - Else Holmelund Minarik & Maurice Sendak
Little Engine that Could, The - Watty Piper	Little Red Hen, The - Fairy Tale*
Little Red Riding Hood - Brothers Grimm*	Madeline - Ludwig Bemelmans
Make Way for Ducklings - Robert McCloskey	Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel - Virginia Lee Burton
Millions of Cats - Wanda Gag	Mother Goose - Traditional
Olivia - Ian Falconer	One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - Dr. Seuss
One Morning in Maine - Robert McCloskey	Owl and the Pussycat, The - Edward Lear*
Pat the Bunny - Dorothy Kunhardt	Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi*
Poky Little Puppy, The - Janette Sebring Lowrey & Gustaf Tenggren	Princess and the Pea, The - Hans Christian Andersen*
Puss in Boots - Charles Perrault*	Put Me in the Zoo - Robert Lopshire
Rainbow Fish, The - Marcus Pfister	Rapunzel - Brothers Grimm*
Runaway Bunny, The - Margaret Wise Brown	Sleeping Beauty - Brothers Grimm*
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Brothers Grimm*	Snowy Day, The - Ezra Jack Keats
Stellaluna - Janell Cannon	Stone Soup - Fairy Tale*
Story about Ping, The - Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese	Story of Babar, The - Jean de Brunhoff
Story of Ferdinand, The - Munro Leaf & Robert Lawson	Strega Nona - Tomie dePaola
Swimmy - Leo Lionni	Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - William Steig
Tale of Peter Rabbit, The - Beatrix Potter	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly - Simms Taback
There's a Nightmare in My Closet - Mercer Mayer	Three Billy Goats Gruff, The - Fairy Tale*
Three Little Pigs, The - Brothers Grimm*	Thumb elina - Hans Christian Andersen*
Tikki Tikki Tembo - Arlene Mosel & Blair Lent	Time for Bed - Mem Fox & Jane Dyer
Tootle - Gertrude Crampton & Tibor Gergely	Tortoise and the Hare, The - Aesop's Fable*
Ugly Duckling, The - Hans Christian Andersen*	Velveteen Rabbit, The - Margery Williams & William Nicholson
Very Hungry Caterpillar, The - Eric Carle	When We Were Very Young - A. A. Milne
Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak	Winnie-the-Pooh - A. A. Milne

* You can find myriad versions of these classic folk stories, fairy tales, and fables.

While this is, to my knowledge, the first ever Kindergarten Canon, there are certainly other worthy lists of great children’s books. These include the Caldecott Medal and Honor books; the Core Knowledge Foundation’s selection of recommended books for Kindergarteners; the American Library Association's Notable Children's Books list; and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards. I also found some solid recommendations in The Educated Child, by William J. Bennett, Chester E. Finn, Jr., and John T. E. Cribb, Jr.

Yet none of these lists amounts to a canon, per se. A canon, after all, isn’t simply a critic’s selection of the greatest books ever written; they also have to be books that everyone reads. You may or may not think Moby Dick was the premier work of American fiction, but you still had to read it because you couldn’t be considered culturally literate without it. Likewise with, say, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. There are plenty of children’s stories more compelling, in my opinion. But if you’ve never read Goldilocks, you’ll miss myriad references in literature, pop culture, newspaper editorials, and so forth. Which makes Goldilocks a must.

It’s worth noting that recently-published books struggle to reach canonical status; they simply haven’t been around long enough. And plenty of excellent books never get there either. Peruse the list of Caldecott winners, for instance, and I bet you’ll spot many unfamiliar titles. The books have merit in the eyes of “those who know”—but they don’t catch on in the marketplace. A canon is a quirky thing—connected to quality, but also to commercial success.

So are these the right books? What did I omit? What doesn’t belong here? The comments section is open.

Most of all, parents, I hope this list leads to many happy story times (and bedtimes) for you and yours.

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The Kindergarten Canon: The 100 Best Children's Books by Michael J. Petrilli

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