Far from it – we’re currently half way through Term 3 of our four term school year.
And most of the kids are counting down the days until the September school holidays.
So instead, my schoolish top ten this week, will take us back to my preschool teaching days.
For 18 years I read so many picture books every day to so many children and classes that you’d think that they would have blurred together. But of course the gems stick out.
The really good ones always do.
This list focuses on my best books to read aloud to a group of children
For anyone who has done this, you will know exactly what I mean, because some books work better as a read aloud to a group than others.
Reading aloud to a group of children is a performance.
You need stories with drama and action.
The ten books below, worked every single time.
My Top Ten Read Aloud Books for Preschoolers
Titch by Pat Hutchins
This was my book choice for the first day of the new school year.
It’s all about change and growth and yearning to be ‘big’.
A classic that divides.
But it always generated fascinating discussions.
The nature of these discussions told me a lot about the class I had in front of me and guided my future book choices for them.
A Lion in the Meadow by Margaret Mahy
It’s fun to be scared whilst in a safe, secure environment.
The power of imagination let loose in this beautiful story had the ability to frighten and console at the same time.
The Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain
I can probably retell this story in my sleep.
One particular class insisted I read this book every day for 6 months. We made a board game of it and re-enacted it at every opportunity. It tapped into some deep need/fear that took 6 months to be sated.
With some classes I had to dial the scare factor down to zero, but other classes screamed for more and again, again!
Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski
This was my rainy day go-to sure fire hit.
I had a wonderful CD of the first four Meg and Mog books retold by Maureen Lipman.
The sound effects and tone were brilliant.
They captivated every single class (& teaching assistant that I ever worked with.)
I even had a black pair of shoes just like Meg!
The perfect book to celebrate being who you are.
The fear of getting in trouble and being lost drive this story about life on the Yangtze River.
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
Thanks to a full-on play day, Harry changes so much that his family does not recognise him any longer. How can Harry prove who he is and that he belongs?
bronasbooks.com 
Aw I've read some of these books! They bring back fond memories. 🙂
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I used to love it when the teachers read to us at school, especially in the elementary grades when they'd read slightly longer books. This is a great list, I remember the Giving Tree and several of the different berenstain Bears books. Titch looks cute too.
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Oh, I love Harry the Dirty Dog and of course The Giving Tree! I love your take on this week's topic! Happy reading! 😀
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These are wonderful books. I love it that you chose picture books…my favorite genre!Here's my list of stories about teaching in tough schools. I hope you will stop by!
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Great list! I had a red hardcover Meg and Mog book with different stories in it when I was little. According to my mum I was kind of obsessed with it and it would be the book I got her to read to me before bed every night for months! 😀
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There are some books that I, as a teacher, did not know of!I'll definitely take a look at those, because I LOOOVEEE reading to the kids 🙂
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OMG!! So many favorites here!! Lisa @ https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/top-ten-tuesday-book-for-new-young-adults/
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I love this list and will share it with my sister who is a preschool teacher. Are any of the books on your list especially set in Australia? Books with memorable school scenes
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So much of my childhood here! Ping, Ferdinand, and The Giving Tree are all such amazing, timeless books.Here is our TTT.
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Most of the books on my list were obsessed about at one point or another by one of my classes or a small group of children 🙂
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The Deep and Koala Lou are particularly Australian. On my right sidebar is a link to all the picture books I've talked about on here – the Aussie ones have an (A) in front of them.
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Can you believe I've never read The Giving Tree? I must find time to do so. Thanks for the interesting list!
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Thank you for sharing these books. I don't read children books but need great recommendations for my nephews and nieces. This list is what I need. Thank you! 🙂
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