11 Beginning Reader Books That Are Surprisingly Great

Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie stories transition really well from bedtime read-alouds to beginning reader books that kids can read cooperatively with a parent or entirely on their own. The simple and witty text in these books is dialogue-based, which is great for helping young readers learn how to read with expression. Many of the best Elephant and Piggie books explore themes such as friendship, problem-solving, and sharing in a relatable way for young readers.

Kelly R:  The tricky tongue twisters and made-up words in Dr. Seuss books make some of them pretty difficult to read, even for adults! Not so with Hop on Pop, which focuses on short and simple beginning reader-friendly verse while still keeping all of the delightfully silly fun.

Vanessa M.:  Some of the first books I reach for when my children are learning to read include the Biscuit series by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. The adorable illustrations and engaging stories draw emerging readers into the easy-to-read books, starring Biscuit the puppy. The books are short enough to keep a young child's attention while also delivering a sweet story in each book. We use Biscuit books to reinforce sight words with our little reader! Woof woof!

Hannah Scott:  This collection of six beloved Dr. Seuss books for beginning readers features silly stories, imaginary creatures, and plenty of opportunities to laugh while practicing emerging reading skills. Kids will love sounding out the made-up words as well as the familiar ones.

Kelly R:  When my kids were learning to read, we always scoured the library for the Fly Guy books we hadn't gotten yet! These beginning reader books follow a housefly on a variety of adventures with his human friend, Buzz.

Kristy Pepping:  My daughter really loves all the Pete the Cat beginner books by James Dean. The books are a nice combination between sight words, pictures and easy-to-read text.

Erynn:  You might expect beginning reader books to be dull, but Jonathan Fenske adds plenty of laughs in his books about Pig and Fox. The setup is perfect and the humor is more subtle - kids have to pay attention to the images to see exactly what's so hilarious.

Vanessa M.:  I'm always thrilled when a childhood favorite of mine is well received with my own kids, and Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel is a book my kids enjoy just as much as I did! Frog and Toad are best friends, and this collection of stories centers around their friendship, illustrating all the ways friends are there for each other. Whether they are looking for lost buttons, greeting the spring, or waiting for the mail, Frog and Toad exemplify the joy of friends simply being together. Makes a great read-aloud book, and also perfect for emerging readers.

Kelly R:  Kids flip the pages of this fun interactive book to reveal rhyming words, with clever cutouts that help them see the connections between the words as they read. Each adorable book in the series introduces new word families with two or more letters that are the same, and moves from single words to short phrases to complete sentences. My kids loved these!

Kelly R:  This is a perfect Level 1 book for beginning readers, with a fun story about a boy who goes overboard when making dessert. Steady rhyme and repetition make it an easy and pleasant read, and kids love the fun illustrations!

Athena Graeme:  Frances is a classic, she is incredibly relatable to kids. We all have fussy eaters, and Frances is no exception, she only wants bread and jam until her parents decide to give her what she wants. It's a great lesson about what can happen when you get whatever you want. I love how Russell Hoban writes it in simple yet engaging language.