Best Books for 5 Year Olds: Read-Alouds and Favorites

Five is a funny age, in both senses. Your child gets jokes now, makes up their own, and can follow a story with a real plot and a twist at the end. Many are starting kindergarten, and some are beginning to sound out words for themselves. The best books for 5 year olds meet all of that: stories that make them laugh, stories that answer their big questions, and a few easy books they can start reading on their own.

Every book below is a real, published title, checked against its publisher, a library record or the American Library Association’s award lists. Where a publisher gives an age range, we include it.

What 5 year olds love in a book right now

Being in on the joke. Silly words, a character who breaks the rules, a grown-up forced to say something ridiculous.
Longer stories. A beginning, a problem and an ending they can retell, often more than once.
Big questions. Why things are the way they are, what is fair, what to do when they feel unsure.
Reading a little themselves. Short sentences, lots of repetition and pictures that help with the words.

Reading Rockets’ tips for parents of kindergartners line up with this: read rhyming books, connect what your child reads to their own life, and read the favorite book for the hundredth time, pausing to ask what is going on.

Best books for 5 year olds that make them laugh

The Book with No Pictures

by B.J. Novak

Ages 5 to 8

There are no pictures, only words, and one rule: the person reading has to say every word, no matter what. What follows is a grown-up being made to say absurd things out loud while a five-year-old howls. It is the rare book where your child holds the power, which is exactly why they ask for it again.

The Day the Crayons Quit

by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Ages 3 to 6

Duncan opens his box of crayons and finds a stack of letters instead. Each crayon has a complaint: some feel overused, some ignored, some used for the wrong things. Five-year-olds love the voices and usually have strong opinions about who is right.

Dragons Love Tacos

by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

Ages 4 to 6

Dragons love tacos of every kind, so if you want dragons at your party, serve tacos. Just never serve them spicy salsa. The deadpan tone and the inevitable disaster make it a favorite to read aloud.

Interrupting Chicken

by David Ezra Stein

Caldecott Honor, 2011

It is bedtime, and Papa asks the little red chicken not to interrupt the story. She cannot help it: she keeps jumping into the fairy tales to save the characters. Any child who has ever interrupted a story will recognize themselves, and the ending turns the joke around.

Creepy Carrots!

by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown

Ages 4 to 8, Caldecott Honor, 2013

Jasper Rabbit loves carrots, especially the ones from Crackenhopper Field, until he starts to feel the carrots are following him. It is spooky in the way five-year-olds enjoy: shivery, silly and safe. Peter Brown’s shadowy pictures do half the storytelling.

Books for 5 year olds with big questions

Last Stop on Market Street

by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Newbery Medal and Caldecott Honor, 2016

CJ rides the bus across the city with his grandmother after church and wonders why things are the way they are for his family. Each time, his nana helps him see what he has missed. It is the rare picture book to win the Newbery Medal, and it starts real conversations about fairness and noticing.

Ada Twist, Scientist

by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts

Rhyming picture book

Ada does not talk until she is three, then never stops asking why. She forms ideas, tests them and makes a glorious mess, while her parents try not to squash her curiosity. For the child who asks “why?” forty times before breakfast.

The Dot

by Peter H. Reynolds

Ages 5 and up

Vashti is sure she cannot draw. Her art teacher asks her to just make a mark, so she jabs one angry dot onto the page, and the teacher hangs it on the wall. A small, warm book about trying, for the child who gives up before starting.

A book for starting kindergarten

The Kissing Hand

by Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak

Ages 3 to 8

School is starting in the forest, and Chester Raccoon does not want to go. His mother kisses the middle of his palm, so he can press it to his cheek whenever he misses home. Many kindergarten teachers read it on the first day, and many families borrow the gesture.

Best books for 5 year olds to read themselves

Some five-year-olds are reading, many are not yet, and both are fine. These are the books to try when your child wants a go, with you sharing the page.

Hi! Fly Guy

by Tedd Arnold

Geisel Honor, 2006

A boy named Buzz catches a fly, and the fly can say his name. Short chapters, big pictures and lots of repeated words make it an easy first reader, and it opened a long-running series. The Geisel Award goes to books for beginning readers, and this one earned an Honor.

Frog and Toad Are Friends

by Arnold Lobel

Caldecott Honor, 1971

Five short stories about two friends who could not be more different: cheerful Frog and grumpy, lovable Toad. The sentences are simple enough for early readers and the friendship is real enough for anyone. Share it, one story a night, and let your child read the parts they can.

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Ages 5 to 9

Mercy is a pig who lives with the Watsons, loves hot buttered toast and gets into a lot of trouble around the house and the neighborhood. It is a first chapter book, fully illustrated in color, and ideal as a bedtime read-aloud for a five-year-old ready for longer stories. The second book in the series, Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, was a Geisel Honor book in 2007.

Our own pick, clearly labeled

Full disclosure: we publish this one, so we are not ranking it against the books above. The Money & Business Library is five illustrated picture books for ages 4 to 8 that follow money from a first dollar to a small business. The first two are written for ages 4 to 6. In Penny Makes a Dollar, Penny wants something she can’t have, so she works out how to make it happen herself. In The Idea Factory, ideas don’t arrive, they get made. If your five-year-old is starting to ask what things cost, it is one way into that conversation. You can see the set in the box below.

How to read with a 5 year old

Let them finish the line. With a familiar book, pause before the last word and let your child supply it.
Connect it to their day. A book about a bus ride is a reason to talk about your last one.
Repeat without guilt. Rereading a favorite is not a rut. It is how children master a story.
Mix it up. One silly book, one quiet one. Five-year-olds need both.

Looking for the next stage? See our picks for 4 year olds and 6 year olds, or our guide to the best books for kids starting kindergarten.

Questions parents ask

What should a 5 year old be reading?

Mostly, books you read to them: picture books with real plots, humor and repetition. Some five-year-olds also start on easy readers such as Hi! Fly Guy or Frog and Toad Are Friends. Both are normal, and reading aloud remains the main event at this age.

What is a good first chapter book for a 5 year old?

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo is a gentle first chapter book, fully illustrated in color, with a publisher age range of 5 to 9. Read it aloud over a few nights rather than expecting your child to read it alone.

Should my 5 year old be reading on their own?

Not necessarily. Children start reading at different times, and many learn in kindergarten or first grade. Keep reading aloud, play with rhymes and letter sounds, and let your child try a few words when they want to.

How many books should I read to my 5 year old?

There is no magic number. Reading Rockets suggests reading together every day and rereading favorites. A short, happy daily habit matters more than a count.

Sources

Links checked on October 12, 2026. Guidance changes; the publishers above keep the current version.

Written by the WonderLab Journal editorial desk and checked against the sources above. Found something out of date? Tell us through the corrections page.

The best books for 5 year olds, picked by what they love right now