1000 Books Before Kindergarten: September 2026Like this list

19 items

• A Best Friend for Bear

  Horáček, Petr,

  Add A Best Friend for Bear to your for later shelf

  Black Bear goes on a walk to find a new friend. Brown Bear tags along to help him look. By the end, the bears realize their new best friend was close by all along!

• Can You Do This?

  Bedtime Edition! : An Imagination Play Book

  Roy, Megan,

  Add Can You Do This? to your for later shelf

  Inspiration to get the wiggles out and relax before bedtime.

• Together, a Forest

  Drawing Connections Between Nature's Diversity and Our Own

  MacLean, Roz,

  Add Together, a Forest to your for later shelf

  A school trip to the forest shows the diversity in nature, and among the classmates who notice different things, creates a beautiful world.

• Watching and Waiting

  What Hatches From Nature's Nurseries

  Levine, Sara (Veterinarian),

  Add Watching and Waiting to your for later shelf

  Discover eggs in the ground, under a leaf and in a nest.

• Cats on Cats on Cats

  Frost, Maddie,

  Add Cats on Cats on Cats to your for later shelf

  Beatrix thinks Granny is lonely, so she gets her a cat. Meanwhile, Granny assumes Beatrix loves cats and gets another one. Soon Granny’s apartment is filled with cats! Will Beatrix and Granny escape this CATastrophe?

• Friends Are Fun

  Henry, Steve, 1948-

  Add Friends Are Fun to your for later shelf

  Pete the parrot loves his quiet island, but everything changes when friends ask to join his peaceful paradise. When a sudden storm threatens to wash the island away, the visitors use teamwork to keep each other safe.

• Meet the Smushkins

  Rueda, Claudia,

  Add Meet the Smushkins to your for later shelf

  The Smushkins are hunting for the perfect home, dreaming of big windows and an apple tree in the yard. Along the way, this lovable family realizes that the best part of any house is when they're all together.

• Two Homes, One Heart

  Young, Jessica (Jessica E.),

  Add Two Homes, One Heart to your for later shelf

  A child navigates the feelings of moving back and forth between her parents' separate houses. Over time, she discovers that a parent's love isn't locked in just one building—it follows her wherever she goes.

• Where There Is Love

  a Story in African Proverbs

  Grant, Shauntay,

  Add Where There Is Love to your for later shelf

  A family gathering at nana's house is the perfect time for delicious food, sharing stories and making memories.

• Look at Me

  Priddy, Roger,

  Add Look at Me to your for later shelf

  Look at the bold colors, then trace the shapes as you read this with your little one.

• Zip Zap Wickety Wack

  a Story About Sharing

  Diffee, Matthew,

  Add Zip Zap Wickety Wack to your for later shelf

  This farmyard comedy kicks off when a sheep and a goat get into a stubborn standoff because neither wants to share the word "baa." Things get wild when the sheep invents a language, only for an alien to arrive and claim ownership of those sounds too!

• Stalactite & Stalagmite

  a Big Tale From a Little Cave

  Beckmeyer, Drew,

  Add Stalactite & Stalagmite to your for later shelf

  Follow along as a tiny stalactite and stalagmite hang out and watch dinosaurs, sloths and ancient creatures pass them by. For millions of years, they enjoy watching the world change — but what will happen when they finally grow large enough to touch?

• The Most Boring Book Ever

  Sanderson, Brandon,

  Add The Most Boring Book Ever to your for later shelf

  This adventure warns readers that absolutely nothing interesting is happening on its dull, ordinary pages. Your kids will love looking past the words to watch a boy sneakily battle flying ships and dragons right behind the narrator's back!

• We Dig Fossils

  Agostini, Alliah L.,

  Add We Dig Fossils to your for later shelf

  Ava loves rocks, but she really wants to find a fossil. After digging in the backyard, at the park and the beach, she sets off with her family in hopes of discovering a fossil.

• Your Forest

  Klassen, Jon,

  Add Your Forest to your for later shelf

  This book invites toddlers to imagine a dream woodland escape with a cozy cabin, rocks and a stream. Perfect for anytime your child needs to imagine their own comforting space.

• Willow and the Wildflowers

  Schufman, Matthew,

  Add Willow and the Wildflowers to your for later shelf

  Willow the bear rarely leaves her home. When she wants to see the wildflowers bloom, she must venture outside her house — and her comfort zone. Young readers will love seeing Willow tackle each challenge that comes her way.

• Let's Rumble!

  a Rough-and-tumble Book of Play

  Payne, Rachel,

  Add Let's Rumble! to your for later shelf

  Imaginative siblings turn their living room into a wrestling ring with pillow mountains and steamroller moves. They also navigate what to do when things get too rough.

• Zebra and Yak

  the Backwards Alphabet Book

  Friedrich, Paul (Cartoonist),

  Add Zebra and Yak to your for later shelf

  Zebra is shocked to find himself on page one because the letter A has mysteriously vanished! Join Zebra and his grumpy buddy Yak in this silly story as they move through the alphabet backward to solve the case of the missing Apple!

• 1000 Books Before Kindergarten

  View on jeffcolibrary.org

  Get your child ready to read by sharing books together! 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a nationwide challenge to read, you guessed it, 1,000 books with your little one before they start kindergarten. The library’s special program for you and…Read moreRead more of this annotation