Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins

Jazzy in the Jungle follows a mama lemur who is trying to find her baby in the rainforest.  My middle child loves this book because I encourage him to guess if the eyes peeking through the pages' holes are those of the baby lemur, Jazzy. With each turn of the page, I was able to introduce new jungle animals to him until we finally reached the happy reunion of mama and baby Jazzy.

Pssst! by Adam Rex

I read Pssst! for the first time today and had to post.

Part comic book, part prose, completely funny. A young girl goes to the zoo and is enlisted by a variety of animals to get them items they desire. The penguins want paint, the sloths want bicycle helmets. Why? she asks them all. Each creature is able to answer with a seemingly logical response.

I found the choices Rex made both visually and with typesetting a treat, aiding in the out-loud reading of this book. (Think: words covered in ice for the penguins and a bright Hola! from the javelina). My almost five-year old asked for it to be read again immediately.

I Went Walking by Sue Williams

This classic has been on our shelf since our oldest was a baby.

Like most books for young children, the lyrical words, "I went walking. What did you see? I saw a  [color] [animal] looking at me" allow children to learn colors and pre-reading skills as they fill what comes next. "I saw a brown cow looking at me."

Julie Vivas uses bold, bright colors to introduce us to each new animal as we take a walk with the narrator.







This book is very similar to, and therefore I recommend Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, as well.

We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania by LaurieKrebs

In We All Went on Safari, Julia Cairns illustrates Krebs' rhymed words as African children walk through Tanzania, counting the wild animals they pass.

I loved the use of African names within the poetry-names that roll off the tongue. This book is a perfect way to introduce the variety of African wildlife, counting and also a good candidate for the pre-reading skill of filling in words.

This book gives visual clues for what animal will be counted. I just leave a couple silent spaces and wait for them to fill in the right information, a different one for each child, depending on their ages and abilities.

We all went on safari / Past an old acacia tree / Nearby ________ (giraffes) were grazing / So Tumpe counted ________(three)

Starry Safari by Linda Ashman

With bright pictures by Jeff Mack, Ashman's Starry Safari is a trip worth taking. 

A young girl whisks herself into Africa, encountering wild animals and dangers as she bumps along in her orange jeep. Nothing compares to the biggest threat of all: the safari ranger. When her dad comes in to tuck her in, pre-K readers will appreciate the imaginative leap both the author and the little girl have made together.

I like this book, too, because the main character is a brave girl - a nice find among the host of adventure stories that can be found catering to boys in children's literature.

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Goodnight Gorilla uses the power of pictures to tell the story of  how one gorilla unlocks the cages of zoo animals, following the zoo keeper on his rounds. 

My small daughter will sit with this book across her lap and turn the pages back and forth, saying "Good night hyena, good night lion, good night gorilla."

Using the element of surprise and knowing children love the fantastic, Rathmann has the zoo animals follow the zoo keeper home and into bed with him.

I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge

I could recommend any book by Charles Fuge, but I start with I Know a Rhino because it was my introduction to the author and might remain my favorite of his.

Even for a small child who doesn't understand the darling ending to this well-illustrated book, the playful pictures of a little girl living out adventures with various wild animals are captivating.  Each of my children have a page that they want to return to for just one more look.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

My usual way of choosing a book is initially by its cover (yes, I'll admit it). For a toddler, 80% of a book's appeal is its pictures. If a book passes the cover test, I'll flip through it. If it has too many words for a toddler, I'll re-shelve it for a future date. 

The Gruffalo passed this test.  The Gruffalo has a fair amount of words, but it follows a sing-song rhyme scheme that toddlers love. And it's about animals: #1 appeal for my crew.  #2 is anything that deals with monsters, dinosaurs, pirates, cowboys (see a theme?)

Here we have a story about animals and a monster: perfect. As I was reading it, I thought I had it all figured out. But I was taken by surprise by this delightful, clever little story.