We find ourselves at the library quite often (I’ve been utilizing our library’s “hold” feature for a couple of months now which makes finding books for our boys a lot easier than sorting through the shelves with two kids in tow) and through countless hours of reading adventures, we have amassed a list of favorite books that always seem to be a hit with our four-year-old.
Whether you’re looking for a book to check out for your little one from the library or happen to be thinking of a child you’d like to give a great book to over the holiday season, I wanted to share this roundup of books we love in our house with you guys today. These are the books that Chase loves at four years old though many of them were also a hit when he was a bit younger so hopefully some new books will pop out at you as you peruse this list!
Also, please note all of these books have been saved under the “Favorite Children’s Books” category in my Amazon Shop for easy future reference!
Favorite Books for Four Year Olds
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Excellent Ed by Stacy McAnulty, Illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach
This book is so sweet and follows Ed, the Ellis family dog who believes everyone in the family is excellent at something but him. Ed is determined to find something to excel at only to be outdone by each of the Ellis children. As the book continues, it ever-so-subtly offers a glimpse into sibling rivalry and feeling good about yourself even if you’re not always the best at everything.
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The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
The Gruffalo was a library book find that I ended up ordering off Amazon because we loved it so much! The story is clever and entertaining and easy to make up funny voices to which only adds to the entertainment factor of this funny and creative book.
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Magic Tree House Series by Mary Hope Osborne
I could go on and on about our love for Magic Tree House books but suffice it to say, they are incredible and there’s a reason they’re recommended over and over again for kids who are just beginning to get into chapter books. Chase is obsessed with them and we’ve been flying through the series ever since we began reading them a couple of months ago. The author does a fabulous job of writing stories that take place in places that are captivating with characters that interest children (ninjas, knights, dinosaurs, pirates). The books also move at a fast pace without being scary. They’re wonderful to read to Chase now and I know he’ll enjoy re-reading them in the future when he learns to read by himself.
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Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
Chase received Dragons Love Tacos as a birthday gift when he turned three and it was wonderfully silly and fell right in line with his dragon obsession. It’s another book that begs to be read with over-the-top enthusiasm and always results in giggles from Chase.
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The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson, Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
The Snail and the Whale is written and illustrated by the same duo responsible for The Gruffalo and is a beautifully entertaining read. It moves along well and inspires discussions about seeing the world and helping animals amid a backdrop of gorgeous colorful illustrations.
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The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith, Illustrated by Katz Cowley
We discovered this book thanks to my sister and brother-in-law who found it after a video of a grandma cracking up as she read the story went viral. It’s a silly, quirky book that our whole family gets into every time we read it together. There’s also an accompanying song that matches the books lyrics perfectly!
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The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen, Illustrated by Dan Hanna
There’s a reason The Pout Pout Fish has 3,000+ positive reviews on Amazon! The playful rhymes are clever and simply fun to read and the illustrations are interesting and beautiful.
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Learning Library Books: There’s No Place Like Space, On Beyond Bugs, Inside Your Outside
I need to find more books from The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library because the three we have are books we read on repeat in our house. They’re educational in a playful way and as Chase’s interest in space, bugs and the human body began to explode, they found their way into our book collection and continue to be huge hits.
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Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go is the gift that keeps on giving! It’s been a favorite of Chase’s for YEARS. As a transportation-obsessed little boy, it was initially fun for him to see tons of different vehicles as we read the story together but searching for Goldbug (a tiny golden bug hidden on every page) is his absolute favorite part of this book.
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Pete the Cat Books
My mother-in-law gave Chase his first Pete the Cat book years ago (I Love My White Shoes — my personal fav!) and an obsession began! Chase loves Pete the Cat books and we have more than I care to count on his bookshelf. They’re short and easy to read and often have a decent message attached to the story (From Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School: “If you want to be cool, just be you”). I’ve also heard they’re wonderful books for kids learning to read on their own so I think our collection will continue to get a lot of use in the years to come.
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They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel
They All Saw a Cat is wonderfully creative and beautifully illustrated. The book features pictures of a cat from the perspective of various animals and Chase has this one memorized!
We have a number of children’s Bible stories in our collection and this one is the very best of the bunch. It includes 12 stories from the Bible, written in an easy-to-understand way with colorful, eye-catching illustrations. The fact that Chase continually requests Bible stories from this book says it all!
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The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Illustrated by Jane Chapman
The Bear Snores On is another library find we’ve borrowed a number of times and it was a hit with Chase from a young age. The rhymes are cute and alliterative and the illustrations are big, detailed and eye-catching. It’s no wonder this book spawned a bunch of other “Bear” books by the same author and illustrator.
Daniel Tiger is such a sweet little show and as a parent I appreciate the way the creators and writers of the show tackle real-life events and issues. Since we try to limit screen time in our house, these Daniel Tiger books are a great way to reinforce some of the good messages from the show through characters Chase adores. (Note: I personally think the 5 Minute Stories are a bit better but having the 3 Minute Stories on hand when we need to wrap up story time on the fast side of things is definitely helpful!)
Additional Books Chase Loves
- The Day the Crayons Quit (creative concept, fun illustrations)
- The Book with No Pictures (guaranteed to make a child laugh — get ready to make a lot of silly noises)
- Little Kids First Big Book of Science (great for curious minds but we have to break this one up a bit because it’s quite long)
- Harold and the Purple Crayon (a classic for a reason and a great bedtime book)
- Ultimate Book of Vehicles from Around the World (an interactive book Chase will “read” on his own)
- Be Kind (great message but trends a little older)
- Alma and How She Got Her Name (a sweet story about the origins of one little girl’s long name)
Question of the Day
What are some of your favorite children’s books to read to little ones?
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For bible stories, do you have the Jesus Storybook Bible? It’s a really good one!
Yes! I think we first tried that one with him when he was too young for it but I need to pull that one back out because I do remember it being a good one!!
Thank you for this book list! I also have a 4 year old boy with similar interests as Chase and likes some of the same books! My youngest son also enjoys them, it’s too cute. Some of our favorites are: I Spy Bible, My Giant Fold Out Bugs and Spiders, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (helped both learn the abcs), I Love You Stinky Face, My Words Roar, Nothing Rhymes With Orange…..I can go on and on. I’ve had luck finding good books on scholastic.com which is great because it helps his preschool too. ?
Thank you for this list and for the Scholastic.com recommendation. Adding some of these to my library hold list today!
This is great, thanks for posting! My son loves books too and I was looking for some recommendations for birthday and Christmas gifts. We have Hark! A Shark! which is one of the Cat in The Hat learning books and he loves it! I’m sure Chase would too!
That would definitely be right up his alley! Thanks for sharing!
If you use Audible, they have Magic Treehouse book sets on there (1-8, 9-16, etc) – we use them during quiet time since my 4 yo dropped her nap ages ago and also in the car. They’re great for road trips!
I don’t have kids of my own yet but I taught a 3 year old preschool class. I loved reading the Froggy books (Froggy Goes to School, Froggy Gets Dressed, etc) because you get to be loud and silly. I was surprised by the emotions in Library Lion and wanted to read it again immediately.
I second the Froggy books someone else recommended.
We also loved Stinky Cheese Man and both of my kids loved the Maisy books (it is about a little mouse)
My boys were in love with any and all of the Little Critter books and the Five Little Monkey books. I highly recommend them both.
My almost 4yr and 1yr old girls LOVE the Poke-A-Dot books! They’re a lifesaver at restaurants and keep the girls occupied for quite awhile!
I’ve never heard of these books but just Googled them and they seem awesome! So creative!
A lot of these are on our favorites list as well! And I’m going to have to look into the Magic Tree House books, as my daughter is also 4 and ready to start reading longer books on a regular basis. We love the Llama Llama books as well as The Little Blue Truck books (have you tried those yet? Your boys would love them!).
Little Blue Truck books are a huge hit with both boys. They’re great!! I actually checked out our first Llama Llama book from the library this week (Llama Llama Loves to Read) and it is so cute!
Hi Julie,
You MUST get Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. My son LOVED it and so did I. I am a sucker for well done rhyming books and it’s just a beautiful book. I want to go read it now.
Also, do you have You Are Special? One of my all time favourites.
Steam Train, Dream Train is done by the same author/illustrator as Goodnight Construction Site and is a favorite of ours too!
We love to read in our house too! We have so many favorites I could go on and on. I highly recommend the site Thriftbooks.com – you can get used (or new) books for great prices.
Also, The Gruffalo is on Netflix as an animated short movie and it’s adorable – there are two in the series that I am aware of.
Thank you SO MUCH for this list!!! My kiddos are similar ages and also bookworms…. a fun gift idea that has been a huge hit in our house is the High Five Highlights magazine subscription (Highlights for preschool age). My kids LOVE it and love to find a new magazine surprise in mail every month!
OMG, I LOVE using the “hold” feature at our library as well! Makes it so convienent and easier to enjoy the library when we go because then I don’t feel pressured to thumb through every book on the shelves. Pete the Cat and Snail and the Whale are huge hits in this house, too! I am always on the hunt for new books to check out and loved your recommendations, thank you! Thought I’d share a list of the books we’ve enjoyed that we’ve either bought or borrowed in the off chance you might find some you haven’t checked out yet. I love finding book lists and recommendations, so I hope you find it helpful, too!
Any of the My Big Wimmelbooks!!
Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper
Walrus in the Bathtub by Deborah Underwood
Truck Full of Ducks by Ross Burach
There’s a Giraffe in My Soup by Ross Burach
How Do You Say Good Night? by Thomas Nelson
Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
Dig! by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
A House in the Woods by Inga Moore
The Big Adventures of Tiny House by Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Dalmatian in a Digger by Rebecca Elliot
Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson
Kitten and the Night Watchman by John Sullivan
Rex Wrecks It by Ben Clanton
It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton
When Your Lion Needs a Bath by Susanna Leonard Hill
All My Friends Are Fast Asleep by David Weinstone
Puddle Pug by Kim Norman
A River by Marc Martin
Sleep Tight Farm by Eugenie Doyle
When I Pray for You by Matthew Paul Turner
Train by Elisha Cooper
Truck Stop by Anne Rockwell
My Pet Wants a Pet by Elise Broach
Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris
Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin
Trains Run! by George Ella Lyon
Boats Float! by George Ella Lyon
Planes Fly! by George Ella Lyon
I Am the Boss of this Chair by Carolyn Crimi
If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen
If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen
Down to the Sea with Mr MaGee by Chris Van Dusen
A Camping Spree with Mr MaGee by Chris Van Dusen
From Tree to Sea by Shelley Moore
I’m Fast! by Kate and Jim Mcmullan
Max Attacks by Kathi Appelt
The Great Indoors by Julie Falatko (SO FUNNY!)
Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip by Marianne Dubuc
Blizzard by John Rocco
Windows by Julia Denos
Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
The Very Last Castle by Travis Jonker
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings
Good Morning, Snowplow! by Deborah Bruss
Home by Carson Ellis
Old MacDonald had a Boat by Steve Goetz
Life by Cynthia Rylant
If You Had a Jetpack by Lisl H. Detlefsen
Walk Your Dog by Elizabeth Stevens Omlor
Everything You Need for a Treehouse by Carter Higgins
Run Wild by David Covell
Blue on Blue by Dianne White
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers
Food Truck Fest! by Alexandra Penfold
The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett
A Dog Named Doug by Karma Wilson
I’ll Love You Till the Cows Come Home by Kathryn Cristaldi
Let’s Go to the Hardware Store by Anne Rockwell
And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner
Red & Lulu by Matt Tavares
Super Manny Stands Up! by Kelly DiPucchio
What Can You Do With A Toolbox? by Anthony Carrino
Builder Brothers: Big Plans by Drew and Jonathan Scott
Builder Brothers; Better Together by Drew and Jonathan Scott
Pick A Pine Tree by Patricia Toht
Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht
Vincent Comes Home by Jessixa Bagley
Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley
Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
Fire Truck Dreams by Sharon Chriscoe
What To Do With a Box by Jane Yolen
My kids love these books too! We have so many books at our house (being a kindergarten teacher makes this a serious habit lol) if you haven’t checked out books by Mo Willems please do! The pigeon books are so funny and his Piggie and Gerald series are so fun to read!!! They are by far my family and class favorites!
As a primary teacher, my students also love so many of those books!
Chase might also like The Gruffalo’s Child, Press Start by Herve Tullet, and any of the Piggie and Elephant books by Mo Willems. Wishing you many happy reading days ahead!
My almost 1 year old LOVES the Elephant & Piggy books by Mo Willems. I do voices for them and he laughs at the words and pictures! I didn’t think he’d be that “into” books at his age, but he has books he likes to re-read almost daily and will definitely let us know if he doesn’t like a book.
Some of these books are great, but it would be nice if you could feature more Picks with female protagonists.
Would love to incorporate more of these books into our collection — do you have any recommendations?
Julia’s house for lost creatures is a nice one that both of my boys (3 and 5) enjoy.
We’ve enjoyed “Rosie Revere Engineer”!
Molly Lou Melon & Princess and the Pony (has a farting horse and Viking-esque Warriors, so I’m sure the boys would love it)
Thank you bear written by Greg Foley is a beautiful story and read it so many times with our boys
Rooster Wore Skinny Jeans https://www.amazon.com/dp/1848863136/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UjTUDbN6VF2EG
Great book about feeling good in your own skin and SO FUNNY!!!!
Sleepy, the Goodnight Buddy https://www.amazon.com/dp/1484789695/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_inUUDbHR9Z1A4
This is also a funny one about bedtime struggles!!!!
Do you have “Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel”? Not quite as good as the first one, but my daughter still loves it!
We also love the Pigeon books (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Pigeon Needs a Bath…), “Frog on a Log” by Kes Gray, and “EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen” by Judy Sierra.
I think some of these will go on my Christmas shopping list for my 3 year old! His current favorites include The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (the illustrations are gorgeous!) and a monster truck book we found at Costco called Elbow Grease written by John Cena… haha yes, really ?
Hey Julie,
Random question about the book recommendation (which are always awesome by the way!): how do you get all of the books you read? Do you buy hard copies? Buy digital? Or do you pick them up at a library, a rental service, etc? I love reading lots and am looking for the best and most economical way to read a ton more.
Thanks and also thanks for always being so real about your good and bad times. Sending prayers fo y’all.
Alexis
I do a combination of the library (hard copies and ebooks) and my Kindle!
Awesome, thank you!! 🙂
Have you discovered Margaret Atwood’s “Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut” yet? It’s a little tongue twister like “The Wonky Donkey” with a cute moral about vanity and kindness. You’ll have as much fun reading it as the boys will have listening and looking at the illustrations!
I also love “Something from Nothing” by Phoebe Gilman. Another sweet story about reusing and repurposing treasured items. The illustrations are also the sweetest, but I don’t give too much away.
Really, Phoebe Gilman’s “Jillian Jiggs” series, all of Robert Munsch’s books, and the Bearenstien Bears books are all great and engaging, while all having sweet lessons in each of them!
Oldies but goodies that my parents read to me, and that I know read to my nieces and nephews of around Chase’s age.
Loved this post and have been scrolling through the comments with my library account open in another tab putting everything on hold!
Have you read “The Digger and the Flower”? Totally different than all the other typical construction books.
Anything by Mo Willems is amazing – particularly the Elephant and Piggy Series, the Pigeon series (especially “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”. Also try “Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct” and “XO OX: A Love Story.”
Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks for these great summaries! Do you have any recommendations for books that put dads on display? So many of the favorites in our house have the mother/child bond on display, but father/child books seem so rare!
Hi Julie!
Wanted to let you know I came back to reference this post for a gift I need for a friend’s child – Thank you so much!!