The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

Each ring of the doorbell brings more friends to share the delicious cookies Ma has made. This terrific and suspenseful read-aloud picture book about friendship, sharing, and cookies can also be used to introduce basic math concepts to young children. 

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

Spaghetti is yummy, but worms - and blue crayons, and sand, and other things too gross to mention - are definitely yucky when tasted. Amiably illustrated in a bright, graphic style, Leslie Patricelli’s spirited board book, YUMMY YUCKY stars an obliging, bald, and very expressive toddler who acts out each pair of opposites with comically dramatic effect.

Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins

Paddle along with Little Fish on a mesmerizing tour of friends spotty and stripy, happy and gripy, hairy and scary, even curly-whirly and twisty-twirly. From the creator of Maisy comes an undersea riot of color and rhyme — an eye-popping read-aloud sure to have little ones joining the chorus: Hooray for fish!

Rain by Manya Stojic

When rain comes to the parched African savanna, the animals use all their senses to track the storm. The porcupine smells rain in the air. The zebras see lightning. The baboons hear thunder. The rhino feels the first drops. And the lion tastes the cool water. For a time, the grasslands abound with new green leaves, juicy fruits, and fresh pools of water. But soon the hot sun dries out the land, and the animals must again wait for the next big rain.

I Went Walking by Sue Williams

Big type, repetition, friendly art, clean design—and the visual guessing game created by introducing each animal only partially at first—make this beloved tale a winner at story time.

Flip, Flap, Fly! by Phyllis Root

Little readers are invited to join these baby animals as they fly, swim, wiggle, and slide, all with the help of their mamas. But what these babies like best, of course, is spotting other baby animals! With the buoyant rhythms of Phyllis Root and David Walker’s cheerful illustrations, here is a guaranteed favorite for babies and toddlers, who will love shouting out the rhyming word sure to come on the next spread.

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox

There are red sheep and blue sheep, wind sheep and wave sheep, scared sheep and brave sheep, but where is the green sheep?

Rex Wrecks It! by Ben Clanton

Gizmo, Sprinkles, and Wild are fed up. Every time they build something with their blocks, Rex wrecks it! Whether it’s an out-of-this-world rocket, a magical heart, or the biggest, strongest, most awesomerific castle ever, Rex sends it crashing down with a "Rawr!" (and sometimes a sheepish"Rawry!"?). Isn’t there any way to make playtime fun for everyone? With Rex-size humor, Ben Clanton explores the challenges of friendship, the benefits of working together, and the joys of destruction.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

If Little Pea doesn't eat all of his sweets, there will be no vegetables for dessert! What's a young pea to do? Children who have trouble swallowing their veggies will love the way this pea-size picture book serves up a playful story they can relate to.

Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake by Thomas Taylor

When one small mouse finds one BIG cupcake (a chocolate chip, raspberry cream cupcake!), he wonders how he will get it home. It's much too heavy for him to carry. So, one by one, Little Mouse asks his animal friends to help. They all say “yes”-but only after taking a nibble of the yummy treat. Will there be any cake left for the hungry Mouse?

Choo Choo by Petr Horacek

What could be more fun than an old-fashioned train ride? Off go the passengers, past the town, into the woods (SHHH, SHHH), over the bridge (CLACK, CLACK), into the tunnel (TOOT, TOOT), and back out into the sunshine. Who could guess that the destination is — a day at the seaside?

Splish, Splash, Baby! by Karen Katz

Splish, splash! It’s time for Baby’s bath in this interactive Karen Katz lift-the-flap board book that’s all about fun in the tub!

What’s behind the bath bottles?
Three yellow ducks! Quack-quack!

What’s inside the bucket? Is it Baby’s soap?
No, that’s a little tugboat! Toot-toot!

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

In a great green room, tucked away in bed, is a little bunny. "Goodnight room, goodnight moon." And to all the familiar things in the softly lit room--to the picture of the three little bears sitting in chairs, to the clocks and his socks, to the mittens and the kittens, to everything one by one--he says goodnight.

Doggies: A Counting and Barking Book by Sandra Boynton

Count—and bark—with a fun pack of pups in this Sandra Boynton classic.
Serious silliness for all ages.

Llama Llama Wakey-Wake by Anna Dewdney

Start a brand-new day the Llama way with this new board book by Anna Dewdney. A good day starts with breakfast and brushing, kissing and hugging.

Duckie's Rainbow by Frances Barry

Duckie's day takes her through red poppies, under an orange bridge, and a growing rainbow of colors until she arrives home to a beautiful full rainbow.

Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel

A sweet book of animals greeting the day each in their own way.  Great images of animals!

In My Pond by Sara Gillingham

Children are sure to love this delightful finger puppet book. Layered die-cut pages allow a peek at all the colorful things that make up each animal's home, and an adorable folk-art style finger puppet make this book that is filled with reading and playtime fun.


There are many more in the series, some are below.

 

Baby Goes Beep! by Rebecca O'Connell

See how the baby goes...
Beep... Boom... Flip
Yum... Splash... Smooch!

Where is Baby's Belly Button? by Karen Katz

Karen Katz's adorable babies play peekaboo in this delightful interactive book. 
"Where are Baby's hands? Under the bubbles!"

"Where are baby's eyes? Under her hat!"

Flappy, Waggy, Wiggly by Amanda Leslie

A fun and interactive lift-the-flap guessing game with bright illustrations. Who has a waggy yellow tail? Who has a wavy grey trunk? Until, finally, who has ten fiddly fingers and makes all these noises?

I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs

Down on the farm there are many colorful and noisy animals to spy. Look through the spy hole and use the clues to guess which one is next. Then turn the page to reveal the animal. Watch as young children quickly become engaged in the game — joining in with the animal noises. 



More books in this fun series are below.

 

Funny Face by Nicola Smee

A little boy is happily playing with his dog and his football, when he's suddenly confronted by a big bear, who runs off with his ball! Experiencing a whole range of emotions, the little boy makes a lot of funny faces during the course of this charming book, and the reader is encouraged to copy him.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.

Children will chant the rhythmic words. They'll make the sounds the animals make. And they'll pretend to be the zoo animals featured in the book-- look at the last page!

Five Little Ducks by Raffi

This lovely counting song will invoke squeals of delight from babies and toddlers. They'll love counting down as first five little ducks, then four, then three, then two, then one go out to play, not to return. Sadly, Mother Duck waits alone through all four seasons until spring returns and with it her five ducks, all grown up-along with their new families of baby ducks.
This is fun to do with little duck puppets also.

Peek-A-Moo! by Marie Torres Cimarusti

Readers play peek-a-boo with a different animal on each page, guessing what it is, then lifting the flap to find out. Each animal has a different sound that becomes part of the peek-a-boo game: Guess who? "Peek-a-moo!" says the cow. "Peek-a-squeak!" says the mouse. The bold, funny illustrations will keep kids laughing.

Ten Tiny Babies by Karen Katz

1 tiny baby starts to run.
Along comes another...
...to have some fun! 

2 silly babies spin around.
Along comes another...
...and she falls down. 
The fun continues until ten tiny babies are exhausted from the day, fast asleep in their beds! Karen Katz's bright colors and irresistibly adorable babies are sure to be a hit. 

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Destined to become a contemporary classic, this book has spare text and sweet illustrations but contains only five words: apple,pear, orange, bear--and there. Emily Gravett creates clever variations on this theme by rearranging the words--on one spread, a brown bear juggles an orange, apple, and pear; on another spread, there is an orange-colored apple and a pear-shaped bear.

Be Quiet, Mike! by Leslie Patricelli

Even before he was born, Mike started drumming. Kick! Thump! Pow! Wherever he goes, his rhythms sing: swis, thak, go his books; bang, clank, goes the trash can; tap, tap, go his pencils; and "BE QUIET, MIKE!" yells everyone around him. But one day Mike sees a drum set in a store window-- and puts his hands-on talents to work in a most impressive way.

Buenos días

Buenos días, Buenos días,

¿cómo estás? ¿cómo estás?

Muy bien, gracias,

Muy bien, gracias,

¿Y usted? ¿Y usted?

Good morning, good morning,

How are you? How are you?

Very well, I thank you,

Very well, I thank you,

How about you? How about you?

I do this with two finger puppets talking to each other, or just pointer fingers.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR by Dan & Audrey Wood

 

The Sky is Falling! by Mark Teague

When an acorn hits Chicken Little on the head, she panics and screeches, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Squirrel, who knew a thing or two about acorns, tried to set the record straight, as did the other animals. The chickens started dancing--they moonwalked, they mamboed, and they did the twist. Pretty soon the other animals joined them. You can't blame someone for wanting to dance, even if the sky isn't really falling!

Zoom, zoom, zoom!

Zoom, zoom, zoom!
we're going to the moon.
Zoom, zoom, zoom!
We'll get there very soon.
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 -
BLASTOFF!!

-

Monkey Face Drawing Story

Monkey Face by Frank Asch (Adapted for the white board)

One day at school, MONKEY painted a picture of his mother.
(Draw monkey face)
On the way home, he stopped to show his picture to OWL.
 “Nice picture,” said OWL. “But you made her eyes too small.”
(Add larger eyes in yellow)
 “How’s this?” Asked MONKEY?
 “Much better,” said Owl.

When MONKEY saw RABBIT sunning himself, he held up the picture for him to see.
 “Looks just like her,” said RABBIT, “except the ears are too small.”
(Make larger ears in blue)
 “How’s that?” Asked MONKEY?
“Big improvement,” said RABBIT.

At the riverbank, MONKEY found CROCODILE and showed the picture to her.
“Pretty,” said CROCODILE, “But she hasn’t got much of a mouth.”
(Add large mouth with teeth in red)
 “How’s that?” Asked MONKEY?
“Beautiful,” said CROCODILE.

As he walked on, MONKEY met ELEPHANT and showed him the picture.
 “Good likeness,” said ELEPHANT, “But her nose is almost invisible.”
(Add long nose in black)
“How’s that?” Asked MONKEY?
 “Unforgettable,” said ELEPHANT.

MONKEY couldn’t wait for LION to see his picture.
 “You’re a born artist,” said LION, “except for one thing – you’ve forgotten her fluffy mane.”
(Add curly hair in purple)
“How’s that?” Aasked MONKEY?
 “Most becoming,” said LION.

When he was almost home, MONKEY saw GIRAFFE and let him look at the picture.
 “Nearly perfect,” said GIRAFFE, “but her neck needs to be a little longer.”
 (Add long orange neck with square spots)
 “How’s that?” Asked MONKEY?
 “Truly elevating,” said GIRAFFE.

MONKEY ran the rest of the way home. His lunch was all ready and his mother was waiting for him. “Look what I made for you in school, today,” he said. “A picture of you!”
 “I love it!” Said his mother. “Just the way it is?” Asked MONKEY? “Just the way it is,” replied his mother. And she hung the beautiful picture on the refrigerator door for everyone to see.

Where is My Baby? by Harriet Ziefert

Seven anxious mother animals ask the title question, "Where is my baby?" The babies are revealed beneath each flap, as are their particular baby animal names (piglet, kid, chick, lamb, etc.), and each makes its signature sound (an oink, moo, meow, quack, chirp, baa, etc.). When turned, the flap changes the mother's expression from worried to delighted.

Who Said Moo? by Harriet Ziefert

This deceptively simple, excitingly illustrated board book is based on a telling theme - that every animal has its own distinct sound. The text is perfectly targeted to the youngest children, who will thoroughly enjoy lifting the flaps and imitating the animals' sounds. 

Mama's Little Bears by Nancy Tafuri

A story of independence and reassurance from top-selling author-illustrator Nancy Tafuri, three Little Bears explore their forest home, yet never wander too far from the security of their Mama.

Do Donkeys Dance? by Melanie Walsh

Do pigs buzz around flowers? Have you ever seen a ladybug stand on one tiny leg? Who might you find swimming underwater? Animals move and so do we! Can you hop like a flea -- or even fly? Each silly question appears on a double-page spread along with a bright illustration of the animal in a pose. When young readers turn the page, the surprising answer is revealed.