Back to School Reading List for Kindergarten - Part 1

Use this back-to-school booklist to help your child get ready for kindergarten.

Is your child ready for kindergarten? One of the ways you can help children prepare for kindergarten is simply to read books to them about kindergarten. Reading these kinds of books is a good way to help them get excited about learning and ease their fears of the unknown. Plus, reading to children helps them develop listening and language skills.

The Urban Child Institute has put together a list of books that not only explain what kindergarten is but also help introduce the types of skills that children need to succeed—both in the classroom and later in life. Today's reading list focuses on the cognitive skills children will develop in kindergarten like counting and knowing the alphabet.

Here's a list of books that help prepare children for school by introducing them to the concepts they will learn:

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten Miss Bindergarten has a new kindergarten class with 26 students, each one named for a letter of the alphabet. Get it from Amazon.

Mouse's First Day of School An adventurous mouse goes to school in a backpack, helping young children learn about colors and letters along the way. Get it from Amazon.

The Twelve Days of Kindergarten: A Counting Book Modeled on The Twelve Days of Christmas, this story uses counting and funny characters to explain kindergarten. Get it from Amazon.

A Place Called Kindergarten Farm animals wonder where their friend Timmy is all day until he comes home and tells them about his first day of kindergarten. Get it from Amazon.

Annabelle Swift, Kindergartener Annabelle's know-it-all big sister gives her some bad advice about kindergarten, but Annabelle's counting skills help save the day. Get it from Amazon.

I am Absolutely Too Small for School Lola thinks she doesn't need to go to school, but her big brother Charlie changes her mind. Get it from Amazon.

Kindergarten readiness isn't just about letters and numbers — it's also about behavior. Read part 2 of the kindergarten readiness reading list on behavioral skills.

Want more information about kindergarten readiness? Learn what it takes to make your child and family kindergarten ready.