50 Books Your Child Should Read Before Kindergarten

Last week, my good friend sent me the link to Education.com's recently published list of 50 books your child should read before kindergarten. Being both a teacher and the mother of a girl who will be entering kindergarten in the fall, I was quite eager to get a look at the run down. I am pleased to report that most of them are really wonderful reads.

Books like "Click, Clack, Moo," "The Carrot Seed," "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile," and "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" are just a few that my daughter and I both love. By and large, my hat's off to Education.com. However, in true Me fashion, I must contend with some of their picks, and add some of my own.

I'll start with the ones I think don't belong on their list. "I Stink!" Indeed. You do stink. You barely have full sentences, and you are nearly impossible for a parent to read aloud because of your bizarre, halting syntax and boring mechanical exclamations. Yes, in theory, the idea of a book about a garbage truck is a really cool one. Kids love gross things. Kids love trucks. Do kids love more than 20 pages of vrooms and smashes and screeches? Maybe. But I wouldn't call a stilted grouping of onomatopoetic words a must-read book.  

I'd replace this book with "The Story of Ferdinand," the tale of a sweet, peaceful bull who ends up entered in a bullfight in Madrid, but never forgets his true nature. A quaint, charming, well-crafted and beloved narrative. 

This next one may earn me some hate mail, but I must stand by my opinion. The Berenstain Bears Series. These are cute, lovable stories. They are also a depiction of a Homer Simpson-esque father who instead of teaching his children lessons alongside his wife, is bumbling through life more like a baboon than a bear. Do we really, ever since we've rid ourselves of "Everybody Loves Raymond", need any more portraits of the dumb dad? I find them offensive to the wonderful dads out there who I love and admire, and who do an amazing job parenting their children. What are we teaching our kids about men and dads when we show them a character like Mr. Berenstain? Do not be charmed by this dullard.  

Am I taking this too seriously? Probably, but you never know what most influences your child's view the world. Let the lesson NOT be that dads are incompetent. Besides, the writing in these books is sub par, and the lessons clunky and cumbersome. If this were my list, I'd replace this series with The Lorax, which I think needs no defending. It's an incredible piece of literature.

"The True Story of the Three Little Pigs?" Really? Yet another book that's impossible to read easily. Yes, it's postmodern and clever and the structure is original and the author breaks down the fourth wall but Brecht already did that years ago, so step aside, John Scieszka, you're off my list.  In place of this book, I must add my adorable Frances. "Bedtime for Frances," to be exact. Perfection.

Last and possibly least, "Froggy Gets Dressed" or "Froggy Goes to School." How can BOTH of these have made the list? Froggy, you are inane, annoying and without nuance. Get dressed, go to school, do whatever, just get off this list. I shall replace you with "The Mitten." Cutest. Woodland. Story. EVER.

Now that I've whined a blue streak and sufficiently alienated my entire readership, allow me, in closing, to woo you back with ardent praise for the following books, (some of which I've mentioned before) that did not appear on that list, but definitely should have:

The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Owl At Home by Arnold Lobel

Fables by Arnold Lobel

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Little House Virginia Lee Burton

Amos and Boris by William Steig

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Corduroy by Don Freeman

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth

The Amazing Bone by William Steig

Little Bear's Visit by Elsa Holmelund Minarik

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Migrant by Maxine Trottier

Chicken Little by Steven Kellogg

Albert by Donna Jo Napoli

Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino

Eloise by Kay Thompson

Babar by Jean de Brunhoff

There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Crictor by Tomi Ungerer 

Benjamin Budge and Barnaby Ball by Florence Parry Heide

Happy Reading, folks!