10 Best Books for 5-Year-Olds
Updated 22 September 2020
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Author
Daniel is our primary content producer here at TheToyZone. He is a big kid at heart and a self confessed geek. His mission is to find toys that kids will treasure, researching and writing about toys he wants to play with himself.
Reading is key to a child's development. At five, children are usually matching letters to sounds and recognizing the beginning and ends of words. They’re also starting to learn which subjects interest them more than others.
Buying books online can be a hard task as you don’t get to flick through the pages before you purchase. So we put together a list of 10 best books for 5-year-olds, only featuring books highly recommended by actual parents. We’ve taken out any with fake reviews and given you a series of different budget and subject options. Whether it's fire breathing dragons, cosmic space travel, or important life lessons, there’s a book for every 5-year-old to enjoy.
1Where the Wild Things Are
This book has an excellent storyline and it is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that help the imagination to grow. It has 48 pages and it will keep a 5-year-old entertained from beginning to end.
What we love
- It is written by a popular author of children's books
- It is a classic children's story
What We Don't Like That Much
- The paperback format could be thicker and more durable
2The Girl Who Wouldn't Brush Her Hair
With this book, children will learn a valuable lesson about personal hygiene and how important it is that they take care of themselves. Plus, it is a funny story that involves a girl who refuses to comb her hair and her hair ends up being home to hundreds of mice.
What we love
- Great for children opposed to grooming
- It comes in a hardcover format for durability
What We Don't Like That Much
- It could use an easier-to-read font
3The Day the Crayons Quit
This is an excellent book to help engage kids in reading, especially ones that enjoy art. The story follows the character Duncan in his journey of trying to appease all of his crayons who quit because they weren't happy with the way Duncan was using them.We also have a list of the best toddler crayons if this books inspires your kids to play with crayons.
What we love
- This book is full of brilliantly-colored illustrations
- It comes with a hardcover for durability
What We Don't Like That Much
- The font could be easier to read
4Kindergarten, Here I Come!
This is one of the best books for 5-year-olds because it is easy for them to relate too. It follows a young child on their adventure going into kindergarten and it is illustrated beautifully by Marc Chambers, a well-known illustrator for many children's books
What we love
- It includes fun poems and a sheet of stickers
- It goes through familiar milestones many 5-year-olds
What We Don't Like That Much
- This book does not come in hardcover form
5Grumpy Monkey
This story follows Jim the chimpanzee on a day when he is in a terrible mood even though everything is going well. They spend the day trying to cheer him up with things that make them happy but nothing seems to work. It helps kids to realize that it is important for everyone to express how they feel.
What we love
- This is the starter book in a series
- It has beautiful illustrations that help set the mood of the book
What We Don't Like That Much
- This is an engaging story, but the following stories are sold separately
6There's No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library)
This is an excellent storybook that will take children on an extraordinary tour of our solar system. It is accompanied by excellent illustrations that bring learning about space to life.
What we love
- This is a revised version about our solar system
- This book can be purchased in hardcover and Kindle format
What We Don't Like That Much
- It is part of a series, but each book is sold separately
7Elephant & Piggie: The Complete Collection (An Elephant & Piggie Book) (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
This collection comes with the entire Elephant & Piggie book set and each book has a durable hardcover. Plus, each story is accompanied by excellently-drawn illustrations that make learning and reading fun and easier, especially for those who may have minor issues or lack of interest in reading.
What we love
- Includes the entire Elephant & Piggie storybook collection
- The books all have hardcovers for durability
What We Don't Like That Much
- It could come with some sort of storage container to keep the collection together
8My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things: For Little Learners Who Want to Know Everything (My Very Important Encyclopedias)
This book is packed full of important information about planets, the world, animals, and important people. The information comes with excellent illustrations that help to get the point across about the information.
What we love
- This book has 224 pages of factual information on various topics
- It comes in the hardcover and Kindle format to meet most kids reading interests and needs
What We Don't Like That Much
- This is part of a set of educational books, but it is sold separately from the rest of the set
9My Magical Words (The Magic of Me Series)
With this book, kids can learn empowering "I am" statements that will help them to believe and feel that they are beautiful, strong, and special. It contains amazing illustrations and it uses an easy to read font that makes it simple for kids to follow and enjoy.
What we love
- Comes in a hardcover format for durability
- Is enjoyable for both boys and girls
What We Don't Like That Much
- This is part of The Magic of Me Series, but other books are sold separately
10Mikey and the Dragons - Empowering Kids to Overcome Their Fears!
Mikey and the Dragons is an immersive story that uses fun and entertaining rhymes for children. The rhymes are easy to follow and read, which makes this one of the best books for 5-year-olds. It is full of relatable characters that are meant to help inspire children to face their fears.
What we love
- The book helps children become more courageous
- It is full of beautiful and bold full-color illustrations
What We Don't Like That Much
- This book only comes in the hardcover format style
