Here are the absolute best rhyming books for kids from babies up to 7 years old. Rhyming books for kids are so important for the development of early literacy skills and should line the bookshelves in all classrooms and home libraries, wherever possible!
In our previous post about the fundamental importance of rhyme in early literacy development, I talked about how picture books with strong rhyming text are absolutely brilliant for everyday reading. They instil a sense of rhythm and understanding of how language works and are the best types of text we could ever read to our children.
I wanted to share our absolute favourite rhyming story books as there are so many out there and it can be hard to know where to being if you are just starting your own book collection!
If you click on any one if these images it will take you to Amazon where you can purchase them or add them to a wishlist!
I would suggest asking friends and family for books when they ask what your little one might want for their birthday or Christmas gifts, especially when they’re still young and not too fussed about the latest toys.
Building up a solid home library will be the best gift you can give to your children and you’ll be amazed how often they come back to read their familiar favourites over and over again, even as they get much older. My 7 and a half year old still loves the picture book classics and now loves to share her enthusiasm for them with her baby brother and younger sisters.
A great resource to check out is The Book People website, which sells discounted books and very often has the entire Julia Donaldson collection for only £1 per book! Total bargain and the best gift to buy for another child or as party favours, as they are cheaper than the plastic tat and infinitely better to receive.
Otherwise we buy a lot of our books via Amazon (check out a whole list of great rhyming books here!) as their deals are good and delivery is fast. They often link to the new and used copies for sale too, where you can get the book for as little as 1 penny! We have bought many out of print books this way and they’ve always been fine quality for adding to a home library.
Happy reading! Do share your own favourites in the comments below. I am sure there will be many you think are missing because children’s pictures books seem to vary SO much from country to country, which always surprises me. I love to find recommendations from other countries to try out!
Coming soon: the developmental stages of writing!
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Read our post about introducing 5 rhyming books a day and how it enriches literacy development!
See all our BOOK THEMED PLAY ACTIVITIES here. There are lots to inspire you!
See our RHYMING ACTIVITIES here.
And follow along with out LITERACY PLAY pin board too, for more brilliant ideas collated from around the web! Follow Anna @ The Imagination Tree’s board Literacy Play Ideas on Pinterest.
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Some great titles here! One of our faves is hippobottymus – rhyming but also great for developing a sense of rhythm! And hilarious to boot 🙂
I love all those books. It is so much fun reading to children and especially silly rhymes that become predictable. I love it when you finish reading and put the book down and a child immediately picks it up to look at. I also use props for storytelling as it adds a dimension. I tried to include a pic of me showing the Green Sheep book to a “green” sheep. I have had such fun with the pic and also a signed book from author Mem Fox after she was shown it!
One of my sons favourites was Knee High Nigel. We read this for many years, which lead to imaginary play, craft activities and independent story telling. Fantastic book as I am sure some I’ve heard of of yours are too, thank you.