By the time that they’re 5 years old, kids can start to handle longer stories, which is why some of the best books for 5-year-olds can look surprisingly complicated. They can also deal with some pretty big concepts too, which makes it a very fun age to pick reading material for. Some kids have even started to read for themselves too if they pick it up fast at school, so any good list of the best books for 5-year-olds would also have a few titles that kids can start to dip into by themselves. Even if they don’t get everything that’s happening on the page, the sense of achievement is too real when they read that first page for themselves.
The Best Books For 5-Year-Olds
1. The Book With No Pictures – B.J Novak
Kids at this age still love an interactive book, and once they get B.J Novak’s joke, there is every chance that this book will turn into a real favourite. In The Book With No Pictures, the book explains that adults have to read every word on the page, and then proceeds to make them say a lot of really silly things.
This book does require a very engaged adult who is up for playing the game, but if that adult is willing then The Book With No Pictures is a delight for slightly older children.
2. Carmela Full Of Wishes – Matt De La Peña and Christian Robinson
Carmela Full Of Wishes is a gorgeous little book, full of things that will get kids talking and thinking about children who live lives very different to their own. It’s Carmela’s birthday, and she is old enough to join her brother at the laundromat. When she finds a dandelion, she can’t decide what to wish for.
Carmela is a very sweet character, who spends most of her time thinking about wishes for other people, like a nice bed for her hardworking, housekeeper mother – or for her father to be able to sort his papers and come home. Kids will ask questions about Carmela, and open up a discussion about the migrant experience – something that is very relevant at the moment.
3. The Day You Begin – Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López
The Day You Begin is, quite honestly, an astonishing book, and absolutely one of the best books for 5-year-olds out there.
Following three children at school, all three of whom feel that they don’t quite fit in with their peers, all of them try to make themselves smaller. One girl comes from Venezuela and worries that she speaks differently, a boy is anxious and doesn’t know how to play. Their concerns feel real and valid.
Woodson gently tells children that these feelings of inadequacy are normal, but that they don’t have to measure themselves by their classmates. They can carve a space out for themselves, and the world will adapt to fit them in. It is a great message in this lyrical little book.
4. Dr Dog – Babette Cole
There is little that a certain type of kid likes better than a bit of gross humour, and Dr Dog is a book which has that in spades. It won’t be every parent’s cup of tea, and probably not every childs’, but if you do know a kid who loves toilet jokes, then Dr Dog is definitely for them. And hey, if it gets them reading, does it really matter?
Dr Dog lives with an irresponsible family who just can’t stop getting ill. He explains to them why they should do things like wear their coat in the rain, or wash their hands after they go to the toilet. The story is showing its age a bit now – I doubt any picture book published in the last fifteen years has a teenager smoking – but it’s a cracking, funny story.
5. The Heart And The Bottle – Oliver Jeffers
The Heart And The Bottle is arguably Oliver Jeffers’ masterpiece, and one of those children’s books that really deals with huge concepts. A curious girl, bereft at the loss of her grandfather, puts her heart into a bottle to stop it hurting, and grows into an adult who doesn’t know how to let her heart out.
The whole story is a metaphor for grief, and the numbness that can come from trying to guard your heart against pain; a big idea for young children. Jeffers explores this idea subtly; children will have to come to their own conclusions about why the girl is sad, and what it means when another young child helps the adult to release her heart.
The Heart and the Bottle is one of the most profound picture books out there.
6. The Lorax – Dr. Seuss
Dr Seuss just keeps popping up, but he has been around for so long that he’s bound to have books to suit most age groups – and The Lorax more than has earned its place on a list of the best books for 5-year-olds. It is full of the usual Dr. Seuss features – bright pictures, rhyme and nonsense words galore. But it also carries perhaps his most important message.
The Lorax remains one of the best books written for children about the dangers of consumerism and climate change, an issue which is more important right now than it ever has been. The Lorax despairs at the cutting down of trees for profit, of the animals forced from their homes, the air filled with smog.
Children go away with perhaps Dr. Seuss’ most famous conclusion: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
7. The Tale Of Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter
Any list of the best books for 5-year-olds needs a few classics on it, and they don’t come much more classic than Peter Rabbit. There have been some dodgy films over the last few years based on these beloved tales, so kids might already be familiar with the concepts, but you can do much worse than going back to the originals.
Peter Rabbit is the naughty bunny who disobeys his mother, steals food from Mister McGregor and ends up in a wild chase across the garden to get back to safety. Kids have been charmed by these stories for over a hundred years, and they still stand up to constant re-reading.
8. The Proudest Blue – Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly
The Proudest Blue is the newest book on this list, published only in 2019, and it’sone of the most stark in its message too. But that isn’t a bad thing; kids of 5 years old will be going to school with lots of new people, and it’s never too early for them to learn about people who are different to them.
Faizah is so excited for her big sister Asiya’s first day of wearing a hijab to school, and can barely contain herself. Asiya navigates her day through Faizah’s eyes; an older boy taunts her, one of Faizah’s little friends asks what the hijab is. But the story is gentle and kind, and Asiya’s first day is a success.
Faizah’s love for her sister shines through, and The Proudest Blue is a wonderful little book for anyone who might have to navigate first-day nerves.
9. The Selfish Crocodile – Faustin Charles and Michael Terry
A story like The Selfish Crocodile deserves its place on a list of the best books for 5-year-olds, because there can never be enough books reminding young children of the value of sharing, or of being kind. In many cases, it’s the number one lesson that they need to learn.
The Selfish Crocodile claims the watering hole for himself, and won’t let the other animals drink there. One day, when he has a terrible toothache, the animals are too afraid to help him. But one little mouse steps up and helps the crocodile, showing him kindness and how to treat the people around you. Terry’s illustrations are bold and inviting for young readers.
10. The Shy Little Kitten – Cathleen Schurr and Gustaf Tenggren
Another classic now, The Shy Little Kitten is a great story for young kids. Granted, it does feel like an old book, with a simple story, but it has stood the test of time, and has a good message about being brave and making friends.
The Shy Little Kitten gets separated from her family on the farm, but meets a series of other animals like a mole, a frog and a puppy. She has to talk to them to find her way home, and takes delight in her new friends’ exuberance and humour. If you have a shy 5-year-old, this could be the book that they relate to the most.
11. The Smartest Giant In Town – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Julia Donaldson has also made an appearance on all of these early lists, but just like Dr. Seuss she is so prolific and so right for this age group that of course her stuff is going to come up again and again. The Smartest Giant In Town is one of her less famous titles, but it’s still a great read, and another one of those books that reminds children to be kind.
George the giant buys some new clothes, and is very happy with his purchases. But on the way home he meets lots of animals who are in distress for many different reasons, and it just so happens that his new clothes can help them. So George gives them all away, and although he ends up back in his old clothes, he has many new friends who declare him the kindest giant in town.
12. That Rabbit Belongs To Emily Brown – Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton
That Rabbit Belongs To Emily Brown is a funny and inventive picture book that kids will get a real kick out of.
Emily Brown’s cuddly rabbit, Stanley, catches the attention of Queen Gloriana The Third, who will do just about anything to get her hands on him – including sending the royal footman and the navy to try and persuade Emily to part with him. Emily isn’t having any of it, until one night when Stanley is kidnapped.
This book is just a really great read, with distinctive and interesting artwork by Neal Layton. Cowell’s sense of humour shines though as the demands get more and more ridiculous, and Emily Brown proves that sometimes the old, shabby toys are the best. This story more than earns its place as one of the best books for 5-year-olds.
READ NEXT: 12 Best Books For 4-Year-Olds
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