Welcome to the Animal Kingdom! These books are the first category of our #1000Books Series, which aims to help you read 1,000 books with your child before they reach kindergarten. These stories will let your kids roar with lions, swing with monkeys, and nap with kitties. They will instill in your child a love of animals and introduce them to the creatures who live in the world around them.

infants & toddlers (0 - 2 years old)

Baby Touch and Feel: Animals by DK Publishing

Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Dogs by Emily Gravett

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy! by Sandra Boynton

Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day

Good Job, Little Bear by Martin Waddell

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins

Hello Baby! by Mem Fox

Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel

Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton

My Big Animal Book by Roger Priddy

Old Macdonald: A Hand-Puppet Board Book by Jill Ackerman

Open the Barn Door by Christopher Santoro

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson

Ten Playful Penguins by Emily Ford

The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri

The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle

The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

There Are Cats in This Book by Viviane Schwarz

Time For Bed by Mem Fox

What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowel

Where's Spot? by Eric Hill

You Can Do it, Sam by Amy Hest

preschool (3 - 4 years old)

"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth by Eric Carle

A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka

Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Biscuit Loves the Library by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Clifford's Animal Sounds by Norman Bridwell

Close Your Eyes by Kate Banks

Come Along Daisy by Jane Simmons

Dogger by Shirley Hughes

Doggies by Sandra Boynton

Don't You Feel Well, Sam? by Amy Hest

Early Bird Gets the Worm by Bruce Lansky

Gossie by Olivier Dunrea

Hoppity Frog by Emma Parrish

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

I Went Walking by Sue Williams

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan

Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest

Kitten for a Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Lola Goes to the Doctor by Marcia Goldman

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham

Olivia by Ian Falconer

Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Sleepy Bears by Mem Fox

Slow Loris by Alexis Deacon

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

The Lion and the Little Red Bird by Elisa Kleven

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone

The Mitten by Jan Brett

The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner

You Can Do It, Bert! by Ole Konnecke

early school (5 - 6 years old)

A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni

Animalia by Graeme Base

Chicken and Cat by Sara Varon

Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

Fabulous Frogs by Martin Jenkins

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick

From Tadpole to Frog by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfield

Gone Wild: An Endangered Alphabet by David McLimans

Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat

Hush Little Polar Bear by Jeff Mack

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton

Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella & Craig Hatkoff

Red-eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley

Robot Kitties by Jim Benton

Rooster's Off to See the World by Eric Carle

Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

The Full Moon at the Napping House by Audrey Wood

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen

The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wezel

What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins

Want to read more? Check out our next category of 100 books to celebrate diversity with your little ones. And make sure to share your journey to 1,000 on social media and tag us! #1000Books