Perfect for reading at home together or in the classroom, here's more than 30 riotous rhyming books your children will love to read and listen too.
As parents we might guess that hearing rhyme is important to our children.
We all learnt the same nursery rhymes our kids know now.
Many picture books are full of rhyming words from the classics we read as children ourselves on our parent's laps to this year's newest releases that we might share with our children.
We sang lots of the same school yard chants we hear our kids singing with their friends at lunchtime in the yard.
And when you think about some of these, not all of them make a lot of sense as an adult - Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, The cow jumps over the moon, The little dog laughed to see such fun and the dish ran away with the spoon! What?!?
They are silly and they make kids laugh as they imagine a cow jumping over the moon.
They are important because they rhyme! And rhyming should be fun!
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RHYMING CAN'T BE THAT IMPORTANT?
Rhyming is important. Why?
- Rhyming helps children understand how language works. That there is sometimes a rhythm and pattern to language which helps young children predict words in unfamiliar books.
- It encourages them to read with expression.
- It makes some words easier to spell once they are familiar with the parts of words such as onset and rime. For example, if they can spell c-at they will be able to spell b-at and m-at.
But before a child can read and write themselves they need to hear words and books provide us with an amazing array of choices to share with our children.
These thirty picture books are some of our favourite rhyme filled books to read.
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Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy is the first of Lynley Dodd's books to showcase the likeable scruffy mutt from the corner store along with his best dog pals and his arch enemy, Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town!
Edward the Emu is nearly 20 years old now but still such a fun read. Edward is stuck at the zoo and he just doesn't know what to do he's so bored. You can see why children can relate to Edward. A great one for reading with sound effects. There's also the follow-on story - Edwina the Emu.
Possum Magic is another Australian classic which tells the story of Hush and Grandma Poss, two possums living in the Australian bush. Grandma Poss had turned Hush invisible to keep her safe from snakes but they then have to travel around the country to find the magic to undo the original spell.
The Terrible Plop is one that must be read with different voices - it's that kind of book! It's a story about a group of rabbits munching on leaves down by the lake when suddenly, there comes a terrible PLOP! Off take the rabbits, HOP, HOP, HOP, running for their lives but one little rabbit comes to realise not everything is as scary as it can first seem.
Pig The Pug features in a series of books now. He is an obnoxious, greedy, spotlight-stealing, mean antagonist to his long suffering friend Trevor. Dog lovers will love these books. I love dogs but I prefer Aaron Blabey's book Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas - definitely one to read aloud in class.
Boo to a Goose is another book full of rhyme and silly challenges along with quite the unexpected end. Mem Fox does do good rhyme. Her book, Where is the Green Sheep? is surely a classic of my children's generation.
Keeping with our animal theme, The Wonky Donkey, is so silly it makes kids laugh out loud. It could be the gas but this sing-a-long book offers plenty of rhyme too.
One of my all time favourite read aloud books, The Gruffalo, is a rollercoaster of a ride as you follow the tale of a mouse in the deep dark wood. A must for any bookshelf!
By the same pairing of author and illustrator, Room on a Broom, is definitely worth your time and is a fun story children will want to re-enact after finishing the story. There are several more by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler - Stick Man (great for Christmas time), A Squeeze and A Squash, The Snail and the Whale, but The Gruffalo and Room on a Broom are my picks.
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And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street is one Dr Seuss book I like. I know as a teacher I'm suppose to like them all but if I'm truthful, I don't, I never did as a child either. Don't hate me...
I don't mind Ten Apples Up On Top but have always loved Put Me In the Zoo and Wacky Wednesday which are of similar vintage! Every child should own a copy of Wacky Wednesday to try and spot all the odd things on each page - it's a childhood ritual surely!
Another classic rhyming read would have to be Rhyming Dust Bunnies. These guys love to rhyme except Bob. He's not very good at making rhyming words making him instantly relatable and kids love that he becomes the hero of the story regardless.
The Very Cranky Bear is shaping up to become a classic. The simple tale of four friends looking for somewhere to sit out of the rain. They seek shelter in a cave only to find one very cranky bear who just wants to be left alone. Why won't they listen?
Nick Bland has gone on to write several more bear books - The Very Hungry Bear, The Very Itchy Bear, The Very Brave Bear and The Very Noisy Bear, making them perfect for an author study.
Nick Bland has gone on to write several more bear books - The Very Hungry Bear, The Very Itchy Bear, The Very Brave Bear and The Very Noisy Bear, making them perfect for an author study.
We LOVE all the 'Oi.......' books by Kes Gray and Jim Field. Full of rhyme and rich vocabulary and just enough sass to keep this teacher entertained while reading them aloud in class. The series keeps building on the success of the first and are a worthy addition to any class library that children keep coming back to.
While Don't Forget the Bacon! works by playing with word families making it a great jumping off point for sorting and writing CVC words.
Looking for great Christmas books with rhyme? We love The Naughtiest Reindeer! Ruby, Rudolph's sister is such a naughty reindeer but when stuck one Christmas Eve, Santa asks for her help with hilarious results. I've also used this book as a writing prompt to see what else children would like to find under their tree come Christmas morning. There's also The Naughtiest Reindeer at the Zoo and The Naughtiest Reindeer Goes South.
Another funny Christmas read my youngest loves is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star by A. Crumble. It's based on the story of the old woman who swallowed a fly but with enough Christmas items and a bit of grossness to keep a six year old happy.
Outside the US?
I recommend The Book Depository with free worldwide delivery.
