After kindergarten, your child’s learning-to-read journey continues with memorable picture books, activity books, and easy readers. First graders are full of curiosity, and although books may not have all the answers—they certainly have quite a few! Great books at this stage will introduce diverse new topics, while supporting key skills like sight word recognition, memory, and comprehension. Your child’s personal attitude towards reading will start to take shape in a meaningful way…which makes those extra-fun and engaging reads all the more important.
We know there’s a lot to choose from, so we’ve let some of our experts weigh in on exceptional titles for first grade readers. Here are Literati’s picks for some of the best books to share with your budding bookworm:
Life on Earth: Human Body
At this age, kids are keen to learn how things work. Life on Earth: Human Body has a ton to teach about the intricate and delicately-balanced systems inside of us. Your reader can explore the fundamentals of physical wellness through informative graphics, simple text, and age-appropriate lessons on everything from bones to breathing. This informative read also illustrates why it counts to take care of ourselves, helping kids understand and make healthy choices on their own.
If I Built a School
If Jack built a school, there would be hover desks and pop-up textbooks, skydiving wind tunnels, and a trampoline basketball court in the gym. As your first grader gets settled into the school day routine, this wacky story challenges them to think outside the box, and dream up new possibilities within the context of their real-life surroundings. If I Built a School is a read-aloud adventure that will have their imagination running wild!
Snail’s Silly Adventures
The graphic novel format can be a fantastic introduction to longer dialogue, helping readers gather context and understand story sequences visually. With its cute illustrations and graphic approach, Snail’s Silly Adventures is a great precursor to graphic novels that can help bridge the gap between picture books and easy readers. As Snail leaves his bucket to experience the wide, wonderful outside world, your little one’s memory and comprehension will be supported with adorable illustrations and a memorable sequence of events.
The Couch Potato
We love a relatable character who encourages good habits. While following along with a friendly potato—a Couch Potato, of course—readers can discover all of the wonderful things that exist outside of the comfort of home. The silliness of this story will have first graders giggling, while they learn an important lesson about exploring their surroundings.
The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake
Captain Griswold and Detective Wilcox are two hard-boiled, no-nonsense MFIs—Missing Food Investigators. They also happen to be mice in trench coats. But don’t let the fur fool you: these mice are fearless detectives who won’t rest until they catch the crook. With plenty of clues tucked into quick, readable text, your reader will race to solve the case until they reach the ending twist they’ll never see coming. Readers from preschool to second grade will devour this hilarious first installment in the Wilcox and Griswold easy reader series and still be hungry for more.
Good Night to Your Fantastic Elastic Brain
Every brain needs a little break, right? This spectacular STEM book teaches kids all about the importance of sleep, and how good sleeping habits help their brains thrive. Written by neuroscience experts, Good Night to Your Fantastic Elastic Brain can also be used to teach your child to adopt a growth mindset. With informative illustrations and simple scientific explanations, they’ll begin to see their brain as a muscle that gets stronger with exercise.
Pluto Gets the Call
If you were a planet who suddenly found out you weren’t a planet—you might have some questions! In this hilarious and educational story, Pluto searches the solar system to understand what sets him apart from his planetary buddies. First graders will have a blast listening to funny dialogue throughout the book, while learning a tremendous amount of real astrological information. As a little one with lots of questions, your reader may relate to Pluto in a big way!
While these tested titles are some of our absolute favorites, every reader is different, and there are SO many incredible options out there. Finding the books that excite and inspire your child is crucial to help them fall in love with reading all on their own.
Literati book clubs are designed to cater to the individual needs—and unique interests—of every young reader. That way, kids can get the support they need to succeed in the classroom and develop lifelong reading habits thanks to books they truly love.
Share some info about your reader in Literati’s quick personalization quiz, and Literati will get to work curating the books that are most likely to supercharge their reading progress and passion.
