Best Books for 5 Year Olds

This article features many of the best books for 5 year olds. 5 year olds love all kinds of books. Interactive books are particularly great where 5 year olds can join in the story or do actions and sounds. Books that are laugh out loud funny are also good choices. There are lots of classic books which are timeless and today's 5 year olds love as much as the generations that have gone before them.

Many five year olds still enjoy picture books but many are now ready for their parents to read them longer stories or their first chapter books. My own 5 year old boy likes all kinds of book. He still loves simple picture books, he likes to have a go at reading his own stories but has also enjoyed being read a couple of chapters from a longer book at bedtime. What five year olds like will vary widely depending on their likes, dislikes, personalities and attention span but hopefully there are ideas in the article below for everybody.

Read on for lots of ideas and inspiration of the best books for 5 year olds.

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Dr Seuss has written numerous books which are always a huge hit with 5 year olds. A classic author which is still loved by each new generation.

There are some great find and search books, that five year olds will love.

My 5 year old boy currently loves search and find books and the classic one of these is Where's Waldo (see below).

There are lots of similar books that are worth checking out. I Spy treasure hunt gives you lots of things to look for and find on each page.

Picture books are still very age appropriate for 5 year olds. My son loves the visual nature of picture books. The illustrations help fire children's imaginations and they can also make great talking points to start discussions about the story.

My son's teacher told me that when they learn to read, looking at pictures is an important part of helping them with their literacy. Looking at pictures helps children make sense of a story and is a great first support for text reading.

At 5 years old many children will now have the attention span to start being read chapter books. It may be a stretch for some but it's often worth trying as your child may surprise you. They are also a bit more interesting to read then looking at the same picture books over and over again. You could try reading a chapter each night before bedtime.

Good authors include Roald Dahl, EB White, Beverly Cleary and Mary Pope Osbourne. Check out some ideas from these authors below.

My 5 year old boy loves the Mr Men and Little Miss books.

We bought the whole set of both and it's been a really good investment. We read these books all the time. They are the perfect length for a bedtime story too. Not too long but long enough to calm my son down before bed.

My son's favorite is currently Mr Silly and mine is Mr Bump!

There are some great non fiction books for 5 year olds.

When choosing non fiction look for topics which they are interested in and look for really visual books too.

There are some fantastic educational and factual books for 5 year olds that you can read to them and some with text that they can read to you. Many of them mix non fiction and fiction to appeal to 5 year olds and their imagination.

Check out the magic school bus book below.

A story book which may appeal more to 5 year old girls.

If you're looking for books for 5 year olds it's always worth checking out the New York Times Bestseller Lists for Children's books to see what is currently popular to give you more ideas. Another idea is to check out the amazon bestseller lists for kids.

Check out what's currently top of the New York Bestseller list in 2014.

5 year olds differ widely in the books they enjoy due to their personalities, their concentration span when reading, whether they can read or are just starting to learn, whether they like picture books or prefer to read something longer.

Therefore when choosing a book online for a 5 year old, I would recommend the following tips to make sure it's the right book for the child.