2 - 4 years - Tell stories that repeat catchy phrases:
o Use sturdy pop-up and pull-tag books.
o Present short stories with few words and many pictures.
o Read stories about everyday events.
o Show ABC, counting, color, and shape books.

Barton, Byron
  Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones
  Little Red Hen
  Trucks

Carle, Eric
  From Head to Toe
  Hello, Red Fox
  Rooster's off to see the World
  The Very Busy Spider
  The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Guarino, Deborah.
  Is Your Mama a Llama?

Kalan, Robert
  Blue Sea
  Jump, Frog, Jump

Keats, Jack Ezra
  Snowy Day
  Peter's Chair
  A Whistle for Willie

Martin, Bill, Jr.
  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
  Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom
  The Ghost-eye Tree
  The Happy Hippopatami
  Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?

Steig, William
  Sylvester's Pebble
  Shrek!

Van Allsburg, Chris
  Jumanji
  Polar Express
  Two Bad Ants

Waddell, Martin
  Little Mo
  Owl Babies
  Small Bear Lost
  You and Me, Little Bear

Wood, Audry and Don
  The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
  The Napping House

4 to 6 years - Introduce non-fiction: dinosaurs, trucks, farm animals:
o Use simple folktales.
o Tell longer stories and show more detailed pictures.
o Let the child choose books of interest to him or her.
o Read stories that can be acted out.

Cole, Joanna
  In the Time of Dinosaurs.

Galdone, Paul
  The Three Bears.

Numeroff, Laura Joffe
  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
  If You Give a Moose a Muffin

Rockwell, Anne. Fire Engines.

Scieszka, John
  Math Curse
  The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
  The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Beginning readers (1st and 2nd graders) - Include short stories, few words per page,
ten word books, and pictures that match text:
o Read books that interest the child.
o Use real life stories and simple biographies. o Include joke and riddle books.
o Present simple magazines.

Hoff, Syd
  Barney's Horse
  Danny and the Dinosaur
  Sammy, the Seal

Minarik, Else Holmelund
  Adventures of Little Bear
  Little Bear

Parish, Peggy
  Amelia Bedelia
  Amelia Bedelia's Family Album

Seuss, Dr.
  Green Eggs and Ham and other stories
  Horton Hears a Who!
  One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

6 to 9 years old or so
o Series books are most popular with older elementary-age children
o Non-fiction is most popular with boys for all ages. Eyewitness Books are some of the most interesting and visually appealing.

Popular series include
  American Girls
  Animorphs
  Berenstain Bears
  Dear America
  Hardy Boys
  Nancy Drew
  Saddle Club

Cleary, Beverly
  The Mouse and the Motorcycle
  Fudge
  Superfudge
  Romana the Brave

Coville, Bruce
  Into the Land of the Unicorns
  Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Catcher

Farley, Walter
  The Black Stallion

Henry, Marguerite
  King of the Wind
  Mysty of Chicoteague

Howe, James
  Bunnicula

Lepperd, Lois Gladys
  Mandie

Lowry, Lois
  Anastasia Krupnik
  Anastasia Returns
  Number of the Stars

Wilder, Laura Ingalls
  Little House on the Prairie
  Little House in the Big Woods

12 years old and up
o Series books are still quite popular
o Starting to read books with teen issues - such as teen violence, teen pregnancy, gangs, suicide, etc.

Alcott, Louisa May
  Little Women

Hobbs, Will
  The Big Wander
  Far North

Jacques, Brian
  Redwall series

L'Engle, Madeline
  A Wrinkle in Time

Nixon, Joan Lowrey
  Orphan train series

Paulson, Gary
  Hatchet
  Dogsong

Pierce, Tamora
  Song of the Lionness Quartet
  The Immortals series
  First Test
  Circle of Magic series