It’s time for another letter of the week book list! Our list is short because we picked only the best books to read for letter Z. Feel free to try a few others, like Dr. Seuss’ On Beyond Zebra (which is actually not about zebras) and If I Ran the Zoo… but those are some of Seuss’s loooong rhyming books that test the patience of preschoolers and parents alike — at least at our house!
I only share books I love… and here they are!
Joan Holub
Zero doesn’t add up to anything. When numbers subtract with him, they still get their same number. And they refuse to be divided by him! Finally Zero learns that when he multiplies, he makes his friends disappear – and what kind of a friend does that make him? After being mistaking for a donut, Cheerio, and the letter O, Zero is feeling pretty low — until the day his friends need him, and he swoops in to save them like the hero he knows he is. I love this book. The hilarious speech bubbles and storyline will have you laughing — and even though some of the math and humor may be above your preschoolers’ heads, they’ll love it too. A favorite at our house!
Ned Young
This is part of a series of books about an imaginative puppy named Zoomer — in this book, Zoomer is too busy to go to school. He’s creating a giant sandcastle out of dog food, sailing a pirate ship, and launching a pirate ship. Kids will enjoy the engaging illustrations and the funny twist at the end. My boys request this one a lot.
Betsy Franco
I like this book because it illustrates the concept of zero in a way that preschoolers can understand. Zero is the balls in the bin at recess time, the kites in the sky when the wind stops blowing, and the sound of stars filling the night. A simple, peaceful book.
Karma Wilson
Here’s another treasure of a book by the author of the Bear Snores On series. The animals at the zoo feel they aren’t being respected or treated fairly – so they’re on strike! “‘We’re paid only peanuts!’ the elephants shout. ‘And goodness, we’re bigger than that.’ So now they won’t trumpet or lumber about. They just sit around looking fat.” We love the silly text and the bright pictures.
Mary Jean Hendrick
Leslie and her mother visit the zoo often, and each time Leslie is sure to let the zoo workers know that if anything ever goes wrong, they can bring the animals to her house. Imagine her mother’s surprise when one day the zoo floods… and all the zoo workers take Leslie up on her offer!
Philip C. Stead
If I could include this book in every one of my book lists, I would. I love it that much. Amos, the kindly old zookeepker, is home sick with a bad cold. The elephant is sad to miss their chess game, the rhinoceros (who always has a runny nose) needs Amos’ handkerchief, and what will the owl do without Amos’ bedtime stories? Missing their friend, the animals take the bus and visit him instead. The pictures will steal your heart!
Dan Yaccarino
Truth: the word “zoom” is only on the first and last pages. So it’s a bit of a stretch to say this book teaches letter Z. But it’s a great rhyming book for preschoolers – bright, colorful, and imaginative. Recommended!
Kathryn Otoshi
If you have a child who’s crazy about numbers, you’ll definitely want to find this one at your library. Zero is a big round number who sees a hole in her center. She wants to count like the other numbers, too — but how will she ever add up to anything? One day Zero learns that by joining with the other numbers, she can add value to everyone.
Robert Lopshire
Here’s a classic book about a spotted animal (a bear?) who tries to prove to everyone that he belongs in the zoo. After demonstrating his many tricks (including changing the color his spots, juggling them, and moving them onto everything around him), Spot is still not welcome in the zoo… he gets to travel with the circus instead!
Stuart Murphy
This is such a great book for teaching kids about how to manage their money. Perry the Penguin needs 9 clams to buy a scooter — but when he borrows money to buy things he doesn’t need, he has less than zero clams! It’s a simple and fun introduction to the concept of zero and negative numbers.
Mem Fox
This book doesn’t use the word zoo very often, but it would work great within a zoo theme study. The rhythmic text tells the simple story of a father-daughter outing.
Kathleen Long Bostrom
This rhyming book tells about the funny things creatures do at the zoo — and it isn’t until the end that we learn that it’s the animals observing the people!
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Janel
These book lists are the best!! Thank you for putting them together. I use books from your lists in my Kindergarten class. 🙂
Anna G
I’m so glad you enjoy our book lists, Janel!
Dorothy
Thank you for sharing. I am returning to teaching a preschool class after over 20 years. Being at a play based center, letters are taught carefully without any kind of worksheet type of activities. I love that but it makes planning a little harder as I got rid of all of my files and activities. Having your book list and other articles is making my planning so much easier. I can spend my time on collecting and making materials rather than starting at square one. I am using quarantine time to check which books we have at our preschool, which ones our community library has, and which ones to buy on line if I find some great activities that go with a book that I don’t have. (I love bookfinder.com as I can get a used book for about $4.)
Thanks again for your websight. It is really helpful.
Anna G
This is great to hear, Dorothy! Thanks so much for your feedback, and I love how you’re making the most of quarantine!
Sicili Hale
My older three children were very blessed with a fantastic preschool program. We recently moved, and our new state does not quite have it together. 😉 I am so grateful for these lists. My bottom three are enjoying these letter themed books along with the curriculum I have designed. Thank you so much for sharing! I love that you give a description so I can pick and choose which ones to add this year, and which ones will be better next year! Thank you!
Anna G
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these lists, Sicili! They were so much fun to put together.
connie
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your entire site! You are so talented and so giving and for that I am so very thankful.
Anna Geiger
Thank you so much, Connie! I’m so thankful to have this creative outlet. It’s been real blessing to me and my family. 🙂
Anne
These posts don’t get a lot of attention?!? Every week I look forward to coming to the post for our current letter and requesting from the library the books you’ve suggested. I love your reviews of each book and have found this series SO helpful! 🙂
Anna Geiger
Thank you, Anne, I’m so glad to hear that :). I think most people come to my site for the free printables, but I’m happy to hear the book lists are helpful too. I just love doing them!
jessica fernandez
The book list have been a huge help to this Momma! I have enjoyed reading them to my kids and we have learned about great authors too.
Anna Geiger
I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed our book lists, Jessica! We’ve had so much fun putting them together.
Toni
Thank you so much for your thoughtful book recommendations. It’s nice to have a variety to choose from for each letter of the week AND a description of each book so I can decide if it will be a good fit for my kids. I appreciate that you don’t list every “Z” (or other letter) book available, but only the tried and true favorites from your house. Thank you!
Anna Geiger
I’m so glad you like the book lists, Toni! They don’t get a lot of attention compared to my other posts, but I love to put them together.