The following Common Core book list for kindergarten and first grade students was obtained directly from the authors of the Common Core Standards. Consequently, I would highly recommend that you check them out for yourself and have your students read them, because the authors have labeled these books exemplars. From these books, parents or teachers of kindergarten or first grade students will get an idea of the level of text complexity the authors of the core standards are hoping that students will have at the end of first grade. Enjoy!
Stories For Kindergarten and First Grade
Little Bear , by Minarik, Else Holmelund
Are You My Mother? By Eastman, P. D.
Green Eggs and Ham, by Seuss, Dr.
Put Me in the Zoo, by Lopshire, Robert.
Frog and Toad Together, by Lobel, Arnold.
Owl at Home, by Lobel, Arnold. Book 1 and Book 2
Pancakes for Breakfast, by DePaola, Tomie.
Poems For Kindergarten and First Grade
Anonymous. “As I Was Going to St. Ives.”
Rossetti, Christina. “Mix a Pancake.”
Fyleman, Rose. “Singing-Time.”
Milne, A. A. “Halfway Down.”
Chute, Marchette. “Drinking Fountain.”
Hughes, Langston. “Poem.”
Ciardi, John. “Wouldn’t You?”
Wright, Richard. “Laughing Boy.”–Haiku
Greenfield, Eloise. “By Myself.”
Giovanni, Nikki. “Covers.”–VoiceThread
Merriam, Eve. “It Fell in the City.”
Lopez, Alonzo. “Celebration.”
Agee, Jon. “Two Tree Toads.”—See books by this author here.
Read-Aloud Stories For Kindergarten and First Grade
Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods
Atwater, Richard and Florence. Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Jansson, Tove. Finn Family Moomintroll
Haley, Gail E. A Story, A Story
Bang, Molly. The Paper Crane
Young, Ed. Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
Garza, Carmen Lomas. Family Pictures
Mora, Pat. Tomás and the Library Lady
Henkes, Kevin. Kitten’s First Full Moon
Read-Aloud Poetry For Kindergarten and First Grade
Anonymous. “The Fox’s Foray.”
Langstaff, John. Over in the Meadow
Lear, Edward. “The Owl and the Pussycat.”
Hughes, Langston. “April Rain Song.”
Moss, Lloyd. Zin! Zin! Zin! a
Informational Texts For Kindergarten and First Grade
Bulla, Clyde Robert. A Tree Is a Plant
Aliki. My Five Senses
Hurd, Edith Thacher. Starfish
Aliki. A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver
Crews, Donald. Truck
Hoban, Tana. I Read Signs
Reid, Mary Ebeltoft. Let’s Find Out About Ice Cream.
“Garden Helpers.” National Geographic Young Explorers– E-Book
“Wind Power.” National Geographic Young Explorers and other Topics
Read-Aloud Informational Texts For Kindergarten and First Grade
Provensen, Alice and Martin. The Year at Maple Hill Farm
Gibbons, Gail. Fire! Fire!
Dorros, Arthur. Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
Rauzon, Mark, and Cynthia Overbeck Bix. Water, Water Everywhere
Llewellyn, Claire. Earthworms
Jenkins, Steve, and Robin Page. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Pfeffer, Wendy. From Seed to Pumpkin
Thomson, Sarah L. Amazing Whales!
Hodgkins, Fran, and True Kelley. How People Learned to Fly.