Updated 30th December 2021.
At five years old children are at school and actively learning to read. At home, some more advanced readers will want time on their own to explore the joy of reading for themselves. But all children will still want to be read to, especially at bedtime.
This is a rewarding age to be reading with children. Stories get more complicated, exploring more than one issue, and characters become more three dimensional (perhaps displaying diverse motives). Books might even create secondary storylines and head off in tangents. Text gets a little more sense and takes more focus from readers and listeners. There’ll still be a picture to enjoy on every page, though.
Books for five-year-olds are often full of memorable characters (animal, alien or human!) and offbeat humour. That’s great, because we know that humour can help instil a love of reading and aid comprehension skills.
What to consider when buying books for 5 year olds
Don’t go for the safe option and buy or borrow books which are too young for your child, because they may start to find those simple problem-and-answer stories a bit boring. Remember, many children at five have a vocabulary of over 2,000 words, so it’s OK to stretch them a little.
The 15 best books for 5 year olds
Editors Review
“Sid lives the life every child (and adult) wants to live. It’s a great story of feline deception.”
Cheeky Sid can eat six dinners a day, as long as his six ‘owners’ never find out about each other.
HIGHLIGHTS
ANY ISSUES?
2. So Much
Editors Review
“A captivating celebration of family life, So Much is about being a baby in a loving extended family."
A family prepares a surprise birthday party and waits patiently (or not) for the birthday boy to return.
HIGHLIGHTS
ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
“Warm, colourful and with a resonant message of strength and friendship.”
Leonard is a lion whose best friend is a duck. That can’t be right…
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
“Funny and entertaining, with some nice hidden cues woven into the illustrations.”
Magician Monsieur Lapin has a very clever rabbit assistant - until one night…
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
“It’s wickedly funny and the frightened frankfurters are a hoot!”
A great escape story...from the frying pan.
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
“An important, powerful message, bundled with a page turning story.”
Little Red Riding Hood for a kinder age. Red heads off into the woods, but wolves are nowhere to be seen.
HIGHLIGHTS
ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
"Witty and charming, and who doesn’t love a massive bear in a bee costume?"
Does anyone love honey enough to dress up in a bumble bee onesie!
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
"It’s quirky and funny and, best thing of all, the reader is in on the joke."
Bear has lost his hat, but not all is what it seems.
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
"A beautifully illustrated story of cheeky animals and colourful Kenyan countryside."
Handa sets out from her village to bring a gift to her friend.
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
"Nibbles’ nibbling upsets all your childrens’ favourite characters, from Little Red to Goldilocks."
Naughty Nibbles is munching his way through famous fairytales. Can you stop him?
HIGHLIGHTS
ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
“Funny, warm and with a none-too-subtle message for parents who are too busy to listen!”
Nobody listens to Daisy, so when a big purple rhino takes a chomp of her pancake, who’s going to believe her?
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ANY ISSUES?
Editors Review
“There’s a great message about persistence, and a great story."
A book about making the best thing ever, even when it’s harder than you thought.
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Editors Review
“A lovely tale about how making mistakes might not be so bad after all.”
We all make mistakes, right? Not Beatrice Bottomwell, never ever ever.
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ANY ISSUES?
14. Black Dog
Editors Review
“This charming book is a metaphor for facing your fears, until they aren’t fears anymore.”
One day a Black Dog appears outside the Hope family home…
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ANY ISSUES?
15. Tear Thief
Editors Review
“The beautiful illustrations work wonderfully with poet Carol Ann Duffy’s magical, lyrical text.”
The Tear Thief catches children’s tears as they fall. But what does he do with them?
HIGHLIGHTS
ANY ISSUES?
How to read to a 5 year old
Many children will be reading on their own at this age, but keep reading to them as well. You can help their understanding of language by pointing out linguistic features in the text, like rhymes, repetition and onomatopoeia.
