11 Must-Read Books For Preschoolers In Singapore

What is it about ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ that makes it such a classic hit among children and parents? And more importantly — how do books like these translate into better social awareness and literacy skills for our children?

As a parent to a pre-schooler, your kid may sometimes come home to share with you about a story they read in school. I’m not sure why, but there’s something special about ‘The Giving Tree’ that made it to the rare occasion when my daughter remembered and talked about it after school. It must have been the idea of selfless love portrayed in the story that hits home. 

You’ll come to realise that there are books memorable to our kids. It’s no different for these 11 must-read titles suitable for kids aged five and above. Some from this list help increase our kid’s social awareness of real-life issues around the world or advocate for diversity and inclusion, and translates to stronger themes and characters in their narrative writing by exposing our kids to life’s complexities.

Other picks from this list also serve as great early exposure to literary devices such as rhythmic lines and repetition for our kids — teaching them to enjoy the beauty of the English language and improving their composition writing skills.

So, here’s sharing with you 11 fictional titles that you and your child can enjoy together during the holidays, before they enter Primary 1. You can borrow these titles as ebooks from the National Library, or buy them from local bookstores like Epigram or Woods In The Books.

The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin

A book that serves as a time capsule to the past! Immerse yourself and your kid in a journey to the olden days as you both follow Xiaoming on his journey to deliver ang ku kueh in his incredible basket. Other titles by the same author also pay homage to our local cultures here in Singapore — The Amazing Sarong, The Brilliant Oil Lamp and The Marvellous Sugee Cake. 

This book gives your child a taste of local literature and shows them how to incorporate local elements into their story writing, which helps them stand out from peers who may have only consumed Enid Blyton titles. While reading this together, point out which words and images are linked, so as to give them a better visualisation of what's happening in the story.

Jack and Jill at Bukit Timah Hill by Gwen Lee

A wonderful collection of Singapore’s very own nursery rhymes, it aims to feature some of our very own unique identity markers—our ice kacang, dim sum and kueh tutu, and of course, who could miss out on our hawkers? Reminisce your own good old carefree days playing goli and chapteh and share those joyful memories with your kid. 

We love this one because it's such a refreshing local take on classic nursery rhymes, and teaches our kid new vocabulary as well as rhyming devices. Read this one out aloud with your child and watch their eyes light up at the pleasure of the rhyming words. As a follow-up, get them to construct their own simple rhyme.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury 

A family favourite! Let your kid’s imagination run wild as you and your kid brave through thick, oozy mud and a dark forest to hunt for a bear! The repetitive lines make for a good song that your kid will surely remember.

This one is great for children who learn better via listening, and helps them to stretch their imagination — forests and bears aren't that common in Singapore, so you can supplement this story with images from online. Always wondered how the song is like? Listen to it here.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr

What do you do when you have an uninvited guest over for tea? This book narrates a hilarious encounter with an over-friendly feline who interrupts just as a mother and daughter duo is having their tea. The unexpectedness of this character — who behaves like a prim and proper guest instead of, well, devouring the humans — will get your child giggling, especially if you put on a growly-but-polite voice for him while reading. This will get you and your child discussing character expectations and development, and makes for a fun read together.

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

A delightful way to start talking to your kid about doing things according to their own beat! As Gerald the Giraffe tries to discover its own rhythm to the music of Africa’s Jungle Dance, your kid will learn about accepting and celebrating one’s own unique talents or abilities.

The plethora of phrases packed with alliteration will serve as a good challenge for more independent readers who are already familiar with rhyme — get them to read aloud and savour the sounds. You can also look forward to captivating illustrations of rhinos rock-and-rolling and chimps doing cha-chas.

Uncle Daniel’s Favourite Colour by Far’ain Jaffar and Nisa’ Tuzzakirah

Talking about disabilities is a tough challenge for any parent, and we all want our children to be sensitive instead of pointing and asking why a stranger looks a certain way. This book is perfect for introducing your child to the concept of visual impairment and being the springboard for that discussion, thanks to the inclusion of diverse characters like Yusuf, who has to do a school project on his Uncle Daniel's favourite colour. Follow up with a conversation about how some people might look or behave differently from your child, and use the opportunity to instil some empathy.

Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson

This is perfect for families with pets! Join Tabby McTat’s journey in finding his way back home to his beloved owner after unexpectedly being separated. This story packs a punch with repetitive lyrical lines that readers are free to form their own tune to. Indeed, this is a delightful story on manifesting hope and chasing after your dreams — themes that will commonly crop up for your child in their lower primary school reading, so it's good to start talking about them now.

Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour

This is an endearing story about a girl and her best friend, a pebble, as she journeys through life at a refugee camp. This book is a great start if you are looking into introducing real-world issues with your kid, such as why there are kids in other parts of the world who are refugees. Sharing these complex issues with your kid can help them develop a better worldview, not to mention give them more perspective as they write their own stories in school. A story laden with courage, resilience and hope, its poignant ending will tug at your heartstrings. 

The Journey by Francesca Sanna

This is an eye-opening read about the experience of a girl and her family as they are forced to set out on a journey to find a new home. Inspired by real-life accounts of refugees shared with the author, the book allows readers to learn and understand more of the plight of refugees, from the perspective of a child.

The beautiful illustrations that span across the book’s pages are great discussion cues for you and your kid too — use them as a platform for talking about the circumstances that other children in the world face and how they might be very different from the cosy and comfortable home that your little one is used to. Being able to imagine these circumstances helps them have better social awareness and also develops their empathy.

A Little Bit Brave by Nicola Kinnear 

Ride along for an adventure with two bunny friends, Logan and Luna! Logan is finally forced to leave his home to go on a solo adventure when his friend, Luna, gets upset at his unwillingness to come out and play. As he seeks to find Luna, he discovers the beauty of the outside world. A story of finding courage, it will be an inspiring tale for your kid for a long time to come, and also teach them about the fable genre. As a follow-up, encourage your child to come up with their own animal characters in a story with a moral or message — this serves as great practice for their first few compositions in Primary 1.

I Am Enough by Grace Byers

This is a brilliant book that celebrates diversity among children and serves as a good way to introduce messages of self-advocacy to our children. The message about being proud of one’s identity is evergreen and is something that may often be overlooked due to its cliché nature. However, a conscientious effort to encourage our kids to accept unique differences through reading such a book would help to pave the road for more celebration of diversity in our younger generations.

We think this is especially important as our child reaches an age where they learn about other races and cultures, and how they fit into this diverse world. They'll start to think about their own identity and sense of self — and this book teaches them how to do so.

Nur is a mama of three kids, with a Masters degree in Education. She's always on the lookout for exciting children's literature and adult's non-fiction and collects books like candies. She also hunts for purposeful and unpretentious parenting tips and tricks. Nature and coffee are two of her favourite things.