Rhyming stories are one of the most important foundations that we can give children to help them read, write, and build their vocabulary. An added bonus is that rhyming is fun! For even more fun books to read, see our list of the best prechool books.
Rhyming is a critical step to understanding language, how words work, and eventually reading independently. Children gravitate towards rhyming stories because they hear rhythm and excitement in our voices. It’s catchy and addictive and little ones want to join along!
Reading rhyming stories aloud as well as singing rhyming songs and nursery rhymes on a regular basis also helps build imagination, improve memory, and even develop musical rhythm.
Rhyming Stories for Kids
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Check out this list below of some great rhyming stories to get you started! These are great for bedtime, for circle time, and for any time that you want a great book to read with a child.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See? By Bill Martin Jr.
Big colors and simple text. This timeless book about animals and their colors has delighted young kids for decades. The rhythmic pattern of the text encourages kids to read along and within just a few reads, even the youngest readers are able to read and rhyme right along with you! Illustrator Eric Carle’s unique illustrations make this bright book even more appealing and captivating. It is a must-have for any library!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
The Pout- Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Poor Pout-Pout fish! His days are glum and dreary and he never smiles. The other ocean animals try to cheer him up, but he is convinced that sad is just who he is. “I’m a Pout-Pout Fish, with a pout-pout face, and I spread the dreary-wearies all over the place!” Until he meets a new fish who gives him a simple kiss and turns his frown upside down.
This story has so many great lessons for kids and outlines how the power of positive thinking can alter your mood!
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
This children’s classic is a must-have! The simple rhyming text engages every reader as they go on a rhyming adventure with Sam-I-am. The list of places he’ll go and the things that he’ll do grow longer and longer as this humorous story unfolds.
The easy rhyming text encourages children to read all by themselves using the pictures to provide their word clues. Additionally, it encourages kids to try something that might be out of their comfort zone! This book is a winner in every area and will have your kid rhyming, repeating, and retelling this story!
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
In this beloved classic, the little bunny says goodnight to everything in the room one-by-one. From the pictures on the wall to the “quiet old lady who was whispering hush”, this bunny believes in calmly taking his time and getting settled for bed. The rhymes are calm and soothing and the pages alternate between color and black and white. A truly memorable and relaxing story, this book will have your little one settled in your lap and content to say good night!
See you Later, Alligator by Sally Hopgood
This adorable rhyming story is a perfect addition to your circle time goodbye routine. The tortoise in the story is setting off on a new adventure, but not until he says goodbye to all of his friends. It inspires silly giggles and laughs as the tortoise makes a few funny mistakes along the way.
This book highlights rhyming in a fun and cute way that will have kids begging you to read it again! You might even find your little ones using the goodbye sayings or making up a few of their own!
Say Please, Little Owlet by Ellie J. Woods
This book is all about please! Teaching our little ones their manners is such an essential skill and this book makes it fun and enjoyable! Little owlet isn’t so polite and often makes rude demands when he wants something. Mommy owl gently reminds and teaches little Owlet to use his manners.
Kids will love the soft watercolor illustrations and quickly catch on to the rhyming pattern of the story. Hopefully, your little ones will soon begin using their manners too!
What’s more funny than lots of sheep stuck in the mud? This humorous rhyming story will have kids of all ages laughing at the antics of the sheep in their jeep. A few mishaps along the way make this story just plain fun. The sheep drive into mud and struggle to pull it out. They finally make it out of the mud only to forget to steer! Whatever will they do with this jeep?
Simple text will have your readers reading along with you. The author brings the sheep back for more rhyming fun in more adventures of the sheep, including Sheep on a Ship and Sheep Take a Hike.
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Little Lloyd the Llama is on the hunt for his mama. He asks all the animals he comes to if their mama is a llama. The animals reply with clues about their momma until Lloyd the llama finally does find his momma.
This cute rhyming story with riddles on each page will have your readers making guesses with the new animal clues. From a bat to a kangaroo, a swan to a seal, little llama meets some adventurous new animals. A perfect rhyming story to read anytime!
Give it a Go, Eat a Rainbow by Kathryn Kemp Guylay
A colorful rhyming story to inspire young kids to eat their way through the rainbow and help them make smart food choices! This story is about a boy named Blake whose belly always ached. He ate lots of cake, cookies and all things sweet. Blake meets a new friend who helps him discover the magic of eating healthy yummy foods in all the colors of the rainbow.
This book is perfect for introducing new foods or helping little ones understand how good foods make their body grow. Grab this winning book and help your littles eat their rainbow too!
Oh, poor Frog… He is just not comfortable sitting on a log but his friend Cat says that frogs must sit on a log. He asks the cat if he can sit on other things like sofas, chairs, or stools. But the cat tells him that gophers sit on sofas, hares sit on chairs, and mules sit on stools. And of course, frogs sit on logs. Frog then asks, “What do dogs sit on?” Your little readers will laugh hysterically when they find out the answer!
This silly rhyming story will have your kids asking you to read it over and over! The illustrations are so bright and simple yet captivating and the humor in the story makes it such a great find.
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
A great book to use when introducing or modeling rhyming words. All the dust bunnies love to rhyme, well all the dust bunnies except for Bob, that is. He just can’t seem to get the rhyming rhythm! But it seems, Bob was really just trying to save them from a big broom! Do you think Bob can save them from the vacuum?
This book is simple, silly, and just plain entertaining. It embeds fun rhyming words and will have your little reader rhyming right along. A great addition to any rhyming collection!
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Lucille Colandro
This book, as well as the whole series of books by Lucille Colandro, is a must have for your library! With seasonal titles, the series follows the same predictable pattern that will have your child reading each title over and over! This silly old lady continually eats unusual rhyming items much to children’s concern. You might even hear your young readers cry out, “Oh no!”, as the old lady eats another wacky object!
Some titles include:
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Clover
- There Was an Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey
Bright pictures and very expressive faces teach children what that feeling looks like and how everyone has feelings. A great book to reread and review to help young ones relate and relax when they are feeling big emotions!
These rhyming stories are sure to turn your reading time together into a great way to connect and practice the important skills they need as they are learning to read.
What rhyming stories do you love? We’re always looking for great recommendations. Here are some additional favorites that we love and recommend:
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These are some really great books. The Pout Pout Fish and This Old Lady series are two of my favorites.
Great list of kids books. I still remember in 90s i read lots of kid stories and tv not common in our home. Lots of learning come from that way.
How do I get the books for preschoolers.
Hi Dorothy! I have made all of the images and links clickable. If you select one, it will take you to Amazon to easily choose what you’d like. Most of these should be available at bookstores or the library too :). Good luck!