What to read before first grade? TOP books for first graders

Richard Scarry “What Do People Do All Day?”

Do you remember how as a child you could spend hours exploring colorful, detail-rich pages and searching for hidden characters? The book “What Do People Do All Day?” by American author and illustrator Richard Scarry, first published in 1968, is today rightly considered a global classic of children’s literature. It is a work warmly remembered by today’s parents and eagerly opened by contemporary children.

In this legendary book, the cozy town of Busytown and its inhabitants – animals performing many important daily tasks – come to life. From baking bread to building houses, from firefighters’ daily routines to postal services – the author uses playful, detailed illustrations and short texts to simply and clearly reveal how the world around us works. For future first graders, this book becomes not only a fun leisure read but also an invaluable tool for enriching vocabulary, developing observation skills, and making the first educational leap into the adult world.

Violeta Palčinskaitė “There Is No Winter in Africa”

Lithuanian children’s literature author and National Culture and Art Prize laureate Violeta Palčinskaitė delights young readers with a new collection of poems. Generations have grown up with the author’s verses, and the book “There Is No Winter in Africa” is further proof that poetry can be very modern, resonant, and close to today’s child.

The book intertwines a variety of themes: from smart screens and robots to the mysteries of Čiurlionis Forest, stories of the Curonian Spit, and the challenges of family life, such as the arrival of a new brother. The poet speaks lightly, sensitively, and with humor about what is familiar and curious to a child. The resonant rhymes are easy to remember, making the book perfect not only for calm reading with parents but also for first attempts at recitation or memory training in preparation for school.

Ben Hoare “Treasures of Nature. Stories about More Than 100 Special Natural Objects”

What makes amber lying deep on the ocean floor special, how does a sparkling quartz crystal form, and what secrets does a fragile bird’s egg hold? This work is a visually captivating and luxurious educational journey through the world of living and non-living nature. Each page reveals another wonder of our planet, and the magical atmosphere is created not only by intriguing stories but also by gold-glittering cover details and a silky page marker.

The book “Treasures of Nature. Stories about More Than 100 Special Natural Objects” contains more than a hundred unique exhibits: from rare rocks and minerals to microscopic organisms, exotic plants, and the strangest animals. Each object has its own dedicated spread with highly detailed macro-level photos that allow close inspection of the finest textures. Alongside the visual material are short but incredibly engaging facts that turn the publication into a true personal naturalist’s encyclopedia, sparking curiosity and a desire to explore the surrounding world.