As someone who has experience with preschoolers, I know that they tend to love books. A lot. You'll want to rip your hair out when they pick the biggest book on the shelf to be read for the 10th time in a row! Research and experience both confirm that reading is the essential building block for lifelong success. In fact, children who struggle with reading is almost always because they didn't learn how to from an early age. Thus, studies consistently show that kids are more intelligent when they read books so check out the list below on what books every preschooler should be reading!

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by P.D Eastman

Translated in over 40 languages and the recipient of multiple awards, it’s almost impossible to go through school and not have had this book read in the classroom. While the food consumed by the caterpillar is not very realistic, the books does explain the scientific process of how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly.

2. Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

A beautiful story that confirms the age old proverb that sharing really is caring. Rainbow Fish is about a fish that has many shiny colored scales and one day a friend asks for a scale and he refused in an unkind way upsetting the friend. Unsure what to do, Rainbow Fish goes to his only friend that is not upset with him, Starfish, and he takes him to the octopus. The octopus advises him to share the scale not only to make his friend feel better, but also himself feel better. So Rainbow Fish goes back and shares a scale and like the octopus said that made his friend feel better. Soon all of his other fish friends want one of his shiny scales to which he happily agrees.

3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

This book features a boy named Alexander who goes through an entire bad day filled with unfortunate events, and occasional references of him moving to Australia because people there never have bad days. It ends with his mother telling him that everyone had bad including those who live in Australia - and Alexander is assured of such. The Book was also made into an animated musical.

4. Corduroy by Don Freeman

This story is about a bear in a department store who is seen by a little girl named Lisa one day. She wants to buy the bear, but her mother refuses to because he is missing a button. So at night when the department store closes,Corduroy is on a mission to search for his lost button. With no luck, the store guard eventually finds him and puts him on his shelf. The next day, Lisa comes back to the store with her saved money and takes Corduroy home where she sews a button on him. The book’s publishing company Viking Press had originally rejected the book but then accepted it on a second chance. It was made into a short television movie.

5. Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman

A very humorous story that all children are bound to love. A mother bird leaves her nest to find her baby some food, and in the meantime the egg hatches. The baby bird then goes off to look for his mother. Unable to fly, he walks around and asks all sorts of things if they are his mother, and is discouraged when they shake their heads no every time he asks the question. Towards the end he climbs onto a power shovel, and then immediately realizes it is a snort and not his mother and screams to be released. Then, the snort drops him into his nest where he is reunited with his mother.

So while these are by no means the only books your preschooler should be reading, if they are read among other books, he/she will definitely be ready to embark on the next journey in life - kindergarten that is!