Looking for the best rhyming books for kindergarten homeschool that will build early language skills, spark giggles, and nurture a lifelong love of reading? I’ve got the perfect list- all of which we’ve read around our homeschool kitchen table.
Sharing rhyming books with young children is one of the most powerful (and fun!) ways to help them develop phonological awareness, listening skills, and early decoding abilities. Whether you’re homeschooling full-time or just want to make the most of your read-aloud moments, rhyming is a simple and excellent way to build literacy.
👉 New to teaching rhyming or not sure where to begin?
Check out my post on Teaching Rhyming Words to Kids for simple, fun ways to introduce rhyme at home—plus a breakdown of what to expect at each stage of learning. It pairs perfectly with the book list below!
Here are 13 of our favorite books for teaching rhyme to kindergarteners, complete with tips, games, and hands-on fun to go with each one. These are the classic rhyming books, silly rhyming books, and just-plain fun books that we return to again and again. Whether you’re planning morning basket time or building your home library, these rhyming books for kindergarten homeschool learning are tried-and-true favorites that make literacy feel fun.
This hilarious book about some very silly sheep in a red jeep is filled with simple rhymes, short e-vowel words, and rhythmic phrases that are easy for young readers to repeat and remember. The simple story is brief but packed with action, which makes it great for kids with short attention spans.
Try this fun way to extend the learning: Create your own “Sheep in a ___” drawing using new rhyming words like heap, deep, or leap.
This sweet story invites children to guess which animal matches each rhyming riddle. It’s a classic story with a warm tone and gentle pacing, and it’s a great story to help children anticipate rhyming endings. The repetition supports memory and builds confidence as your child joins in.
Activity idea: Pause before the last word in each riddle and let your child guess the answer. Then, encourage them to make their own rhyming riddles using different animals. This builds vocabulary and creativity while strengthening rhyme production.
This fun book is a whimsical, imaginative berry-filled adventure. The illustrations are rich with detail, and the fun rhymes bounce off the page. With lines like “Hatberry, shoeberry, in my canoeberry,” it’s a silly rhyming book that’s so much fun to read aloud.
Language activity: Have your child pick a fruit and come up with their own nonsense rhymes about it—apple-snapple or berry-hairy-fairy. It’s a great read for inspiring play with sound and new words.
This favorite book has it all—simple rhymes, animal sounds, kindness, and a helpful little truck. The rhythm makes it ideal for reading aloud, and the message about teamwork is sweet. Young children love the honks and quacks, and the illustrations are beautifully done. This one was a favorite in my house when my daughter was 3.
Extend the learning: Play a rhyming animal game after reading. Say “truck” and let your child name as many rhyming words as they can—duck, luck, stuck. This is a fun way to build word families and early decoding awareness.
This classic rhyming book is based on the traditional song and illustrated with bright, engaging pictures. Kids can’t help but sing along with the fun rhymes and imaginative word pairs like “Did you ever see a bear combing his hair?”
🎲 Interactive tip: Sing the book a few times, then let your child invent their own catchy rhyme. “Did you ever see a cat wearing a hat?” or “a moose cooking goose?” Turn it into a silly book writing activity with drawings for each rhyme!
Super Simple Songs has a great Down by the Bay song that we listen to in the car, too!
This perfect book for bedtime uses simple rhymes and repetition to help kids settle in for sleep. It’s a classic story that still holds up after all these years. The cadence is calming, the vocabulary is rich, and the story encourages attention to detail as kids scan the room along with the narrator.
Rhyme search: Ask your child to find and name the rhyming pairs like moon/spoon and chair/bear. This is a gentle way to reinforce language skills at the end of the day.
This great read is full of clever rhymes and a twisty tale that keeps young children engaged. The mouse’s journey through the woods and the invented Gruffalo creature are fun to follow. The rhyming text supports vocabulary development.
✏️ Creative challenge: Make your own rhyming creature! What rhymes with dragon or fox? Let your child invent a name, describe its features, and draw it.
A classic rhyming book that’s especially great for phonemic awareness. The “Hungry Thing” asks for silly foods like “feetloaf,” and kids must figure out that he really wants “meatloaf.” It’s a playful way to develop sound substitution and prediction.
🎲 Rhyming food game: Come up with your own silly food names—flapjackaroo, smelly jelly—and let your child decode the “real” food. You’ll build rhyming AND problem-solving skills in a very fun way!
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed is pure fun—with just the right dose of chaos! Kids love the silly, rhythmic story and can’t wait to shout along with “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” Parents love it too, because the repetition and rhyme build early reading skills like phonemic awareness and prediction—all while keeping wiggly learners engaged through movement and play.
Active learning: Act out the rhyme! Jump, fall, and call the doctor together. It’s a great book to combine movement and language, especially for wiggly learners.
This alphabet adventure uses fun rhymes and a coconut tree to teach both letter recognition and sound play. Kids love the rhythm and the colorful chaos of the letters falling down. I read this to my kindergarten class at least a dozen times- they would beg for it! There’s a cute video, too. I consider this one of the best rhyming books for kindergarten since it addressed letter recognition, too!
✏️ Simple extension: Use magnetic letters and act out the story on a cookie sheet. Let your child retell it—or invent a new ending—while noticing beginning and ending sounds.
If your child loves construction vehicles, this sweet story is the ultimate calming read. The simple rhymes pair perfectly with the sleepy illustrations, making it a great book to help young children relax.
🧩 Extend with toys: Match toy trucks with rhyming objects—crane/train, mixer/fixer, dozer/poser. It’s a fun book to connect sound play with real-world items.
This wonderful story walks through the nine fruits of the Spirit using thoughtful, biblical rhyming text. It’s a sweet story that pairs beautifully with family devotions, Bible lessons, or character-building talks.
💛 Real-life note: We used this during our Fruit of the Spirit study at the end of My Father’s World First Kindergarten, and it tied everything together.
As often as they’re willing! Reading even one rhyming book per day is a great way to build language skills—especially when paired with conversation and daily activities like cooking, cleaning, or driving.
That’s totally normal! Start with hearing and identifying rhymes before expecting them to create their own. You can learn about the 3 stages of rhyming and get more support in this blog post.
You don’t have to read all 13 of these at once. Just choose one great read from this list of rhyming books for kindergarten homeschool and share it tomorrow. Snuggle up, laugh a little, and talk about the words that rhyme.
The magic happens not in the perfect lesson—but in the everyday moments you share, one page at a time. 💛
📚 Just a quick note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. That means I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you make a purchase through one of my links. I only share books and resources we truly love and use in our own homeschool.
