S-Collection Home > Find Children’s Books > S-Collection Bibliographies > Predictable Story Books
“Exposure to literature helps children discover the predictability of written language. Predictability can take many different forms. Rhyme can help children fill in words. Repeated phrases and episode patterns, catch phrases, and cumulative patterns all contribute to predictability. Regardless of the device used, predictable stories allow children to guess what is coming next, a strategy that serves them well as developing readers. And continued exposure to books helps children develop a ‘concept of story,’ or basic understanding of story structure.”
From : Martinez, Miriam and Marcia F. Nash. (1991) “Bookalogues : talking about children’s books.” Language Arts, 68(3) : 241-247.
Most titles listed in this guide are located in the School (S-) Collection in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL). Many of the older books may be located in other areas; please consult the Library Catalog or request assistance from the SSHEL Information Desk.
Authors with Multiple Titles
For Children
Barton, Byron
Brooke, Leslie L.
Brown, Margaret Wise
Carle, Eric
de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk
Domanska, Janina
Fox, Mem
Galdone, Paul
Hoban, Tana
Hutchins, Pat
Kraus, Robert
Langstaff, John
Lobel, Arnold
Mayer, Mercer
Noble, Trinka Hakes (the Jimmy’s Boa books)
Numeroff, Laura Joffe
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)
Zolotow, Charlotte
For Young Adults
Blume, Judy
Cleary, Beverly
Danziger, Paula
Klein, Norma
Wilder, Laura Ingalls (the Little House books)
Books for Children
SE.Aa72w
Aardema, Verna (Retold). Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. 1975.
Q.SE.Al142w
Alborough, Jez. Watch Out! Big Bro’s Coming! 1997.
Q.SE.An231c
Anderson, Peggy Perry. Chuck’s Truck. 2006.
SE.Ar22b
Archambault, John. A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat. 1994.
Q. SE. Ar65n2012
Arnold, Tedd. No Jumping on the Bed! 2012.
SE. As32f
Ashburn, Boni. The Fort That Jack Built. 2013.
SE.G147o
Aylesworth, Jim. Old Black Fly. 1992.
Q.SE.B2264p
Banks, Kate. Peter and the Talking Shoes. 1994.
SE.B2311r
Baranski, Joan Sullivan. Round Is a Pancake. 2001.
SE.B268l
Baron, Alan. Little Pig’s Bouncy Ball. 1996.
SE.B268rd
Baron, Alan. Red Fox Dances. 1996.
SE.B3884f
Beck, Ian. Five Little Ducks. 1993.
Q.SE.B3965j
Beil, Karen Magnuson. Jack’s House. 2008.
SE.B4322m
Bender, Robert. A Most Unusual Lunch. 1994.
SE. B454y
Bergman, Mara. Yum Yum! What Fun! 2009.
Q.SE.B756gf
Brett, Jan. Gingerbread Friends. 2008.
SE.B814g 2005
Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon. 2005.
SE.B841ju
Bryant, Megan E. Just Like Daddy. 2003.
SE. B886twe
Bunting, Eve. Tweak Tweak. 2011.
SE.B955m
Burton, Marilee R. My Best Shoes. 1994.
SE.B978m
Butler, Stephen. The Mouse and the Apple. 1994.
SE.C175i
Capucilli, Alyssa. Inside a Barn in the Country. 1995.
Q.SE.C1922t
Carle, Eric. Today Is Monday. 1993.
Q.SE.C1922v 1994
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 1994.
Q.SE.C1922vf
Carle, Eric. The Very Lonely Firefly. 1995.
SE.C197ho 1997
Carlson, Nancy. How to Lose All Your Friends. 1997.
SE.C1972j 1996
Carlstrom, Nancy White. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? 1996.
SE.C1972r
Carlstrom, Nancy White. Rise and Shine. 1993.
Q.SE.C2801h
Catalano, Dominic. Hush! A Fantasy in Verse. 2003.
Q.SE.C461f
Christelow, Eileen. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. 1989.
Q.SE.C5536s
Clarke, Jane. Stuck in the Mud. 2008.
Q.SE.C6743j 1997
Cole, Henry P. Jack’s Garden. 1997.
SE.C839m
Cowley, Joy. Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Christmas. 2005.
SE.C8392mrs
Cowley, Joy. Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm. 2003.
SE.D155t 1994
Dale, Penny. Ten out of Bed. 1994.
SE.D2281j
Daniels, Teri. Just Enough. 2000.
SE.D334k 1993
Day, David. King of the Woods. 1993.
SE.D444li
De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. Going for a Walk. 1993.
Q. SE. D714r2001
Donaldson, Julia. Room on the Broom. 2001.
SE.D91t
Dunbar, Joyce. Ten Little Mice. 1990.
Q.S.577.48096 D926h
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is the African Savanna. 1999.
Q. SE.D926h
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is the Arctic Winter. 1993.
Q.S.577.78909943 D922h
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is the Coral Reef. 1998.
Q.S.574.52652 D923h
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is the Southwestern Desert. 1995.
Q S.577.68 D926h
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is the Wetland. 1996.
SE.Ed961p
Edwards, David. The Pen That Pa Built. 2007.
Q.SE.Ed97j
Edwards, Pamela Duncan. Jack and Jill’s Treehouse. 2008.
Q.S.629.13 Ed977w
Edwards, Pamela Duncan. The Wright Brothers. 2003.
Q.SE.F629ba
Fleming, Denise. Barnyard Banter. 1994.
Q. SE. F8328t
Fox, Mem. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. 2008.
SE.F8322t
Fox, Mem. Time for Bed. 1993.
Q.SE.G283i
Gelman, Rita Golden. I Went to the Zoo. 1993.
SE.G656t
Gordon, Jeffie Ross. Two Badd Babies. 1992.
SE. H2928L
Haughton, Chris. Little Owl Lost. 2010.
SE.H329th
Hayes, Sarah. This Is the Bear and the Bad Little Girl. 1995.
Q.SE.H3852v
Hendry, Diana. The Very Noisy Night. 1999.
SE. H559dr
Hills, Tad. Drop It, Rocket. 2014.
Q.SE.H97l
Hutchins, Pat. Little Pink Pig. 1994.
SE.J2762t
Jaques, Florence Page. There Once Was a Puffin. 1995.
Q.SE.K124j 1995
Kalan, Robert. Jump, Frog, Jump! 1995.
Q.SE.K124s
Kalan, Robert. Stop, Thief! 1993.
Q. SE. K1317h
Kanevsky, Polly. Here Is the Baby. 2014.
SE.K868c 1995
Kraus, Robert. Come Out and Play, Little Mouse. 1995.
SE.L644d
Lindbergh, Reeve. The Day the Goose Got Loose. 1995.
SE.L644i
Lindbergh, Reeve. If I’d Known Then What I Know Now. 1994.
SE.L644t
Lindbergh, Reeve. There’s a Cow in the Road! 1993.
Q.SE.L852n
Long, Kathy. The Runaway Shopping Cart. 2007.
Q.S.398.2 M145f
MacDonald, Margaret Read. Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale. 2001.
Q.SE.M1455p
MacDonald, Margaret Read. Pickin’ Peas. 1998.
SE.M279s
Mahy, Margaret. Simply Delicious! 1999.
Q.S.398.8M318t
Manson, Christopher. The Tree in the Wood: An Old Nursery Song. 1993.
SE. M3632br2010
Martin, Bill Jr. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 2010.
Q.SE.M3632c
Martin, Bill Jr. & John Archambault. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. 1989.
SE.M37su
Marzollo, Jean. Sun Song. 1995
SE.M398b:E
Masurel, Claire. Good Night! 1994.
SE.M4242n
Mathews, Judith. Nathaniel Willy, Scared Silly. 1994.
SE.M4592h
Mazzone, Kelly. A House for Hickory. 1995.
SE.M1212c
McBratney, Sam. The Caterpillow Fight. 1996.
SE.M1762d
McGilvray, Richard. Don’t Climb out of the Window Tonight. 1993.
SE.M618t
Miller, Sara Swan. Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog. 1995.
S.S.811 M672t
Miranda, Anne. To Market, To Market. 1997.
SE.M852t
Mosel, Arlene. Tikki, Tikki Tembo. 1968.
SE.N319b1998
Neitzel, Shirley. The Bag I’m Taking to Grandma’s. 1998.
Q.SE.N588n
Nikola-Lisa, W. No Babies Asleep. 1994.
SE.N917i
Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. 1985.
SE.N917ify
Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Pig a Pancake. 1998.
SE.Ox2it 1994
Oxenbury, Helen. It’s My Birthday. 1994.
SE.P615w
Piers, Helen. Who’s In My Bed? 1999.
Q.SE.P66l
Piper, Watty. The Little Engine That Could. 2005.
Q.SE.P756i
Polacco, Patricia. In Enzo’s Splendid Gardens. 1997.
SE.C432
Rader, Laura (illustrator). Chicken Little. 1998.
SE.R123d
Raffi. Down by the Bay. 1987.
Q.SE.R183Y
Raschka, Christopher. Yo! Yes? 1993.
SE.R5643z
Robinson, Martha. The Zoo at Night. 1995.
SE.R722W 1997
Rosen, Michael. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. 1997.
Q.SE.Sa57b
Sanfield, Steve. Bit by Bit. 1995.
SE. Sa976t
Saxby, Claire. There Was an Old Sailor. 2014.
SE.Sci27t 1999
Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. 1999.
S.398.2 Se321a
Seeger, Pete. Abiyoyo Returns. 2001.
SE.Se5w
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. 1963.
SE.Se81f
Seuss, Dr. The Foot Book. 1996.
SE.G27my
Seuss, Dr. My Many Colored Days. 1996.
Q. SE. Sh194n
Shannon, David. No, David! 1998.
SE. Sh315d
Shea, Susan A. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? 2011.
Q.SE.Sl522t
Sloat, Teri. The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown. 1995.
SE.Sw24h
Swanson, Susan Marie. The House in the Night. 2008.
SE.T111j
Taback, Simms. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. 1999.
Q.SE.T111t
Taback, Simms. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. 1997.
Q.S.398.8T111t
Taback, Simms. This Is the House That Jack Built. 2002.
S.V322b 1995
Van Laan, Nancy. The Big Fat Worm. 1995.
S.398.2098V322s
Van Laan, Nancy. So Say the Little Monkeys. 1998.
Q.SE.W112be
Waber, Bernard. Bearsie Bear and the Surprise Sleepover Party. 1997.
Q.SE.W112d
Waber, Bernard. Do You See a Mouse? 1995.
Q.SE.W117pi 1996
Waddell, Martin. The Pig in the Pond. 1996.
SE.W117s 1993
Waddell, Martin. Sailor Bear. 1993.
Q.SE.W125ca
Wahl, Jan. Cats and Robbers. 1995.
SE.W463ni
Wellington, Monica. Night House, Bright House. 1997.
SE.W462n 1997
Wells, Rosemary. Noisy Nora. 1997.
SE.W521b
West, Colin. “Buzz, Buzz, Buzz,” Went Bumblebee. 1996.
SE.W521i
West, Colin. “I Don’t Care!” Said the Bear. 1996.
Q.SE.W524h 2000
West, Judy. Have You Got My Purr? 2000.
Q.SE.W7262h
Wing, Natasha. Hippity Hop, Frog on Top. 1994.
SE.W737s 1996
Winthrop, Elizabeth. Shoes. 1996.
SE.W834st
Wolkstein, Diane. Step by Step. 1994.
SE. W852n
Wood, Audrey. The Napping House. 1984
Q.SE.W894h1995
Wormell, Mary. Hilda Hen’s Happy Birthday. 1995.
SE.Z62he
Ziefert, Harriet. Henny-Penny. 1997.
Q.SE.Z62o
Ziefert, Harriet. Oh, What a Noisy Farm! 1995.
SE.Z653t
Zimmerman, Andrea Griffing. Trashy Town. 1999.
Books for Young Adults
S.B113e
Babbitt, Natalie. The Eyes of Amaryllis. 1977.
S.C235r
Carris, Joan Davenport. The Revolt of 10-X. 1980.
S.C712s
Colman, Hila. Sometimes I Don’t Love My Mother. 1977.
S.G443t
Girion, Barbara. A Tangle of Roots. 1979.
S.G83b
Greene, Constance. Beat the Turtle Drum. 1976.
S.H397t
Hentoff, Nat. This School Is Driving Me Crazy. 1976.
S.H597te
Hinton, S.E. Tex. 1982.
S.H7192h
Holland, Isabelle. Heads You Win, Tails I Lose. 1973.
S.K464d
Kerr, M.E. Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack. 1972.
S.K672m
Klein, Norma. Mom, the Wolf Man, and Me. 1972.
S.M992y
Myers, Walter Dean. The Young Landlords. 1979.
S.P261ha
Pascal, Francine. The Hand-Me-Down Kid. 1980.
S.Z662s
Zindel, Paul and Bonnie Zindel. A Star for the Latecomer. 1980.
Further Readings
Journal Articles
Atwell, Margaret A. (1985) “Predictable Books for Adolescent Readers.” Journal of Reading, 29(1) : 18-22.
Gilles, Carol. (2000). “‘Mem’s the Word’: Examining the Writing of Mem Fox.” Language Arts, 77(3): 250-257.
Heald-Taylor, Gail. (1987) “Predictable Literature Selections and Activities for Language Arts Instruction.” Reading Teacher, 41(1): 6-12.
Johnston, Francine R. (1998) “The Reader, the Text, and the Task: Learning Words in First Grade.” Reading Teacher, 51(8): 666-675.
King, J. Freeman. (1998) “Knowing Where to Go…Sometimes Helps in Getting There: Using Predictable Books With Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.” Perspectives in Education and Deafness, 16(1): 9-10.
Linse, Caroline. (2007). “Predictable Books in the Children’s EFL Classroom.” ELT Journal, 61(1): 46-54.
Mefferd, Peggy E. and Barbara S.Pettegrew. (1997) “Fostering Literacy Acquisition of Students with Developmental Disabilities: Assisted Reading with Predictable Trade Books.” Reading Research and Instruction, 36(3): 177-190.
Meyer, Richard, Prisca Martens, Alan Flurkey, and Risa Udell. (1998) “Complicating Predictability: Textuality, Intertextuality, and Intercontextuality in Beginning Reading and Writing.” National Reading Conference Yearbook, 47: 354-365.
Reutzel, D. Ray and Parker C. Fawson. (1989) “Using a Literature Webbing Strategy Lesson With Predictable Books.” Reading Teacher, 43(3): 208-215.
Saccardi, Marianne C. (1996) “Predictable Books: Gateways to a Lifetime of Reading (Teaching Reading).” Reading Teacher, 49(7): 588-590.
Saccardi, Marianne C. (1996) “More Predictable Books: Gateways to a Lifetime of Reading.” Reading Teacher, 49(8): 668-670.
Watson, Dorothy. (1997) “Beyond Decodable Texts–Supportive and Workable Literature (Talking About Books).” Language Arts, 74(8): 635-643.
Zipprich, Mary Ann, Marsha Grace, and Stephanie A. Grote-Garcia. (2009). “Building Story Schema: Using Patterned Books as a Means of Instruction for Students with Disabilities.” Intervention in School & Clinic, 44(5): 294-299.
ERIC Documents
(These documents can be found online from ERIC (EBSCO, OCLC, ProQuest) or on microfiche in the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) by ED number.)
Lipson, Marjorie Y. and Karen K. Wixson (1997) Assessment and Instruction of Reading and Writing Disability: An Interactive Approach. Second Edition. ED426075
Sullivan, Barbara S. and William C. Martin (1994) Enhancing Beginning Readers’ Performance with Predictable Materials. ED387783
