Leaving the toddler years behind and becoming a fully-fledged pre-schooler, you may be wondering what development milestones to be watching for, particularly with reading skills.

Starting with the simple things, your child will be holding a book correctly and turning the pages in front of your eyes. At 3-5 years old your child will begin to understand the idea of what a word is in print — and that words and sentences are read from left to right. They will have their favourite books and may even recite them along with you.

Read on for suggestions of the best books for 3-5 year olds.

	The Owl & The Pussycat – Ian Beck Edward Lear's popular poem is accompanied by Ian Beck's gloriously atmospheric illustrations, full of humour and tenderness this is a thoroughly enchanting book
	Winnie-the-Pooh – A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh may be a bear of very little brain, but thanks to his friends Piglet, Eeyore and, of course, Christopher Robin, he’s never far from an adventure. Heart-warming and funny, Milne’s masterpiece reflects the power of a child’s imagination like no other story before or since.
	Charlie & Lola: I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato – Lauren Child Lola will not eat peas. In fact, she won't eat carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, eggs, sausages, cauliflower, cabbage or baked beans. And she will absolutely not eat a tomato. But when Charlie explains that peas are actually green drops from Greenland, and that carrots are orange twiglets from Jupiter, even Lola is tempted to clear her plate. An innovative and fun-filled look at the problem of fussy eating, I Will Not Never Ever Eat a Tomato is guaranteed to make dinner time fun.
	A Squash and A Squeeze – Julia Donaldson ''a bit of a classic... A goat on the bed and a cow on the table tapping out a jig? My readers collapsed in heaps, and then had to have it read again. And again.'' Vivian French, the Guardian.
	Owl Babies – Martin Waddell Three baby owls, Sarah, Percy and Bill, wake up one night in their hole in a tree to find that their mother has gone. So they sit on a branch and wait. Darkness gathers and the owls grow anxious, wondering when their mother will return. But, at last, she does, and they bounce up and down with joy, welcoming her home.
	How to Train your Dragon: Incomplete Book of Dragons – Cressido Cowell Long ago, the world was full of dragons. But what happened to them? Where are they now? These pages are taken from the notebooks of Viking Hero Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third when he was just a boy. A keen dragonwatcher, Hiccup paints a picture of the brilliance and fire and spirit of that lost dragon world.
	The Big Big Sea – Martin Waddell A child and her mother walk in the moonlight beside the sea. This night will become a memory as luminous and enduring as the moon itself. With unforgettable, silver-washed images and gentle, flowing words, The Big Big Sea portrays a bond between parent and child that makes even the dark sea safe and serene.
	The Mousehole Cat – Antonia Barber The Mousehole Cat was the winner of the British Book Award for the Illustrated Children's Book of the Year and the British Design Production Award (Children's Books). It was also shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Children's Book Award.
	The Orchard Book of Aesop’s Fables – Michael Morpurgo A timeless collection of over twenty of Aesop's best-loved fables, including favourites such as The Hare and the Tortoise, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, Dog in the Manger and The Lion and the Mouse. The tales are retold with warmth and humour by former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo and brought to life by Emma Chichester Clark's exquisitely playful and distinctive artwork.
	The Magic Finger – Roald Dahl Exciting, bold and instantly recognisable with Quentin Blake's inimitable artwork. The story of a little girl with magical powers. When someone makes her angry she zaps a punishment on them with her magic flashing finger!