Let’s dive into books to teach the letter H to preschoolers! This post has a list of some of my favorite “H books” to read with preschoolers. From houses to hens, there are plenty of fun stories that will appeal to your child – and create opportunities to talk about the letter H and it’s sound!
(If you missed the other posts in the alphabet series, you can check out my post on books to teach an overview of the alphabet HERE or my posts on the books to teach the rest of the letters HERE.)
The Letter H Book List
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Letter H Books
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Harry the Dirty Dog tells the story of Harry, the dog who hates getting a bath. One day, Harry runs away from home to avoid his bath. He gets so dirty that by the time he decides to head back home, the family that owns him doesn’t even recognize Harry. Finally Harry has to do something he has NEVER done before, beg for a bath! Harry gets into even more adventures in the other books in the Harry the Dog series.
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
The Little Red Hen is classic story of a Little Red Hen who sets out to bake a loaf of bread. She asks the other animals to help her with each step of the process, but no one agrees. So the Little Red Hen does all the work herself. When the bread is finally finished, all the animals want to eat it! The Little Red Hen tells them that since they didn’t help make the bread, they won’t get to eat the bread. The Little Red Hen helps preschoolers see the value of working together and helping so they can share in the rewards of the work.
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
In this adorable story by Crocket Johnson, Harold takes his purple crayon and goes on an adventure. Everything he draws with the crayon becomes the backdrop for his imaginative adventure. There is a whole series of Harold books you can find HERE.
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
This charming story by Virginia Lee Burton tells of a little house who is built in the country. The little house enjoys watching the family that lives inside her as they grow and the countryside as it changes seasons. As the years pass, the countryside around her is built up into a big city. The Little House is abandoned and she spends her days watching the people rush by and her nights enduring the lights and noise of the city. Finally, she is rescued by the descendant of her builder and moved back out into the countryside. The Little House is so happy to once again be where she can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. The Little House paints a idillic picture of life in at a slower pace.
Old Hat, New Hat by Stan Berenstain
Old Hat, New Hat tells the story of a bear who passes by a hat shop and decides to get himself a new hat. He proceeds to try on every hat in the store, but each one has something that he doesn’t like. Finally, after the shop owner pulls out all the hats to show him, the bear realizes that the hat he likes best of all is his old hat! Simple text and a silly story make Old Hat, New Hat a fun read. (You might recognize the illustration of the bear in the story from Stan Berenstain’s similar work in the Berenstain Bears series.)
Letter H Activities
Make a Hen
Use a paper plate and red paint to make a Little Red Hen. Kids Soup has a whole blog post on how to do this, as well as a bunch of other Little Red Hen activities. Or, you can make a red hen using just red, yellow, and green construction paper as seen in this blog post from Fantastic Fun and Learning.
Make a House
Make a Little House and talk about the book and the letter H. Easy Peasy and Fun has a template you can cut out and glue a family photo inside. Or just cut out a few rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles and make a shape house using these instructions from Little Family Fun.
Decorate an H
Print the outline of the letter H on card stock. Decorate it with a purple crayon and talk about Harold and the adventures he went on with his purple crayon!
Let’s Get Reading!
Hats, houses, hens, and the adventures of Harry and Harold make teaching the letter H to preschoolers fun! Happy Reading!