PREDICTABLE BOOKS

“Predictable books make use of rhyme, repetition of words, phrases, sentences and refrains, and such patterns as cumulative structure, repeated scenes, familiar cultural sequences, interlocking structure and turn-around plots. These stories invite children to make predictions or guesses about words, phrases, sentences, events and characters that could come next in the story.” – Mary Jett Simpson, in Reading Resource Book (372.41 JE Parents Shelf)


KINDS OF PREDICTABLE BOOKS

1. Chain or Circular Story
Plot is interlinked so that the ending leads back to the beginning.
2. Cumulative Story
Each time a new even occurs, all previous events in the story are repeated.
3. Familiar Sequence
Organized by recognizable theme, such as:
Days of Week, etc. and Numbers
4. Pattern Stories
Scenes are repeated with some variation.
5. Question and Answer
The same or similar questions are repeated throughout the story.
6. Repetition of Phrase
Word order in a phrase or sentence is repeated.
7. Rhyme
Rhyming words, refrains, or patterns are used throughout the story.
8. Songbooks
Familiar songs with predictable elements, such as repetitive phrase.


Chain or Circular Story

Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. (398.2 Wh)
Baker, Keith. Who is the Beast (EJ Ba)
Elkins, Benjamin. Why the Sun Was Late. (398.2 Wh)
Glaser, Omri. Round the Garden. (EJ Gl)
Janovitz, Marilyn. Look out, Bird! (EJ Ja)
Murphy, Mary. How Kind! (EJ Mu)
Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. (EJ Nu)
Numeroff, Laura. If You Give a Moose a Muffin. (EJ Nu)
Polacco, Patricia. Oh, Look! (EJ Po)
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Cumulative

Arnold, K. Knock, Knock, Teremok! (J398.2 Kn)
Bishop, Gavin. Chicken Licken. (J398.2 He)
Brisson, Pat. Benny's Pennies. (EJ Br)
Burningham, John. Mr. Gumpy's Outing. (EJ Bu)
Capucilli, Alyssa Satin. Inside a Barn in the Country. (Ej Ca)
Carle, Eric. Today Is Monday. (J784.6 Ca)
Casanova, Mary. One Dog Canoe. (EJ Ca)
Chandra, Deborah. Miss Mabel's Table. (EJ Ch)
Cole, Henry. Jack's Garden. (EJ 635 Co)
Cole, Joanna. It's Too Noisy. (J398.2 It)
Duff, Maggie. Rum Pum Pum. (J398.2 Ru)
Dunbar, Joyce. Seven Sillies. (EJ Du)
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is the Southwestern Desert. (EJ 574.5 Du)
Dunphy, Madeleine. Here Is The Tropical Rain Forest. (EJ 574.5 Du)
Fox, Mem. Hattie and the Fox. (EJ Fo)
Fox, Mem. Shoes for Grandpa. (EJ Fo)
Galdone, Paul. The Old Woman And Her Pig. (J398.8 Ol)
Hutchins, Pat. Little Pink Pig. (EJ Hu)
Lobel, Arnold. The Rose In My Garden. (EJ Lo)
MacDonald, Elizabeth. Mike's Kite. (EJ Ma)
McLeish, Kenneth. Chicken Licken. (J398.2 He)
Neitzel, S.The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's (Ej Ne)
Ormerod, Jan. The Story of Chicken Licken. (J398.2 He)
Oxenbury, H. It's My Birthday (Ej Ox)
Pizer, Abigail. It's a Perfect Day. (EJ Pi)
Polacco, Patricia. In Enzo's Splendid Gardens. (EJ Po)
Sloat, Teri. The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown. (EJ Sl)
Tolstoy, Alexei. The Great Big Enormous Turnip. (J398.2 Tu)
Waddell, Martin. The Pig In the Pond. (EJ Wa)
West, Colin. "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz," Went Bumblebee. (EJ We)
West, Colin. Have You Seen the Crocodile? (EJ We)
West, Colin. "I Don't Care!" Said the Bear. (EJ We)
Zemach, Harve. The Judge, an Untrue Tale. (EJ Ze)
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Familiar Sequence (days of week, months of year, etc.)

Carle, Eric. Today Is Monday. (J784.6 Ca)
Day, Nancy Raines. A Kitten’s Year. (EJ Da)
Kraus, Robert. Come Out and Play, Little Mouse. (EJ Kr)
Sendak, Maurice. Chicken Soup With Rice. (EJ Se)
Ward, Cindy. Cookie's Week. (EJ Wa)

Familiar Sequence (Numbers)

Gunson, Christopher. Over On The Farm. (EJ Gu)
Lewison, Wendy Cheyette. Raindrop, Plop! (EJ Le)
Williams, Sue. Dinnertime! (EJ Wi)
Williams, Sue. Let’s Go Visiting. (EJ Wi)
Wood, Jakki. Moo, Moo, Brown Cow. (EJ 510 Wo)
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Pattern Story

Banks, Kate. Peter and the Talking Shoes. (EJ Ba)
Banks, Kate. Spider, Spider. (EJ Ba)
Brown, Margaret Wise. The Runaway Bunny. (EJ Br)
De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. Going For a Walk. (EJ De)
Dunbar, Joyce. Four Fierce Kittens. (EJ Du)
Dunbar, Joyce. Seven Sillies. (EJ Du)
Gag, Wanda. Millions of Cats. (EJ Ga)
Galdone, Paul. The Gingerbread Boy. (J398.2 Gi)
Galdone, Paul. Little Red Hen. (J398.2 Li)
Galdone, Paul. The Three Bears. (J398.2 Th)
Galdone, Paul. The Three Billy Goats Gruff. (J398.2 Th)
Hutchins, Pat. Little Pink Pig. (EJ Hu)
Kalan, Robert. Stop, Thief! (EJ Ka)
Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed. (EJ Kr)
Maris, Ron. Are You There Bear? (EJ Ma)
Maris, Ron. I Wish I Could Fly. (EJ Ma)
McNaughton, C. Suddenly! (EJ Ma)
Nodset, Joan L. Who Took The Farmers Hat? (EJ No)
Patron, Susan. Dark Cloud Strong Breeze. (EJ Pa)
Wormell, Christopher. Blue Rabbit and His Friends. (EJ Wo)
Wormell, Christopher. Blue Rabbit and the Runaway Wheel. (EJ Wo)
Zemach, Margot. The Little Red Hen. (J398.2 Li)
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Question And Answer

Brown, Margaret Wise. Where Have You Been? (EJ Br)
Coxe, Molly. Whose Footprints? (EJ Co)
Greeley, Valerie. Where's My Share? (EJ Gr)
Guy, Ginger Foglesong. Black Crow, Black Crow. (EJ Gu)
Janovitz, Marilyn. Is it Time? (Ej JA)
Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? (EJ 573.87 Je)
Kraus, Robert. Whose Mouse Are You? (EJ Kr)
Martin, Bill. Brown Bear, Brown Bear. (EJ Ma)
Murphy, Mary. I Kissed the Baby! (EJ Mu)
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Repetition of Phrase (and repetitive phrase)

Alborough, Jez. Watch Out! Big Bro's Coming! (EJ Al)
Archambault, John & Bill Martin Jr. A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat. (EJ Ar)
Baker, Keith. Who is the Beast? (EJ Ba)
Brown, Margaret Wise. The Important Book. (EJ Br)
Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon. (EJ Br)
Brown, Margaret Wise. Two Little Trains (EJ Br)
Brown, Ruth. A Dark, Dark Tale. (EJ Br)
Butler, Dorothy. A Happy Tale. (EJ Bu)
Carle, Eric. Do You Want To Be My Friend? (EJ Ca)
Carle, Eric. Have you Seen My Cat? (EJ Ca)
Coxe, Molly. Whose Footprints? (EJ Co)
Dale, Penny. Ten Out Of Bed. (EJ Da)
Day, David. King Of The Woods. (EJ Da)
De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. Going For A Walk. (EJ De)
De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. How Joe The Bear And Sam The Mouse Got Together. (EJ De)
Dunbar, Joyce. Four Fierce Kittens. (EJ Du)
Fox, Mem. Boo to a Goose. (EJ Me)
Fox, Mem. Zoo Looking. (EJ Me)
Gordon, Jeffrie Ross. Two Badd Babies. (EJ Go)
Greeley, Valerie. Where's My Share? (EJ Gr)
Grindley, Sally. Knock, Knock! Who's There? (EJ Gr)
Grindley, Sally. Mucky Duck. (EJ Gr)
Guarino, Deborah. Is Your Mama A Llama? (EJ Gu)
Guy, Ginger Foglesong. Black Crow, Black Crow. (EJ Gu)
Hamsa, Bobbie. Dirty Larry. (J-ER Ha)
Hennesy, B.G. Jake Baked The Cake. (EJ He)
Hoberman, Mary Ann. A House Is A House For Me. (EJ Ho)
Hutchins, Pat. Little Pink Pig. (EJ Hu)
Kalan, Robert. Stop, Thief! (EJ Ka)
Kelly, Mij and Allison Jay. William and the Night Train (EJ Ke)
King, Bob. Sitting On The Farm. (J784.624 Ki)
Kraus, Robert. Come Out And Play, Little Mouse. (EJ Kr)
Kraus, Robert. Where Are You Going, Little Mouse? (EJ Kr)
Krauss, Ruth. Big And Little. (EJ Kr)
Lindbergh, Reeve. There's A COW In The Road! (EJ Li)
Lockwood, Primrose and Clara Vulliamy. Cat Boy! (EJ Lo)
London, Jonathan. Wiggle Waggle. (EJ Lo)
MacDonald, Elizabeth. Mike's Kite. (EJ Ma)
Martin, Bill. Brown Bear, Brown Bear. (EJ Ma)
McGilvray, Richard. Don't Climb Out Of The Window Tonight. (EJ Mc)
Masurel, Claire & Marie H. Henry. Good Night! (Ej Ma)
Masurel, Claire. No, No, Titus! (EJ Ma)
Most, Bernard. If The Dinosaurs Came Back. (EJ Mo)
Murphy, Mary. How Kind! (EJ Mu)
Peters, Lisa Westburg. We’re Rabbits. (EJ Pe)
Pizer, Abigail. It's A Perfect Day. (EJ Pi)
Prater, John. Again! (EJ Pr)
Pryor, Ainslie. The Baby Blue Cat Who Said No. (EJ Pr)
Rathmann, Peggy. Good Night, Gorilla. (EJ Ra)
Richards, Laura E. Jiggle Joggle Jee! (EJ Ri)
Sawicki, Norma Jean. The Little Red House. (EJ Sa)
Sendak, Maurice. Chicken Soup With Rice. (EJ Se)
Seuling, Barabara. Whose House? (EJ Su)
Serfozo, Mary. Who Said Red? (EJ Se)
Shannon, George. Dance Away. (EJ Sh)
Shannon, George. The Piney Woods Peddler. (EJ Sh)
Sloat, Teri. The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown (EJ Sl)
Tafuri, Nancy. Have You Seen My Duckling? (EJ Ta)
Van Laan, Nancy. A Mouse In My House. (EJ Va)
Van Laan, Nancy. Possum Come A-Knockin. (EJ Va)
Waddell, Martin. Owl Babies. (EJ Wa)
Waddell, Martin. Sailor Bear. (EJ Wa)
Waddell, Martin. Webster J. Duck. (EJ Wa)
Watanbe, Shigeo. How Do I Put It On? (EJ Wa)
Wells, Rosemary. Only You. (EJ We)
West, Colin. "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz," Went Bumblebee. (EJ We)
West, Colin. Have You Seen the Crocodile? (EJ We)
West, Colin. I Bought My Love A Tabby Cat. (EJ We)
West, Colin. "I Don't Care!" Said the Bear. (EJ We)
Williams, Sue. I Went Walking. (EJ Wi)
Williams, Sue. Let’s Go Visiting. (EJ Wi)
Wilson, Karma. Bear Snores On. (Ej Wi)
Wolff, Ashley. Me Baby You Baby. (EJ Wo)
Wolkstein, Diane. Step by Step. (EJ Wo)
Wood, Audrey. Silly Sally. (EJ Wo)
Wood, Jakki. Moo, Moo, Brown Cow. (EJ 510 Wo)
Wormell, Christopher. Puff-Puff, Chugga-Chugga. (EJ Wo)
Wylie, Joanne and David. A Big Fish Story. (J-ER Wy)
Wylie, Joanne and David. A More Or Less Fish Story. (J-ER Wy)
Zamorano, Ana. Let's Eat! (Ej Za)
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Rhyme

Ackerman, Karen. This Old House. (EJ Ac)
Adlerman, Daniel. Africa Calling : Nighttime Falling (Ej Ad)
Archambault, John And Bill Martin Jr. A Beautiful Feast For A Big King Cat. (EJ Ar) ,
Brooke, Leslie. Johnny Crow's Garden. (EJ Br)
Capucilli, Alyssa Satin. Inside a Barn in the Country. (Ej Ca)
Carlstrom, Nancy White. Rise and Shine. (EJ Ca)
Chandra, Deborah. Miss Mabel's Table. (EJ Ch)
Dunbar, Joyce. Four Fierce Kittens. (EJ Du)
Fleming, Denise. Barnyard Banter. (EJ 636 Fl)
Florian, Douglas. A Beach Day. (EJ Fl)
Florian, Douglas. A Summer Day. (EJ Fl)
Florian, Douglas. A Winter Day. (EJ Fl)
Gag, Wanda. The ABC Bunny. (EJ 411 Ga)
Guarino, Deborah. Is Your Mama A Llama? (EJ Gu)
Hennessy, B.G. Jake Baked The Cake. (EJ He)
Hoberman, Mary Ann. A House Is A House For Me. (EJ Ho)
Jaques, F. There Once Was a Puffin (EJ Ja)
Janovitz, Marilyn. Is it Time? (Ej Ja)
Leuck, L. Sun is Falling, Night is Calling (EJ Le)
Levine, Abby. You Push, I Ride. (EJ Le)
Lindbergh, Reeve. There's A COW In The Road. (EJ Li)
London, Jonathan. “Eat!” Cried Little Pig. (EJ Lo)
Mandel, Peter. Red Cat, White Cat. (EJ 428.1 Ma)
Marzollo, J. Sun Song (EJ Ma)
Patron, Susan. Dark Cloud Strong Breeze. (EJ Pa)
Peters, Lisa Westburg. We’re Rabbits. (EJ PE)
Pomerantz, Charlotte. Flap Your Wings and Try. (EJ Po)
Punnett, Dick. Our Brat Cat. (EJ Pu)
Robinson, M. The Zoo at Night (EJ Ro) ,
Samton, Sheila White. Beside The Bay. (EJ Sa)
Shaw, Nancy. Sheep in a Shop.(EJ Sh)
Shaw, Nancy. Sheep on a Ship. (EJ Sh)
Siebert, Diane. Train Song. (EJ Si)
Sloat, Teri. The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown (EJ Sl)
Stickland, Paul. One Bear, One Dog. (EJ St)
Wahl, J. Cats and Robbers (EJ Wa)
Weiss, Nicki. Sun Sand Sea Sail. (EJ We)
Wellington, M. Night House Bright House (Ej We)
West, Colin. I Bought My Love A Tabby Cat. (EJ We)
Williams, Sue. Dinnertime! (EJ Wi)
Winthrop, Elizabeth. Shoes. (EJ Wi)
Wood, Audrey. Silly Sally. (EJ Wo)
Zemach, Harve. The Judge. EJ Ze)
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Songbook

Ajhar, Brian. Home On The Range. (J 782.42164 Aj)
Church, Caroline Jayne. Do Your Ears Hang Low? (EJ Ch)
Keats, Ezra Jack. Over In The Meadow. (EJ Ke)
King, Bob. Sitting On The Farm. (J782.42164 Tu)
Langstaff, John M. Over In The Meadow. (J782.42162 La)
Langstaff, John M. Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me? (J782.42162 La)
Schwartz, Amy Old MacDonald J 782.42162 Ol
Zuromskis, Diane. The Farmer In The Dell. (J784.4 Fa)
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Compiled by K. Sutorius for MCPL.