Best Books for Teaching Prediction (EYFS & KS1)

Prediction starts early and it starts with joy: the page-turn pause, the repeated line a class can finish, the pattern that lets a child guess what is coming and feel clever when they are right. The best books for it are built on rhythm, repetition and a wink to the reader.

These are the read-alouds that do it naturally. Most are for EYFS and Key Stage 1, where prediction is a daily pleasure, and several reward a whole carpet shouting the next bit back at you.

Nothing here feels like a drill. They are simply books with patterns so satisfying that predicting becomes the best part of the story.

Dear Zoo
by Rod Campbell · Board Books · ages 0–3
The original guess-behind-the-flap book: every page invites a prediction before you lift it.
Hippos Go Berserk!
by Sandra Boynton · Picture Books · ages 2–5
A classic counting-party book where one lonely hippo calls friends until the house erupts into joyful chaos. Best for children who enjoy numbers, parties, escalating silliness and Boynton's bounciest comic timing.
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
by Michael Rosen · Picture Books · ages 2–6
A chant-aloud picture-book classic with mud, grass, snow, a cave and one very memorable bear. Essential for toddlers and preschoolers because the rhythm, repetition and physical sound effects make the whole book feel like a game.
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
by Judith Kerr · Picture Books · ages 2–6
A timeless British picture-book classic about a polite tiger who arrives for tea and eats everything in the house. Cosy, funny, strange and endlessly rereadable for toddlers and preschoolers.
The Gruffalo
by Julia Donaldson · Picture Books · ages 3–6
The repeated structure lets children predict each new creature and the trick at the heart of it: a perfect first prediction text.
Oi Duck-billed Platypus!
by Kes Gray · Picture Books · ages 3–6
A very funny Oi sequel built around the impossible rhyming problem of the duck-billed platypus. It keeps the phonics-friendly silliness while introducing trickier vocabulary and a satisfying exception-to-the-rule joke.
The Dinosaur that Pooped the Bed!
by Tom Fletcher · Picture Books · ages 3–6
A domestic, bedtime-adjacent entry where mess, tidying and dinosaur digestion collide. Probably the easiest main-series book to connect to everyday child behaviour, while still being extremely silly.
The Sun Thief
by Alice Hemming · Picture Books · ages 3–6
The sun has gone. Every evening it disappears and Squirrel wants to know who's responsible. Bird has information about the Earth's rotation. The fourth and final season book completes the set, same formula, summer palette, total commitment to the joke.
The Turtle Who Turned the Tide
by Rachel Bright · Picture Books · ages 3–7
A newly hatched turtle faces the greatest race of her life, across the beach and into the sea. Rachel Bright and Jim Field's ninth Animal Who book is the series' most adventure-driven entry: higher stakes, more physical peril, and a community that shows up for the smallest among them.
The Bowerbird
by Julia Donaldson · Picture Books · ages 3–6
A Julia Donaldson rhyming picture book with Catherine Rayner's elegant bird artwork, built around a funny courtship quest and a warm message about inner worth. It is a strong high-giftability pick for families who like lyrical animal stories with humour and heart.

Best books for teaching prediction

Dear Zoo

Hippos Go Berserk!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

The Gruffalo

Oi Duck-billed Platypus!

The Dinosaur that Pooped the Bed!

The Sun Thief

The Turtle Who Turned the Tide

The Bowerbird

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