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What are your favorite picture books?


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Shorter books appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers with short attention spans, and also for those moments when you have only a couple of minutes to fill and want to do that with a book:

 

Snip Snap! What's That?

 

Mocking Birdies

 

Yo! Yes?

 

Snowmen at Night

 

New Socks

 

If Kisses Were Colors

 

Winter is the Warmest Season

 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

 

ANYthing by Sandra Boynton (if your kid is board book aged)

 

The Day the Babies Crawled Away

 

The Rain Stomper

 

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

 

Max Found Two Sticks

 

Red Is Best

 

ANY of the Gossie books by Olivier Dunrea

 

Olivia

 

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

 

I Stink!

 

Things That Are Most In The World

 

The Pigeon Books by Mo Willems

 

Cowboy and Octopus

 

Do Like Kyla (some people don't like the use of colloquial dialect in this book)

 

Longer books suitable for older children and toddlers/preschoolers with longer attention spans, NOT suitable for "just squeeze it in" storytime:

 

Priscilla and the Pink Planet (love the illustrations, but seriously, cut out every other couplet. You won't miss them.)

 

Snowflake Bently

 

ANY of the books by Robert Munsch (warning: people who like Love You Forever often don't like his other books, and vice versa)

 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day

 

The Important Book (not that long, but smaller kids won't grasp it, I think)

 

Blueberries for Sal

 

ANY of Jan Brett's books - don't get the board books, they're too often abridged

 

Mama, Do You Love Me?

 

Love and Roast Chicken

 

Anasazi and the Moss Covered Rock

 

Knuffle Bunny

 

Ben's Trumpet

 

ANY book by Patricia Polacco

 

Wolves by Emily Gravett (short, but very sensitive children might not like it, definitely pre-read if your kid is younger or very sensitive)

 

The Moon Over Star

 

Raising Dragons

 

Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm

 

The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County

 

Precious and the Boo Hag

 

The Apple Pip Princess

 

Firefighters in the Dark

 

ANY of the biographies by Don Brown

 

Clever Beatrice

 

Willa and the Wind

 

Pickle Chiffon Pie

 

Lousy Rotten Stinkin Grapes

 

ANY of the Stella books by Marie Lousie Gay

 

Many Moons

 

ANY of the longer Seuss books

 

ANY of the Jamela books

 

ANY book by Maurice Sendak

 

The Duchess Bakes a Cake

 

Talkin' About Bessie

 

Nothing But Trouble (the one about Althea Gibson)

 

ANY book by Ezra Jack Keats

 

I, Matthew Henson

 

The Cookies books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

 

Dad, Jackie and Me

 

Lucia and the Light

 

Coyote Columbus

 

The Scaredy Squirrel books

 

Little Night

 

Flossie and the Fox

 

The Talking Eggs

 

Sam and the Tigers

 

ANY book by Kevin Henkes

 

Good books for early readers:

 

The Elephant and Piggie books, natch

 

ANY Dr. Seuss early reader, including Ten Apples Up On Top (but not the board book versions, which are cheaply made)

 

ANY of the Berenstein Bears early readers, such as Big Bear, Little Bear or Bears in the Night, but not the paperbacks

 

ANY Frog and Toad book

 

ANY P. D. Eastman early reader

 

ANY Jan Thomas early reader

 

ANY of the Sheep in a Jeep books

 

Wow, I better stop looking at my saved booklist or I'll list them all! Of course, we all have different ideas about what constitutes "high quality!" What do you love in picture books? What drives you batty? I like any style of illustration, but I can't stand badly rhymed text. I'd much rather have a prose book if the author can't construct a decent, non-cheesy rhyme. I like snarkiness just fine, can't stand preachiness.

 

 

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Some of our Favorites.

 

Tuesday - David Wiesner

Mrs. Armitage on Wheels - Quentin Blake

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip - George Saunders

 

If I Were a Lion - Sarah Weeks

Manners Can Be Fun - Munro Leaf

Miss Twiggley's Tree - Dorothea Warren Fox

 

The King Who Rained - Fred Gwynne

 Anno's Journey, - Anno  Mitsumasa  -

Ruth Heller World of Language Books . - gorgeous illustrations.

 

The Napping House - Don & Audrey Wood

Rain -Peter Spier

Pelle's  New Suit - Elsa Beskow

 

The Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook - Shirley Hughes

Andrew Henry's Meadow - Doris Burn

Zin! Zin!  Zin!  A Violin - Lloyd Moss

 

 

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I limited myself to 30...so many wonderful books (top 5 favorites are bolded):

1.  The Baron's Booty by Virginia Kahl

2.  Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl

3.  Island Boy by Barbara Cooney

4.  Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney

5.  Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey

6.  Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

7.  The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Arnold

8.  Seven Loaves of Bread by Ferida Wolff

9.  Noah's Ark by Rien Poortvliet 

10. James Herriot's Treasury for Children

11. Rikki Tikki Tavi by Jerry Pinkney and Rudyard Kipling

12. Deliverers of their Country by E. Nesbit and Lisbeth Swerger 

13. Own and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Hatkoff, Kahumbu, Greste

14. Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges and Trina Schart Hyman

15. One Hen by Kate Milway

16. Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier

17. A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert

18. Our Animals Friend of Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen

19. The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

20. Papa Piccollo by Carol Talley

21. Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco

22. Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky

23. The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills

24. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

25. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

26. Verdi by Janell Cannon

27. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

28. Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh

29.  Capyboppy by Bill Peet

30. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost and Susan Jeffers

 

check out other books by all of these authors too...especially Virginia Kahl, Robert McCloskey, Barbara Cooney, Patricia Polacco, Beatrix Potter

 

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Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman

A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza (and other books by the same author)

Honey . . . Honey . . . Lion! by Jan Brett (and other books by the same author)
Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland

 

the list could go on and on . . . but those were some favorites here that will always remain on my shelf for any little people who happen to stop by.

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A lot already posted.  

 

Kiss Goodnight by Amy Hest and Anita Jeram is by far my kids' favorite!  So sweet and I wish I could frame that artwork for my walls. 

 

Anything done by Jan Brett

 

Bubble Trouble

 

Apples to Oregon

 

All the Places to Love

 

Where the Wild Things Are

 

If You Give a...series by Numeroff

 

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Stories

 

Jane Yolen's books-pretty much any of them!  The Dinosaur books in particular. 

 

Picture books illustrated by Craft like Baby Yaga and Vasalisa the Brave or Pegasus. 

 

Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats

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Haven't read all the replies but:

The Empty pot by Demi

White Rabbit series of books for toddlers (colors, alphabet)

The butter Man by Alalou

One grain of rice by demi

Travelling man (gorgeous drawings, maybe for bit older kids 6+)

 

There is a collection of raggedy ann and andy stories I have but I can't recall which collection. It is large and well illustrated. (ETA found it: this series ).

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My littles have me read Corduroy often!

Any and all of the If You Give A Mouse A Cookie series. . . I've read those sooooo many times!

Blueberries for Sal

Make Way for Ducklings

Millions of Cats

The original Curious George books

Lots by Eric Carle -- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Have You Seen My Cat?

Katy No Pocket

Mouse Paint

Anything by Jan Brett -- The Mitten, The Hat, Etc. The pictures are so gorgeous.

 

I gotta go check out our stash some more.

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King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

Strega Nona

Elephant and Piggie books

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

Jamberry

The Snowy Day

Rooster Can't Cock-A-Doodle-Doo

Spoon

 

 

Some of these books we received through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program. If you have a child under 5 and live in a participating area, sign your child up to receive a free book in the mail every month. 

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Many of our favourite picture books have already been mentioned. Here are a few that I don't think have been:

 

Richard Scarry books

 

 

For older children: 

 

 

Paddle to the Sea, Tree in the Trail, Holling Clancy Holling books

 

Diane Stanley books: Good Queen Bess, Michelangelo

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These are two books my dc loved.  There are those the mama likes and those the kids love to have read over and over. 
 

Clap Your Hands.  This book is audience participation. My ds and dd loved clapping, somersaulting, giving kisses and tickling. Just a wonderful book. 

 

Kitten's First Moon.  A Caldecott Medal. Wonderful Black and White illustrations of Kitten, mistaking the full moon for her bowl of milk.

 

My World. By Margaret Wise Brown. You'll recognize similar illustrations to Goodnight, Moon.  It's like Goodnight Moon for a toddler.

 

One Duck Stuck. My kids loved the words, sounds, and marsh animals that came to help duck get unstuck.  Very rhythmic like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?

 

There's another with iconic paintings woven into the story, but I can't think of it now.  I'll edit when I think of it!

 

Enjoy! 

Lisa

 

 

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Shirley Hughes forever. (And ever.) Every single book.

And every single book ever written and illustrated by Jan Brett.  My kids tended to get happily lost in the illustrations. Our favorite is signed copy of The Trouble With Trolls.

Good Dog Carl books

Goodnight Moon was a favorite. I read it at a steady & dreamy pace, and it put my kids to sleep. :) Goodnight bears... good night chairs. Goodnight...cow...jumping... over... the... moon. ( I think you need to leave lots of silent between words. ;))

Any dang thing by Cynthia Rylant, but especially The Lighthouse books.

Ten Minutes to Bedtime!

Jamberry

Goodnight, Gorilla

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (something about it. :) )

Everywhere, Babies!

Camilla and the Sunflower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We love this one! So many authors we were introduced to with this book!

A Chair for My Mother is one of my favorites in this book.

We take it on every trip, along with a bible story book, to save space.

 

Frog and Toad is also a favorite, but everybody has Arnold Lobel, right?

And every house also has Henry and Mudge, Jan Brett?

 

Some that not everyone has already:

 

James Howes's Houndsley and Katina series

Rosemary Well's McDuff series

The Little Red lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

Forget-me-not Fairies (look past the sparkly cover)

Jane Hissey's Old Bear series (out of print why?)

Blue Moose

Martin Waddel's Owl Babies

 

These are books my husband and I never get sick of reading. Except when our 2 year old wanted The Little Red Lighthouse 5 times a day. I can still read it with my eyes closed.

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The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood.

 

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh.

 

The George and Martha books by James Marshall

 

The Piggy in the Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz

 

Grandfather Twilight  by Barbara Helen Berger

 

Max and Ruby books by Rosemary Wells

 

The Frances books by Russell Hoban.

 

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

 

Also look for books illustrated by Jane Ray. She has some wonderful collections of folk tales, etc. You can see some of her books here.

 

 

For older children: 

 

The High Rise Glorious Skittle Skat Roarious Sky Pie Angel Food Cake by Nancy Willard with illustrations by Richard Jesse Watson

 

Regards,

Kareni

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