50 Picture Books Children Love

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Picture books invite readers into the story, into the lives of the characters. While reading, listeners develop empathy and understanding of others' feelings and circumstances, almost without knowing the transformation is taking place. For this reason, picture books become a child's first experience with the power of story. Together as a family, we've jumped into the plots of Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, and Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina.

  • Ackerman, Karen, Song and Dance Man

  • Brett, Jan, Town Mouse and Country Mouse

  • Brown, Marcia, Stone Soup

  • Burton, Virginia Lee, Katy and the Big Snow

  • Burton, Virginia Lee, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

  • Burton, Virginia Lee, The Little House

  • Carle, Eric, A House for Hermit Crab

  • Carle, Eric, The Grouchy Ladybug

  • Cooney, Barbara, Miss Rumphius

  • Eastman, P. D. , Are You My Mother?

  • Ehlert, Lois, Pie in the Sky

  • Estes, Eleanor, The Hundred Dresses

  • Freeman, Don, Corduroy

  • Fleming, Denise, Barnyard Banter

  • Galdone, Paul, The Gingerbread Boy

  • Gramatky, Hardie, Little Toot

  • Hall, Donald, Ox-Cart Man

  • Hoban, Russell and Lillian, Bread and Jam for Frances

  • Hoff, Syd, Sammy the Seal

  • Johnson, Crockett, Harold and the Purple Crayon

  • Keats, Ezra Jack, Peter’s Chair

  • Keats, Ezra Jack, The Snowy Day

  • Keats, Ezra Jack, Whistle for Willie

  • Krauss, Ruth, The Carrot Seed

  • LaMarche, Jim, The Raft

  • Laroche, Giles, If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

  • Lindbergh, Reeve, Johnny Appleseed

  • McCloskey, Robert, Blueberries for Sal

  • McCloskey, Robert, Lentil

  • McCloskey, Robert, One Morning in Maine

  • Newberry, Clare Turlay, Barkis

  • Perkins, Al, The Digging-est Dog

  • Piper, Watty, The Little Engine that Could

  • Stevens, Janet. Tops and Bottoms

  • Swift, Hildegarde, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

  • Ward, Helen, Unwitting Wisdom: An Anthology of Aesop’s Fables

  • Ward, Lynd, The Biggest Bear

  • Wood, Audrey, The Napping House

  • Yolan, Jane, Owl Moon

Younger listens learn concepts as we read.

Children ages 2-8 enjoy learning concepts through topics of interest, for example, cowboys, insects, or construction vehicles. Concept picture books make this possible and do so through relaxing moments with resources which foster both early learning and literacy.

  • Alakija, Polly, Counting Chickens

  • Carle, Eric, 10 Rubber Ducks

  • Carle, Eric, Rooster’s Off to See the World

  • Demarest, Chris, The Cowboy ABC

  • Demarest, Chris, Firefighter A to Z

  • Emberley, Barbara, Drummer Hoff

  • Krull, Kathleen, M is for Music

  • Laroche, Giles, If You Lived Here: Houses of the World

  • McCurdy, Michael (illustrator), The Sailor’s Alphabet

  • McGrath, Barbara, M&M Brand Chocolate Candies Counting Book

  • McMillan, Bruce, Jelly Beans for Sale

  • Pallotta, Jerry, The Icky Bug Alphabet Book

  • Schnur, Steven, Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic

  • Wadsworth, Olive A., Over in the Meadow: A Counting Rhyme

Older children learn about people who changed the world.

Biographical picture books. Our older picture book readers (which includes mom!) enjoy reading about real people who solve real problems. With biographical picture books, young readers don't have to wait until they can read chapter books to read about and meet some of the world's most significant history changers. Our favorites have included

  • Dooling, Michael, Young Thomas Edison

  • Moses, Will, Mary and Her Little Lamb

  • Martin, Jacqueline Briggs, Snowflake Bentley

  • Provensen, Alice and Martin, The Glorious Flight

A picture book invites readers into learning and into the stories of others, gently, peacefully, and purposefully. There will be pondering. There will be wonder. There will heart-changing impact, sometimes so subtly it will go unnoticed for a bit of time. 

Some of our most treasured family read-aloud moments and discussions have come from the pages we've turned together. 

With each book selected, read, placed on our shelves, and the read again, a legacy formed. That legacy is sweet, precious, unique to our family, as it will be yours. That story legacy is a gift, a gift which will continue to span generations. It is just one benefit of keeping learning real and relational.