My All-Time Favorite Picture Books

It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jeremy Tankard
Somehow we don’t own a copy of this, which is ridiculous, since we’ve checked it out at least a dozen times and my girls love it SO much. On each page, a little child attempts to escape from a tiger, and the story gets more and more hilarious as the tiger keeps reappearing. The ending is particularly darling. I’m secretly obsessed with those giant (and surprisingly affordable) stuffed animals, so obviously I think this book needs a giant tiger to go along with it, but a small one would be fun too.

Tuesday by David Wiesner
This wordless Caldecott winner about flying frogs on an ordinary Tuesday evening is magically realistic.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
This classic by the same author/illustrator as Make Way for Ducklings is one of my favorites about a little girl and her mom who visit a nearby hill to pick blueberries and discover that a mother bear and her cub are there to store up berries for winter too.

Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
Owl lives in a cozy house where he can’t figure out how to be upstairs and downstairs at the same time, makes friends with the moon, and brews himself some tear water tea. Charming and a little quirky, this book is classic Arnold Lobel.

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
I’ve loved this Caldecott winner my entire life and the story of two ducks who find a place in Boston to raise their little brood of ducklings just makes the whole world feel like springtime to me, even with it’s single-color illustrations. Shockingly, my two youngest girls didn’t remember this book at all!

Journey by Aaron Becker
There is just something that I love about a good wordless picture book – and this is a GREAT wordless picture book. I cannot tell you the way that I gasped when turning the pages of this book, the illustrations are stunning! (Full Review Here)

Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin
These stories about identical twin girls are so funny and sweet. They get along and they love being twins, but they are NOT exactly the same from making birthday cakes to how they spend their free time, they are both true individuals.

Miss Nelson is Missing by Gary G. Allard Jr., illustrated by James Marshall
I’ve professed my love for this book before (including a full-on double costume) and I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow it. It may not be your typical “Halloween” book, but it is so fun as a reader when you’re in on the secret that the book characters aren’t.

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
Bird wakes up too grumpy to do anything, so he marches off in a huff. But all his friends want to join him for his grouchy stroll. Can he stay grumpy with all his friends in tow?

More Bears! by Kenn Nesbitt, illustrated by Troy Cummings
Ralphie, from Simply on Purpose, introduced me to this book years ago and it’s still one of my favorites. The narrator of the book does not plan for a book about bears. But as off-screen voices demand more and more bears,  the narrator folds and keeps adding bear after bear to the story.

Hippo, No Rhino! by Jeff Newman
When the zookeeper mixes up the signs at the zoo (intentionally?), the rhino is beside himself with fury as one visitor after another comments on what a nice hippo he is.

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
This wordless take on the classic fable is stunning – totally worthy of the Caldecott it won a few years ago.

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
Do you see a duck or a rabbit? Are those ears or a bill? You’ll have to read it and decide for yourself!

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin
This Caldecott medal winner and Newberry Honor book shares a moving story of a child of immigrants discovering and connecting with her Chinese heritage. They stop to gather watercress by the side of the road and use it as an opportunity to create new memories rooted in ones from their ancestors. This book is STUNNING.

The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen
When a circus ship goes down and the animals find new friends on a little island, they are determined not to be recaptured by the unkind ring master.

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham
Mr. Gumpy is happy to take various animals along on his boat ride, provided they behave themselves. To no one’s surprise, they don’t.

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
I have read this book hundreds of times. All four of my girls have gone through a stage where it was their number one favorite book . . . and I can’t blame them!

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
I mean, if you’re going to talk about funny kid books, this is for sure going to be #1 on my list. We’ve read this book dozens of times and my children still laugh themselves silly when I say things like “BLORK” as I read it aloud.

Rules of the House by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Matt Myers
For a while, this was the favorite picture book in our house and definitely doesn’t just fit into our Halloween books because and I’m pretty sure I read it one thousand times over a month long period. A dad takes his two children to a cabin for the weekend where the rules of the house are posted very clearly. The son is a rule-follower to the max, but the daughter disregards them, laughing at her brother for being such a goody two-shoes. Until the house, unhappy at having the rules broken, comes to exact punishment from the ruler-breaker.

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
I see this as the classic vehicle book. The sweet story and vintage illustrations about Mike’s mission to prove his beloved steam shovel isn’t antiquated has been a favorite for generations (and for good reason!).

Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
When a rabbit starts eating all the carrots in the garden, the carrots come up with a sneaky plan to cure him of his snacking.

King Baby by Kate Beaton
Oh, it’s good to be king. Everyone lavishes you with attention and your parents do whatever you ask. Of course, just when you’re starting to feel comfortable, it’s possible that another royal baby might appear on the scene. The illustrations in this one alone are hilarious!

Piggies by Audrey Wood and Don Wood
Dancing on fat baby hands, these ten little piggies are bursting with personality as they play in the sun, snow, sand, and tub, then finally head to bed.

The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
When an old woman helps a witch who crash-lands in her yard, the witch leaves behind her broom stick which becomes an amazing helper to the woman, even though her neighbors are all convinced it is evil.

Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis
Who knew a stick could be so many different things, from a sword to a baton to a fire hose (check out Not a Box too!).

Press Here by Hervé Tullet
Tullet leapt on to the children’s book scene with this brilliant interactive book where you tap and press and play with colors and just generally make book reading the kind of experience you didn’t know was possible.

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall (also Jabari Tries)
Jabari goes to the pool with his dad and little sister. Jabari is READY for the high dive. Almost. But . . . . maybe he could use a little encouragement from his patient dad before he leaps into the water.

Doctor De Soto by William Steig
When a fox visits a mouse dentist and his wife for help with a toothache, he thinks he might have to eat them after his tooth has healed. But the dentist and his wife have other plans.

Where’s Walrus? by Stephen Savage
A wordless book about a walrus who escapes from the zoo, my girls have both loved finding the walrus hiding from the zookeeper on each page.

Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman and Zachariah OHora
When the Bunny family adopts a wolf left on their doorstep, the youngest bunny is sure the whole family is going to get eaten.

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Joy Ang
This one is endlessly entertaining (and comes in both hardbackand board book formats) about a baby that’s born with a mustache which, unfortunately, sometimes turns into a bad-guy mustache. The sequel, Mustache Baby Meets His Match, is also hilarious. And you’ll obviously need a pack of stick-on mustaches because the only thing better than reading aloud this book is reading it with a ridiculous looking mustache on.

Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
Zuri’s hair curls in every which way and she loves it! But when her dad steps in to do it, he has some things to learn. This is such a fun story of a daddy/ daughter relationship.

Tales of Amanda Pig by Jean Van Leeuwen and Ann Schweninger
I love the Oliver and Amanda Pig books so so much. Seriously, read them all. One of my favorite fictional families.

Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems
Nanette makes her first solo trip to retrieve the daily baguette but accidentally eats the whole thing on the way home.

Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
Omu can’t wait for her delicious dinner. But when the smell brings in neighbors from all over that want to share her dinner, Omu ends up with none for herself.