25 AMAZING Picture Books

We read a lot of picture books in our house. Our oldest is just starting to read by herself and our baby LOVES to be read to. The combination equals more time spent reading that just about any other past time. It is fine by me. I love reading and I love watching my kids read. I have put together this list of 25 picture books that we have really enjoyed! There are so many good ones not on this list, hopefully I will make a part 2 soon!

1. The Empty Pot– When the emperor decides to pick his successor from a group of children based on how well they can care for a flower over the course of a year, Ping knows he is going to win. As the year goes by and nothing grows, he keeps trying to coax his little seed to make something of itself. At the end of the year he stands in front of the emperor with an empty pot, the emperors reaction is what makes this one of my favorite stories. This is a great story for teaching honesty.

2. The Paper Bag Princess– When her prince is captured and her clothes burned, Elizabeth sets out to save the prince from a dragon. Clever Elizabeth dons the only thing she can find, a paper bag and through wit is able to save the prince, but his response isn’t exactly what she hoped for.

3. Where the Sidewalk Ends– Is there anything better to read aloud to kids than silly poems by Shel Silverstein? I doubt it! We love Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Light in the Attic. Our favorite poem is about the baby sitter sitting on the baby.

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar– A caterpillar eats through all the junk food that he can find and then feels very sick. He eats a nice green leaf and then feels much better. At the end of the book he turns into a beautiful butterfly! We use the book to talk about the importance of eating healthy with out kids. Also, the reviews of this book on GoodReads are hilarious!

5. The Velveteen Rabbit– My absolute favorite book as a child. The story of a stuffed rabbit who becomes real after he is truly loved by a little boy. “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

6. A Bad Case of the Stripes– A Camilla Cream LOVES Lima Beans, but she is so worried about what other people think of her that she never eats them. She is so worried of what people think of her, that she breaks out in a bad case of the stripes! Can she learn to love who she is and make the stripes go away? My husband actually has this one memorized, it is a cute story on being yourself!

7. Pinkalicious– Pinkalicious LOVES pink, but she doesn’t want to actually turn pink. Which is exactly what happens when she eats too many pink cupcakes. How is she going to turn back to normal? Pinkalicious is the story of a naughty little girl who gets herself into trouble by not listening. It takes listening to get her back to normal.

8. If I Were a Lion– I am pretty sure this book was written about my daughter. It is the story of a little girl that is in time out and she wants her mom to know that of she was a lion she would be much more naughty. I have read it aloud so many times I have it memorized.

9. If You Give A Mouse a Cookie– A cute book about cause and effect. We also love If you Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Mouse a Muffin and If You Take a Mouse to School.

10. The Runaway Bunny– A sweet story about a little rabbit who wants to run away from home. On each page he tells his mother how he is going to run away and on the next page she tells him how she is going to find him. I loved this book as a child, but now that I am mom I love it even more because this is exactly how I feel about my kids.

11. I Love You Stinky Face– A story much like The Runaway Bunny, it is about a child asking their mom if they would still love them even if they were a dinosaur or a skunk. I have actually had conversations like this with my children and it makes me love this book even more.

12. Snowmen at Night– Have your kids ever wondered why their snowman is a little droopy the next morning? It is because they are playing snowmen games at night! Read this book to discover everything your snowman is doing while you sleep. The pictures are fantastic.

13. Goodnight Gorilla– What happens when a sneaky gorilla follows the zoo keeper home from the zoo at night? Find out in Goodnight Gorilla.

14. Diary of a Worm– I can’t like this book makes me laugh out loud. It goes through what a worms life is like including school, play and dinner time. Anyone who has siblings will appreciate worm’s relationship with his sister.

15. Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type– Farmer Brown’s cows can not only read, they can type to. They start leaving him notes demanding new things for the barn, which causes trouble in more ways than one.

16. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?– A rhythmic question and answer type book that is accompanied by gorgeous illustrations. One of my very favorite it read aloud!

17. The Monster at the End of this Book– Grover is trying to save you from the monster at the end of the book. Will keep reading anyway and find the monster?

18. Elephant and Piggie books– I love all of these so much that I can’t pick such one to include! I love the way best friends Gerald and Piggie interact together.

19. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus– At the beginning of this book, the bus driver asks you to please not let the pigeon drive the bus. The pigeon then spends the rest of the book trying to convince you he can drive the bus. This hilarious book is one of my daughter’s favorites.

20. Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes– Pete loves his white shoes but when he steps in something that changes their color, does he cry? Goodness no! He just keeps walking along singing his song. “The moral of Pete’s story is: No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song… because it’s all good.” When my daughter gets upset over little things, we love to read this one as a reminder that it is all good.

21. Wacky Wednesday– This crazy book, full of errors is hands down our favorite Dr. Seuss book. There is a green sun in sky and bananas on the apple tree and it only gets wackier!

22. He Came With The Couch– Sophie’s family has found the perfect couch, but it comes with a little something extra that they can’t get rid of. This darling kids book it is delightful and absurd. The perfect combination for a kids book.

 

23. My Very Own Fairytale– This personalized book from I See Me! books has fairies bring letters one at a time that spell out your child’s name. My kids LOVE this book. They think it is such a blast to have a book that is about them. I love that it teaches spelling their names while sharing beautiful pictures.

We have absolutely loved our I See Me! Books. The TODAY Show calls them the “gifts with a personal touch”! They have gorgeous pictures, cute stories and the best part is that it is created one-at-a-time, especially for your child. My girls each beg to read their own book over and over again because they love that they are in the story! I See Me! has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Parents Magazine for their darling books.

There are fairy books, pirate books, ABC books and more, so you can find one for any stage of children from birth to 8 years old. You can also buy other items that match their books as well including personalized puzzles, stickers, coloring & activity books, growth charts, lunch boxes and more. I highly recommend them. You can see one of the beautiful fairy pictures in the photo below.

24. The Little Engine That Could– Even though the little train is small, she is the only one that stops to help the little broken down engine filled with toys and treats for the kids over the mountain. The Little Engine knows it is going to be hard, but she knows she can do it. We love to read this one to our kids when we need to talk about overcoming hard things.

25. The Little Go to Sleep Book– The baby isn’t tired, they don’t want to go bed so their mother tells them of all of the animals that have to go to sleep. Dogs go to sleep in their basket by their fire, swans go to sleep high up in the sky. It is a sweet little book that is perfect for a bedtime story.

What is your favorite picture book?