Recommended Picture Books

One is never too old for picture books. I read picture books to sixth, seventh and eighth grade students regularly. I continue to buy picture books for myself! Once a child is reading independently, there is no rush to stop reading to the child or to push the child into chapter books.

There are so many great picture books published each year. Certainly, the Caldecott Medal winners are a good place to start reading. But there are many books that are wonderful as well. Please do not forget the picture book "classics" in the rush to keep up with everything that is new.

I put together a list of picture books that I have read and recommend. I purposely did not attach an age to these books because they are for all ages. This list is, by necessity, incomplete and ongoing. It is possible that you will not like the books I have listed and have your own favorites. That is fine, keep reading what you like. This list is merely a guideline. The books are listed alphabetically by the author's last name.

Ackerman, Karen	Song and Dance Man Illustrated by Stephen Gammell Grandpa was a song and dance man during the vaudeville days and his grandchildren are enchanted when they follow him up to the attic, where he pulls out his trunk and does the old soft shoe. Gammell won a Caldecott Medal for this one. See Ride and Monster Momma for other books of his.
Barron, T. A.	High as a Hawk: A Brave Girl's Historic Climb This is a work of fiction based upon the actual climb of Longs Peak by an eight-year-old girl in 1905. Harriet Peters and her father traveled from Little Rock, Arkansas to climb Longs Peak and fulfill a dream that Harriet's dead mother had. Enos A. Mills was their guide and when the altitude was too tough for Mr. Peters to continue, Mr. Mills continued to the top with Harriet. The artwork, by Ted Lewin is stunning, the marriage of words and art works perfectly.
Baylor, Byrd	Everybody Needs a Rock Illustrated by Peter Parnall Ten rules for finding the perfect rock. Do you have a rock?
Brett, Jan	The Mitten Brett retold and beautifully illustrated a Ukrainian folk tale in which a boy asks his grandmother to knit him white mittens. She does even though she thinks he will lose them in the snow. When he does drop one, a series of animals try to make it home.
Burton, Virginia Lee	Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel In this 1939 classic, Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Ann make a terrific team. When the steam shovels are being replaced by newer, faster models, Mike stays loyal to Mary Ann, but the two find it very difficult to get work.
Orloff, Karen Kaufman	I Wanna Iguana! Illustrator, David Catrow Alex's friend is moving and can't take his pet iguana. Alex wants it and writes a persuasive letter to his mother listing the reasons why he should adopt the iguana. Mom is not convinced and writes back the reasons why.
Cronin, Doreen	Click, Clack Moo, Cows That Type Giggle, Giggle, Quack Duck For President Illustrator, Betsy Lewin won a Caldecott Honor a few years ago with Click, Clack, Moo...Poor Farmer Brown works very hard on his farm. Duck has a mind of his own and makes matters very hard for Farmer Brown.
Cronin, Doreen	Diary of a Worm The diary of a baseball cap-wearing worm from May to August is charming and laugh-out-loud funny.
DiCamillo, Kate	Mercy Watson to the Rescue Illustrator, Chris Van Dusen This delightful book is too long to be a picture book and too short to be a chapter book and not quite an "easy reader." Newbery Award winner Kate DiCamillo introduces Mercy Watson, a lovable pig daughter with human parents, who's favorite food is "hot toast with a great deal of butter on it." After the Watson's tuck Mercy into bed and her room becomes very dark and scary, she decides that she would be happier sleeping with the Watsons. Only when she gets into their bed, a hole opens in the floor and the bed begins to fall through. Mercy hops out of bed because she is hungry and has been dreaming of hot toast with a great deal of butter and Mr. Watson believes she off to call the fire department.
English, Karen	Hot Day on Abbott Avenue Illustrator, Javaka Steptoe Two best friends, Kishi and Renee, are mad at each other on a hot day on Abbott Avenue and nobody, not even their neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, can get them to stop being mad. Absolutely wonderful illustrations by Javaka Steptoe.
Falconer, Ian	Olivia Olivia Saves the Circus Olivia and the Missing Toy Olivia is an irrepressible pig who loves the color red. This book won Falconer a Caldecott Honor in 2001 and it and its sequels are laugh-out-loud gems.
Fox, Mem	Wifred Gordon McDonald Partridge Gorgeously illustrated by Julie Vivas Wilfred lives next door to an old people's home and he has many friends there, but his favorite is Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper "because she had four names just like he did." He overhears his parents comment that Miss Nancy has lost her memory, so Wilfred Gordon sets about collecting memories for Miss Nancy.
Frame, Jeron Ashford	Yesterday I Had the Blues Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie If you don't believe emotions have color, you absolutely must read this book. The text has a blue-sy rhythm and the pictures are wonderful.
Gammell, Stephen	Ride This book is perfect for anyone who has had to share a back seat in a long, or short car ride with a sibling.
Gerstein, Mordicai	The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers This book won the 2004 Caldecott Award and students absolutely love it. The story was begun by Gerstein shortly after the towers fell on September 11, 2001. It is based on the escapades of Philippe Petit on August 1973.
Harper, Isabelle and Barry Moser	My Dog Rosie Famed illustrator, Barry Moser collaborated with his granddaughter, Isabelle in this picture book which tells the story of how Isabelle takes care of grandpa's dog Rosie while he works. Rosie is a rotweiler and Isabelle is about three in this sweet story which has been followed by My Cats Nick and Nora, Our New Puppy, and Sit Truman!
Henkes, Kevin	Kitten's First Full Moon This delightful book is a bit of a change in Henkes' style. He is the author of numerous young people's favorites; such as Chrysthanamum, Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, Wemberly Worried Chester's Way and Owen, for which he won a Caldecott Honor. In this new addition, Kitten thinks the full moon is a big bowl of milk and tries various ways of getting it, such as chasing the moon and climbing a tree to reach it. Very sweet. (Winner of 2005 Caldecott Medal)
Jackson, Alison	The Ballad of Valentine Illustrated by Tricia Tusa This book demands to be sung to the tune of Darling Clementine. Valentine is busy going about her business in a canyon while her bashful admirer tries to send messages of his love for her.
Leaf, Munro	The Story of Ferdinand Illustrated by Robert Lawson Bucking tradition, Ferdinand the bull likes to sit "just quietly and smell the flowers." Even though he grows to be the biggest of all the bulls, he knows he won't be picked for the bullfights in Madrid and doesn't care.
Long, Melinda	How I Became a Pirate Jeremy's day at the beach is interrupted by a band of pirates who need to bury their treasure and need a good digger to do it. So Jeremy signs on to be the newest (and youngest) of Braidbeard's crew and discusses the pros and cons of being a pirate but needing to get home in time for soccer practice.
McCloskey, Robert	Make Way for Ducklings This is one of my personal favorites. Robert McCloskey won his first Caldecott award for this book. He won a second gold for Time of Wonder in 1952. In between that he won an honor for Blueberries for Sal, which still makes me smile when I read it. In Make Way for Ducklings, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard fly all over Boston looking for the perfect place to hatch ducklings.
McPhail, David	Edward and the Pirates Now that Edward has learned to read, there is no stopping him. He reads EVERYTHING. Sometimes the stories he reads seem real! Of course his favorite place in the world, next to his home, is the library. One night, Edward falls asleep while reading a book about pirates and awakens to find himself surrounded by pirates.
Palatini, Margie	Bad Boys Illustrated by Henry Cole. Two wolves fresh from escaping from the clutches of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs, respectively, look for a safe place to hide out and be near a food supply. What better place to be on the lam(b), than in the sheep meadow as wolves dressed in sheep's clothing! The puns and word-play are baa-aad.
Prelutsky, Jack	If Not for the Cat Illustrated by Ted Rand Jack Prelutsky is a favorite poet around school. This book of seventeen animal haiku is a bit of a change in style for Prelutsky, but appealing and is already a popular checkout. His haiku are delicious riddles for read-aloud, but when paired with Ted Rand's gorgeous paintings; it's just perfect.
Osborne, Mary Pope	New York's Bravest This book, which is dedicated to the fire fighters who lost their lives on 9/11, tells the story of Mose Humphreys a legendary fire fighter from the 1800's who stood at 8 feet tall and had hands as big as hams. This book turns sad quite dramatically but students have responded very positively to it as it is usually checked out.
Rathman, Peggy	Officer Buckle and Gloria Rathman won a Caldecott for this hilarious book featuring Officer Buckle, a safety officer who takes his job teaching children safety very seriously. Unfortunately, he is also boring until he is partnered with Gloria. Gloria the hound livens things up by clowning behind Officer Buckle's back and suddenly Officer Buckle's safety lessons are very much in demand.
Scieszka, Jon	Baloney, Henry P. Henry P. Baloney has an excuse for everything. If he is late to school one more time, he is in big trouble with his teacher.
Shannon, Dave	No David! David Gets in Trouble David Goes to School Alice the Fairy Duck on a Bike Shannon won a Caldecott honor for No David! and the books are very popular here at school. David is irrepressible and constantly in trouble in this delightful trio of books. Duck on a Bike is hysterical. Alice the Fairy is his newest book and provides an irrepressible female version of David to enjoy. He also illustrated Melinda Long's How I Became a Pirate.
Slobodkina, Esphyr	Caps for Sale This classic has been around for over fifty years. It was a favorite of mine ever since I listened to Captain Kangaroo read it on his show when I was quite young. A peddler walks from town to town calling "Caps for sale, fifty cents a cap." When he sits under a tree and takes a nap, he awakens to find that monkeys have stolen his caps and they are out of reach in the tree. How does he get his caps back?
Steptoe, John	The Story of Jumping Mouse John Steptoe retold and illustrated this Native American story which won him a Caldecott Honor. It tells the story of a humble, unselfish mouse who is on a journey of self-discovery to far-off places. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters A lushly illustrated tale of two daughters of an African villager who are both beautiful but of opposite dispositions, one is selfish and the other is generous. When a king desires a wife and wishes to meet all the eligible young women, Mufaro decides to send both of his daughters, but the selfish daughter sneaks away ahead of her generous sister in an effort to see the king first.
Stevens, Janet & Susan Stevens Crummel	Cook-A-Doodle Do! Tired of chicken feed, Big Brown Rooster, descendant of the legendary little red hen, uses her cookbook and the help of his friends to whip up a scrumptious strawberry shortcake.
Stevens, Janet & Susan Stevens Crummel	And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon One night the dish and spoon don't come back and cat insists that sleepy dog and cow come with him to find them so their story can be read again the next night.
Tyson, Leigh Ann	An Interview with Harry the Tarantula Illustrated by Henrik Drescher Katy Did, radio host at KBUG radio interviews Harry the Tarantula about his recent adventure being caught in a glass jar and escape. Fun and fact-filled book hilariously illustrated by Henrik Drescher.
Wild, Margaret	Our Granny Illustrated by Julie Vivas In this tribute to grandmothers, we learn that grannies come in all shapes and sizes and do all sorts of interesting things.
Willems, Mo	Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! This 2004 Honor Book is nearly wordless, absolutely hysterical and the students love it. The book begs to be read aloud over and over.
Willems, Mo	Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog That crazy pigeon is back! This time he finds a hot dog and just as he is about to enjoy his discovery, a pesky little chick shows up with all sorts of questions about the hot dog.
Willems, Mo	Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late Pigeon, like most youngsters, does not wish to go to bed and uses all sorts of excuses and reasons why he should not go to bed.
Willems, Mo	Knuffle Bunny Students loved this book and thought (correctly) that it would earn Willems another Caldecott. I have heard that the K is pronounced, ka-nuffle bunny. If you didn't have a comfort object as a baby, you probably know someone who did or heard stories of the horrors of a lost comfort object. That is the universal appeal of this wonderful book.
Willems, Mo	Knuffle Bunny Too Trixie is back and heading to preschool with her daddy and beloved Knuffle Bunny. She is really looking forward to the whole thing and can't wait to share Knuffle Bunny with everyone at preschool. There is a teeny tiny problem though.
Willems, Mo	Elephant and Piggy There are four titles so far in this ingenious easy reader series by the incomparable Mo Willems. Elephant and Piggy are best friends. Piggy is an optimist and Elephant is a pessimist. The books are laugh-out-loud funny and both characters are extremely endearing.