Important note: This list includes some (not all) of our favorite picture books as certain titles have been reserved for a themed list, e.g. illustrated fairy tales. See all booklists here!
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Anatole by Eve Titus
Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack
Anno’s Journey by Mitsumasa Anno
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook by Shirley Hughes
Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ashley Wolff
Blue on Blue by Dianne White, illustrated by Beth Krommes
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, also Make Way for Ducklings and One Morning in Maine
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
A Child’s Book of Art: Great Pictures, First Words by Lucy Micklethwait
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Selections from The Children’s Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett, illustrated by Michael Hague
Children of the Forest by Elsa Beskow
The Church Mice Spread Their Wings by Graham Oakley
The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker
The Original Peter Rabbit, Books 1-23 or The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne
*Audiobook recommendation: Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, narrated by Peter Dennis and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, narrated by Peter Dennis
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Empty Pot by Demi
Frog Went A-Courtin’ by John Langstaff, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky, also Over in the Meadow
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone
Give Us This Day illustrated by Tasha Tudor, also The Lord Is My Shepherd
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
Henner’s Lydia by Marguerite de Angeli
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot
*Audiobook recommendation: James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot, narrated by Jim Dale
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton, also Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, also Father Bear Comes Home, Little Bear’s Friend, and Little Bear’s Visit
The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone, also The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Mitten by Jan Brett
My Five Senses by Aliki
My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray
A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Zierfert
Noah’s Ark by Jerry Pinkney
On Market Street by Arnold Lobel, illustrated by Anita Lobel
1 is One by Tasha Tudor
Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
Pelle’s New Suit by Elsa Beskow
Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire
Quiet by Tomie dePaola
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, also Whistle for Willie
The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow
A Song for Lena by Hilary Horder Hippely
Tiny, Perfect Things by M.H. Clark
Through Grandpa’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan
Thy Friend, Obadiah by Brinton Turkle
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz
Tuesday by David Wiesner
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, illustrated by William Nicholson
The Velveteen Rabbit (adaptation) by Margery Williams, illustrated by Florence Graham
Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews
Wonders of Nature by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field, illustrated by Johanna Westerman or Barbara Cooney
Yonder by Tony Johnston
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