Snuggling up to read some of the classic children’s picture books with a small child is truly one of life’s simple pleasures. Exploring a world full of adventure, kindness, courage, and truth broadens her understanding of life itself.
As a former elementary school teacher and ardent picture book lover, I already had a large collection of picture books when I was ready to begin homeschooling my daughter, Caroline. But I knew there were many other books out there I didn’t want us to miss. So I began researching reading lists from books, authors and organizations I considered trustworthy. This classic picture books list is the result of that quest.
Classic Children’s Picture Books
The resources I utilized included:
- Ambleside Online Year 0 Reading List
- Hillsdale Academy Kindergarten Read Aloud List
- Sonlight.com
- The Educated Child: A Parents Guide From Preschool Through Eighth Grade
by William J. Bennett
- The Read-Aloud Handbook
by Tim Trelease
While this is not an exhaustive list of books, it will provide an excellent starting point for reading a wide variety of quality picture books during the kindergarten year.
I have included links directly to Amazon to make it easy to research the books. Some books were not on Amazon, but might be available through your local library or through another service such as Alibris, ebay, or other local used bookseller.
All books should be reviewed to determine if they meet your family’s guidelines for quality reading. There are books on the list I have not read and there are books on the list that I personally don’t like. But I wanted to provide a variety of ideas because families and children are all quite different in terms of what they enjoy. So please do not consider the inclusion of a book or link in this list an endorsement of everything there.
Classic Children’s Picture Book List
A Books
- A Child’s Garden of Verses, Robert Louis Stevenson (illustrated by Eulalie, Jessie Wilcox Smith, or Alice and Martin Provenson)
- A Child’s Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings
by Lucy Micklethwait
- A Fly Went By
by Mike McClintock
- A Pocket for Corduroy
by Don Freeman
- A Treasury of Mother Goose Rhymes by Linda Yeatman
- A Tree Is Nice
by Janice May Udry
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
- All About Alfie
by Shirley Hughes
- Angus and the Ducks
by Marjorie Flack
- Are You My Mother?
by P.D. Eastman
- Arthur’s Chicken Pox by Marc Brown
- Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack
B Books
- Barn Dance!
by Bill Martin, Jr.
- Beatrix Potter illustrated books such as Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales
- Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban
- The Big Red Barn
by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Big Snow
by Berta and Elmer Hader
- The Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
- Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
- The Boy Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed
by Helen Cooper
C Books
- Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
- Capyboppy by Bill Peet
- The Carrot Seed
by Ruth Krause
- The Case of the Hungry Stranger
by Crosby Bonsall
- The Cat in the Hat
and other books by Dr. Suess
- Chewy Louie
by Howie Schneider
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
by Bill Martin, Jr.
- The Children’s Book of Virtues
by William J. Bennett
- The Chick and the Duckling
by Mirra Ginsburg
- City Mouse – Country Mouse (And Two More Mouse Tales From Aesop)
by John Wallner
- The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit
by Joel Chandler Harris
- Corduroy
by Don Freeman
- Curious George
by H.A. Rey
D Books
- Danny and the Dinosaur
by Syd Hoff
- The Doorbell Rang
by Pat Hutchins
- Dr. Seuss’s ABC
by Dr. Seuss
E Books
- Each Peach Pear Plum
by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
- Eric Carle’s Animals Animals
by Eric Carle
F Books
- Family-Time Bible in Pictures
by Kenneth Taylor
- First Thousand Words
by Heather Amery
- The Fox and the Crow by Val Biro
- Frederick
by Leo Lionni
- Frog and Toad Are Friends
by Arnold Lobel
- Froggy Gets Dressed
by Jonathan London
G Books
- The Gingerbread Boy
by Retold by Richard Egielski
- The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice and Martin Provenson
- Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
- Good-Night, Owl!
by Pat Hutchins
H Books
- Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion
- Hattie and the Fox
by Mem Fox
- How Do You Lift a Lion?
by Robert E. Wells
I Books
- If You Give a Moose a Muffin
by Laura J. Numeroff
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
by Laura J. Numeroff
- If You Give a Pig a Pancake
by Laura J. Numeroff
- If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
by Laura J. Numeroff
- Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?
by Robert E. Wells
- It Looked Like Spilt Milk
by Charles G. Shaw
J Books
- Jump, Frog, Jump!
by Robert Kalan
L Books
- Little Bear
and additional Little Bear titles by Else Holmelund Minarik
- The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems by Mary Ann Hoberman
- The Lion and the Mouse, adapted by Mary O’Toole
- The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book
by Bob Hartman
- The Little Engine That Could
by Watty Piper
- The Little House
by Virginia Lee Burton
- The Little Red Hen
by Paul Galdone
M Books
- Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
- Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
by Sarah Josepha Hale
- May I Bring a Friend?
by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
- May We Sleep Here Tonight
by Tan Koide
- The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook
by Joyce Lankester Brisley
- Mind Your Manners
by Peggy Parish
- Miss Rumphius
by Barbara Cooney
- The Monkey and the Fisherman by Val Biro
- Moses in the Bulrushes
by Warwick Hutton
- Mushroom in the Rain
by Mirra Ginsburg
- My First Bible in Pictures
by Kenneth Taylor, illustrations by Richard and Francis Hook
- My Little Golden Book About God
by illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
N Books
- The New Baby Calf
by Edith Newlin Chase and Barbara Reid
- No Roses for Harry!
by Gene Zion
O Books
- Old Mother Hubbard by Alice and Martin Provensen
- On Market Street
by Anita Lobel
- One Monday Morning
by Uri Shulevitz
- One Morning in Maine
by Robert McCloskey
- The Ox-Cart Man
by Barbara Cooney
P Books
- People
by Peter Spier
- Poems and Prayers for the Very Young
by Martha Alexander
- Eloise Wilkin’s Poems to Read to the Very Young
illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
- The Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
- The Princess and the Pea by Cliff Moon
R Books
- Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever!
by Richard Scarry
- Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book by Richard Scarry
- The Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles
by Maud and Miska Petersham
- Rosie’s Walk
by Pat Hutchins
- Roxaboxen
by Barbara Cooney
- Rumpelstiltskin by Cliff Moon
- The Runaway Bunny
by Margaret Wise Brown
S Books
- The Snowy Day
by Ezra Jack Keats
- Stone Soup
by Marcia Brown
- Stories from Around the World
by Heather Amery
- The Story about Ping
by Marjorie Flack
- The Story of Babar
by Jean de Brunhoff
- The Story of Ferdinand
by Munro Leaf
- The Story of Little Babaji
by Helen Bannerman
T Books
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter
- The Tale of Three Trees
by illustrated by Angela Elwell Hunt
- The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Margaret H. Lippert
- Then and Now
, by Heather Amery
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
- Things People Do
by Anne Civardi
- Tikki Tikki Tembo
by Arlene Mosel
U Books
- Uncle Wiggily’s Story Book
by Howard R. Garis
V Books
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle
W Books
- Wake Up, Sleepy Bear
by Christine Morton-Shaw
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
by Michael Rosen
- What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?
by Robert E. Wells
- What’s Under the Sea? by Sophy Tahta
- Where’s My Teddy?
by Jez Alborough
- Where’s Spot?
by Erin Hill
- Why Do Tigers Have Spots? by M. Unwin
- Winnie-the-Pooh Series
by A. A. Milne
- Wynken, Blynken, & Nod
by Eugene Field or illustrators Susan Jeffers or Barbara Cooney
Y Books
- The Year At Maple Hill Farm
by Alice and Martin Provensen
Collections
- Collection of classic stories and folktales such as The Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff
- Collection of Aesop’s Fables
- Mother Goose Collection
- Illustrated Classic Poetry for Children
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