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
, William J. Bennett
- The Read-Aloud Handbook
, 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, half.com 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 Picture Book List
A
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, Lucy Micklethwait
A Fly Went By, Mike McClintock
A Pocket for Corduroy, Don Freeman
A Treasury of Mother Goose Rhymes, Linda Yeatman
A Tree Is Nice, Janice May Udry
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst
All About Alfie, Shirley Hughes
Angus and the Ducks, Marjorie Flack
Are You My Mother?, P.D. Eastman
Arthur’s Chicken Pox, Marc Brown
Ask Mr. Bear, Marjorie Flack
B
Barn Dance!, Bill Martin, Jr.
Beatrix Potter illustrated books such as Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales
Bedtime for Frances, Russell Hoban
Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey
C
Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina
Capyboppy, Bill Peet
Chewy Louie, Howie Schneider
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Bill Martin, Jr.
City Mouse – Country Mouse (And Two More Mouse Tales From Aesop), John Wallner
Corduroy, Don Freeman
Curious George, H.A. Rey
D
Danny and the Dinosaur, Syd Hoff
Dr. Seuss’s ABC, Dr. Seuss
E
Each Peach Pear Plum, Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Eric Carle’s Animals Animals, Eric Carle
F
Family-Time Bible in Pictures, Kenneth Taylor
First Thousand Words, Heather Amery
Frederick, Leo Lionni
Frog and Toad Are Friends, Arnold Lobel
Froggy Gets Dressed, Jonathan London
G
Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown
Good-Night, Owl!, Pat Hutchins
H
Harry the Dirty Dog, Gene Zion
Hattie and the Fox, Mem Fox
How Do You Lift a Lion?, Robert E. Wells
I
If You Give a Moose a Muffin, Laura J. Numeroff
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura J. Numeroff
If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Laura J. Numeroff
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, Laura J. Numeroff
Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?, Robert E. Wells
It Looked Like Spilt Milk, Charles G. Shaw
J
Jump, Frog, Jump!, Robert Kalan
L
Little Bear, and additional Little Bear titles by Else Holmelund Minarik
M
Madeline, Ludwig Bemelmans
Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey
Mary Had a Little Lamb, Sarah Josepha Hale
May I Bring a Friend?, Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
May We Sleep Here Tonight, Tan Koide
Mind Your Manners, Peggy Parish
Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney
Moses in the Bulrushes, Warwick Hutton
Mushroom in the Rain, Mirra Ginsburg
My First Bible in Pictures, Kenneth Taylor, illustrations by Richard and Francis Hook
My Little Golden Book About God, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
N
No Roses for Harry!, Gene Zion
O
Old Mother Hubbard, Alice and Martin Provensen
On Market Street, Anita Lobel
One Monday Morning, Uri Shulevitz
One Morning in Maine, Robert McCloskey
P
People, Peter Spier
Poems and Prayers for the Very Young, Martha Alexander
Eloise Wilkin’s Poems to Read to the Very Young, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
R
Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever!, Richard Scarry
Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book, Richard Scarry
Rosie’s Walk, Pat Hutchins
Roxaboxen, Barbara Cooney
Rumpelstiltskin, Cliff Moon
S
Stone Soup, Marcia Brown
Stories from Around the World, Heather Amery
T
The Big Red Barn, Margaret Wise Brown
The Big Snow, Berta and Elmer Hader
The Biggest Bear, Lynd Ward
The Boy Who Wouldn’t Go to Bed, Helen Cooper
The Carrot Seed, Ruth Krause
The Case of the Hungry Stranger, Crosby Bonsall
The Cat in the Hat, and other books by Dr. Suess
The Children’s Book of Virtues, William J. Bennett
The Chick and the Duckling, Mirra Ginsburg
The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit, Joel Chandler Harris
The Doorbell Rang, Pat Hutchins
The Fox and the Crow, Val Biro
The Gingerbread Boy, Retold by Richard Egielski
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot , Alice and Martin
The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems, Mary Ann Hoberman
The Lion and the Mouse, adapted by Mary O’Toole
The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book, Bob Hartman
The Little Engine That Could, Watty Piper
The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton
The Little Red Hen, Paul Galdone
The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook, Joyce Lankester Brisley
The Monkey and the Fisherman, Val Biro
The New Baby Calf, Edith Newlin Chase and Barbara Reid
The Ox-Cart Man, Barbara Cooney
The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg
The Princess and the Pea, Cliff Moon
The Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles, Maud and Miska Petersham
The Runaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown
The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats
The Story about Ping, Marjorie Flack
The Story of Babar, Jean de Brunhoff
The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf
The Story of Little Babaji, Helen Bannerman
The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Three Trees, illustrated by Angela Elwell Hunt
The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Margaret H. Lippert
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
The Year At Maple Hill Farm, Alice and Martin Provensen
Then and Now, Heather Amery
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Simms Taback
Things People Do, Anne Civardi
Tikki Tikki Tembo, Arlene Mosel
U
Uncle Wiggily’s Story Book, Howard R. Garis
W
Wake Up, Sleepy Bear, Christine Morton-Shaw
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen
What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?, Robert E. Wells
What’s Under the Sea?, Sophy Tahta
Where’s My Teddy?, Jez Alborough
Where’s Spot?, Erin Hill
Why Do Tigers Have Spots?, M. Unwin
Winnie-the-Pooh Series, A. A. Milne
Wynken, Blynken, & Nod, Eugene Field or illustrators Susan Jeffers or Barbara Cooney
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
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