And They Read Happily Ever After
"Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
I'm a firm believer that we're never too old to read a great picture book. And if we have a baby or toddler curled up next to us, listening and learning, it's even better.
Recently my sister and I were talking about all the babies in our lives. "We're surrounded by cuteness," she said. It's true. We have a second generation of adorable blossoming readers discovering all the magic of books. And through them, I am again transported back to picking blueberries with bears, hanging out with cows that type or anxiously waiting to find out just what the polar bear heard.
Even as a young aunt, I was a book giver. (I loved reading the books, too!) Toys and clothes were occasionally given, but I cherished the time spent choosing the perfect book for a young niece or nephew. Now they are adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and we still talk about books. They remember The Giving Tree and Peter Rabbit. They remember trips to the library and book stores.
And some of those same books are special to their children. As a great-aunt, I'm still excited about buying a memorable book for my youngest of developing readers.
Choosing a picture book can seem daunting with so many choices on the shelves. First, have fun looking around the store. Don't hesitate to ask for suggestions. And think back to your own childhood...which books interested you? Look for familiar names like Seuss, Boynton, or Carle. Are you looking for a quiet book (Goodnight Moon) or an explosion of sound (Sheep in a Jeep)? A classic or introductory science? Books about siblings or the alphabet?
Many books are published in both board book and picture book formats. Board books are usually able to withstand a lot of chewing, throwing and grabbing. Board book topics range from colors to yoga to sign language to nursery rhymes.
Do you need a last-minute gift idea? Buy some bath toys, a soft baby robe or towel, and a fun waterproof bath book (Barnyard Bath or Bath Time!) by Sandra Boynton.
Packing for a trip? Grab a few of the Indestructible series (Baby Night Night or Things That Go). The language is very simple but the books themselves are just about... indestructible.
If you've forgotten the joy of a picture book, check out Bruce Handy's book Wild Things - The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult or Leonard Marcus' compilation of conversations with celebrated illustrators about why picture books matter in Show Me a Story!
Have fun shopping and reading!
Classics
Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal - Robert McCloskey
Corduroy - Don Freeman
The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein
Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats
Where's Spot? - Eric Hill
Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams
Where the Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Paddington - Michael Bond
And check out these classic authors: Eve Bunting, Marc Brown (Arthur series), Tomie dePaola, Chris Van Allsburg and Steven Kellogg.
Manners
Please and Thank You Book - Richard Scarry
Cookies: Bite Sized Lessons - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Llama Llama Time to Share - Anna Dewdney
The Thank You Book - Mo Willems
First Books
I Wish You More - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
When the World was Waiting for You - Gillian Shields
On the Night You Were Born - Nancy Tillman
What a Wonderful World - Tim Hapgood
Pat the Bunny - Dorothy Kunhardt
Ten Tiny Toes - Caroline J. Church
Love
Hugs for You - Paula Hannigan
That's Me Loving You - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Sugar Cookies - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I Love You to the Moon and Back - Amelia Hepworth
I Love You More - Laura Duksta
Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You - Nancy Tillman
I Love You Through and Through - Bernadette Rosetti-Shustak
How Do I Love You? - Marion D. Bauer
Love You Forever - Robert Munsch
Papa Please Get the Moon for Me - Eric Carle
Action
The Napping House - Audrey Wood, Don Wood
We're Going on a Bear Hunt - Helen Oxenbury
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed - Eileen Christelow
Little Blue Truck - Alice Schertle
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - Bill Martin Jr.
Dinosaur Dance - Sandra Boynton
Silly Sally - Audrey Wood
Sheep in a Jeep - Nancy Shaw
New Classics
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Laura Numeroff
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus - Mo Willems
The Day the Crayons Quit - Drew Daywalt
Click Clack Moo Cows That Type - Doreen Cronin
Science/Early nonfiction
Baby Loves Science series:
Quarks
Aerospace Engineering
Thermodynamics
Richard Scarry - Best Word Book Ever, Busy Busy Day, A Day at the Fire Station
Jamie Lee Curtis - Today I Feel Silly, Big Words for Little People
Byron Barton - Building a House, I Want to be an Astronaut, Machines at Work
Gail Gibbons - From Seed to Plant, Farming, Sea Turtles
Classics with a Twist
Baby Lit series - Jennifer Adams:
The Nutcracker (dancing)
Little Women (playtime)
Moby Dick (ocean)
A Christmas Carol (colors)
Strong Girls
Feminist Baby - Loryn Brantz
This Little Trailblazer - Joan Holub
She Persisted - Chelsea Clinton
Isabella: Girl in Charge - Jennifer Fosberry
Malala's Magic Pencil - Malala Yousafzal
Little People Big Dreams (series): Marie Curie, Rosa Parks
Baby's Big World: Women Who Changed the World - Alex Fabrizio
My New Favorites
Birds - Kevin Henkes
What a Wonderful World - Tim Hapgood
Itsy Bitsy Spider - Iza Trapani (among others)
When the World was Waiting for you - Gillian Shields
I Wish You More - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Siblings
Little Miss, Big Sis - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Sisters - David McPhail
The New Baby - Mercer Mayer
I'm a Big Brother/Sister - Joanna Cole
Good Night
Llama Llama Nighty Night - Anna Dewdney
Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
Dream Animals - Emily Winfield Martin
Ten, Nine, Eight - Molly Bang
Pete the Cat: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - James Dean
Goodnight Yoga - Mariam Gates
Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site - Sherri D. Rinker
The Night Gardener - Terry Fox
Goodnight, I Love You - Caroline J. Church
You Can Never Go Wrong With...
Lois Ehlert - Snowballs, Eating the Alphabet, Leaf Man, Feathers for Lunch, Planting a Rainbow
Eric Carle - Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear, The Tiny Seed, ABC, (with Bill Martin, Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?)
Dr. Seuss - Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, What Pet Should I Get?
Kevin Henkes - Birds, Sheila Rae the Brave, Lilly's Plastic Purse, Old Bear
Paul Galdone (fairy tales) - The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Henny Penny, Jack and the Beanstalk
Beatrix Potter - The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of Two Bad Mice
Books About Books
Read to Your Bunny - Rosemary Wells
Bunny's Book Club - Annie Silvestro
Rocket Writes a Story - Tad Hills
Llama Llama's Little Library - Anna Dewdney
Lola at the Library - Anna McQueen
Library Lion - Michelle Knudsen
Biscuit Loves the Library - Alyssa Capucilli
How to Read a Story - Kate Messner
Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed - Eileen Christelow
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