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| My favorite part of this photo is that the 3-year-old is "reading" to her older sister. Love. It. |
Last summer, I compiled a checklist of about 75 books kids' books recommended by other moms/bloggers/BYU Magazine, and as of this month, we've checked off all but a handful of them that the Provo/Orem libraries don't carry. This process was fun for three reasons:
1 - I really love marking things off of lists. Like, a lot.
2 - It gave me specific things to look for at the library instead of aimlessly browsing and hoping for a good find.
3 - We read a lot of really awesome books!
So in the spirit of paying it forward, and in no particular order, here are 25 of our favorite picture books! This is mainly for (but not limited to) kids ages 2-5, and some of these are geared more for girls than boys. This list has been thoroughly vetted by both children and adults, a.k.a., the kids loved them AND I didn't mind reading them multiple times. (There are many books left off this list that the kids loved but I wouldn't read more than twice. Sorry, Pete the Cat and Eloise.)
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| Journey by Aaron Becker - We love this book (and its sequels) with all our hearts. No words, only pictures, so it's perfect for any age. |
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| Nibbles by Emma Yarlett might be the kids' all-time favorite book ever. Note that this is an Usborne book. If you don't know what that means or you need a consultant, I've got a connection for you. :) |
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| Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty is another absolute favorite that I quote to the kids ("It was the perfect first try!") on a regular basis. Also makes me cry on a regular basis. A must-read/own. |
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| Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey is one that I remember reading this as a child and now my kids love it too. |
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| Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett is a fun and silly story and we read it over and over and over. |
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| Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor - We are BIG fans of Fancy Nancy around here. Start with the first book and then enjoy all of the sequels and easy reader books. |
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| The Adventures of Beekle, the Un-imaginary Friend by Dan Santat is one of the first books we read off of my list and it was so sweet and fun! |
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| The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer almost didn't make the list because I didn't want to read it more than once, but once was enough for the kids, too, because every page has a LOT to look at. This is a great one for reading once and then letting the kids peruse after that. |
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| The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt is really funny and silly! We never got sick of reading this one. |
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| The Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson - This fairy tale was surprisingly sweet and original. My kids stayed with it until the end, in spite of the large amount of text. |
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| Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud - Everyone needs to read this book! It gave me a way to talk to my kids about kindness and empathy and even bullying in a very accessible way. Just this morning, Rosie told me I'd filled up her bucket when I helped her, so it's memorable too! |
Good Night, Yoga and Good Morning, Yoga by Mariam Gates were fun ways to introduce my kids to yoga, and Georgie still asks to do yoga before bed sometimes. Winner winner.
When You Were Small and When I Was Small by Sara O'Leary have been favorites for a long time. Simple but magical stories.
What Do You Do with an Idea? and What Do You Do with A Problem? by Kobi Yamada are delightfully illustrated and creative in their approaches. I think I liked them more than the kids, but we will definitely be reading these again as they get older.
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| The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig is a powerful story about the power of a friend. It was a great way to challenge my kids to notice who might be feeling invisible and to reach out. |
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| Mrs. Muddle's Holidays by Laura F. Nielsen is a book that I'd like us to own at some point. The kids loved it and it made me excited to start more of our own family holidays and traditions. Very fun! |
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| The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman was one that my kids brought me to read again and again. |
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| The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts really caught my kids' attention, I think because they often feel so small too. It's a great story about the difference one person who pays attention can make. |
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| Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman - My kids really liked this one, and even if they didn't quite grasp some of the deeper messages, they got the part about apologizing and forgiveness, so, excellent. |
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| The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth has some beautiful answers to the questions, though it was bit over my kids' heads. Another one we'll come back to later. |
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| Alice the Fairy by David Shannon is one that we've enjoyed for several years. It's one that has a couple of lines that made me and Tim laugh out loud the first time we read it. |
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| One Smile by Cindy McKinley was one of two books that we read (and the better of the two, I thought) about the power of simple acts of kindness. Always looking for ways to teach that so this was a great find. |
Here's the full list without my commentary:
Journey by Aaron Becker
Nibbles by Emma Yarlett
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett
Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor
The Adventures of Beekle, the Un-imaginary Friend by Dan Santat
The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
The Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
Good Night, Yoga and Good Morning, Yoga by Mariam Gates
When You Were Small and When I Was Small by Sara O'Leary
What Do You Do with an Idea? and What Do You Do with A Problem? by Kobi Yamada
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Mrs. Muddle's Holidays by Laura F. Nielsen
The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts
Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman
The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth
Alice the Fairy by David Shannon
One Smile by Cindy McKinley
And there you have it! We have many more books that we could recommend but this is a good start. Leave a comment with your favorite books to read with your kids so I can start my next list!
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