I really do love making lists. Lately I’ve been so tickled to share picture book recommendations with friends that I got the idea to compile a list of my all-time favorites. This list could go on forever, so let’s see if I can limit the number to fifty—for now. It should be noted that I haven’t included any Dr. Seuss books here, as the Doc really deserves his own list. Also not listed here is Winnie-the-Pooh, which falls somewhere in between picture books, chapter books, and middle grade, but just know that no matter what, Winnie-the-Pooh is always on the top of my list.
I do so deeply love picture books, and not just because I write them. I love them because they introduce human minds to the concept of reading. How weighty is that? I love them because they are a perfect marriage of the written word and visual art. We don’t get that enough in the “adult” world. Much of the art you’ll find in picture books is daring and experimental. I love them because when you condense storytelling into such short form, you often can’t help but end up with myth and fable. To read a brilliant new picture book is to witness a fairy tale being born. It’s exciting.
If you’re wondering about my taste, okay I’ll tell you. I like books that pull on specific strings in the old heart. I like books that make me cry hard, laugh hard, or feel weird inside. It’s like I’ve got these book-shaped holes in my heart and my favorite books are the ones that were meant to fill those holes. I’m not one for lukewarm books. That sounds negative, but I don’t mean it to be. There are plenty of books in the world that are solid from beginning to end and I read them and I didn’t necessarily cry or laugh or question much, but I liked it a whole lot. Knuffle Bunny comes to mind. It’s a great book. It’s charming. It’s lovely. It’s solid. You should read it. I just wouldn’t put it on my fifty list.
Here they are, in some particular order but certainly not in any sort of scientific ranking. My favorite picture books:
- Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett illus. Jon Klassen
- Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood illus. Don Wood
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett illus. Jon Klassen
- The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
- Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard illus. James Marshall
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown illus. Clement Hurd
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
- Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick illus. Sophie Blackall
- A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers
- Penguin Problems by Jory John illus. Lane Smith
- Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis
- Dream Snow by Eric Carle
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
- Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman illus. Adam Rex
- This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
- The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown illus. Christian Robinson
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka illus. Lane Smith
- Waiting by Kevin Henkes
- Egg by Kevin Henkes
- Tough Boris by Mem Fox illus. Kathryn Brown
- Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley
- The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt illus. Oliver Jeffers
- Flotsam by David Wiesner
- The Friend Ship by Kat Yeh illus. Chuck Groenik
- A Letter for Leo by Sergio Ruzzier
- Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett illus. Adam Rex
- Otis by Loren Long
- Lon Po Po by Ed Young
- This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary illus. Julie Morstad
- Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett illus. Christian Robinson
- The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin illus. David Shannon
- The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks by Katherine Paterson illus. Diane Dillon
- The Snurtch by Sean Ferrell illus. Charles Santoso
- Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming illus. G. Brian Karas
- Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds illus. Peter Brown
- Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett
- Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds illus. Matt Davies
- Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto illus. Ed Martinez
- Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
- Tea Rex by Molly Idle
- The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
- The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch illus. Michael Martchenko
- Aberdeen by Stacy Previn
- President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett illus. Chris Van Dusen
- Journey, Quest, and Return (Journey Trilogy) by Aaron Becker
- The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski
- Teeny Tiny Toady by Jill Esbaum illus. Keika Yamaguchi
- Guess Again! by Mac Barnett illus. Adam Rex
Oh goodness there are many more, but I promised to stop at fifty. There are lots of books that I love for specific reasons, e.g. how they address a certain issue, but for this list I tried to stick to my general favorites. What do you think? Any big ones that I missed? What picture books would you add to the list?
top illustration from A Child of Books, by Oliver Jeffers
