Picture Books

Once upon a time.... may be the oldest trick in the writer's bag, but we still fall for it—especially if it's accompanied by pictures. There's a sense in which all picture books are fairy tales (even the ones that take place in New York City or a log cabin) simply because they're able to transport us in a way words alone can't. We become part of the story viscerally, sensing the subtleties of mood and place and texture.

Not all picture books are created equal, of course. We don't go in for VeggieTales, or Disney, or Sesame Street (etc. etc.), preferring the more classic style (like Caldecott winners) and newer ones that are more artistic (as opposed to merely visual). The only thing a second-rate illustration can do is make you mourn the preeminence of Saturday morning cartoons, whereas a good one has the capacity to take you inside.

We're not trying to be snobs about this, but if we offer our children picture books to read and look at, we want them to be of the highest quality. We want the text to be excellently written, the plot well-crafted, the illustrations rich and vibrant. There's a very real sense in which a child's imagination is formed by the things he or she sees as a small human, and if they only get to look at poor drawings there's a pretty good chance their creative powers will end up severely limited.

If you've encountered the illustrations of Trina Schart Hyman, Robert McCloskey, Maurice Sendak, or Michael Morpurgo, you'll know what we're talking about. Good picture books have a way of showing us things we've always seen or imagined a little differently, tilting the canvas of the familiar to make it seem a little less so, more wild, more mysterious, more real.

Which is precisely why they're such a great way to introduce kids to reading. They don't have to know what the words say to get the gist of the story, yet when they do begin to learn what the words say, it's easier for them to grasp the meaning since they're already familiar with the basic premise. Many kids have learned to read this way, and we suspect many more will do so in the future.

That is, if they have access to quality picture books at a young age. We like them proliferating throughout the house like small landforms, squeezing out of bookcases, turning up beneath the couch and on top of dressers. Just remember—they aren't only for children. In fact, adults often need them more, to connect with their progeny, to recapture a sense of youth, or simply to rest when words stop making sense and only pictures are able to communicate.

When we say "picture book," there are a couple of things we aren't talking about: first, illustrated fiction. A great book, primarily text with illustrations here and there, are not the same as picture books, which focus on the artwork. Second, we don't include here non-fiction. There are lots of excellent science, math, biographical, and other types of picture books—we have plenty—but they are in separate sections (see below).

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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1,581 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), In-Stock Books & Materials
"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth
by Eric Carle
from World of Eric Carle
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
10 Little Hot Dogs
by John Himmelman
from Two Lions
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
10 Minutes till Bedtime
by Peggy Rathmann
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
101 Favorite Stories from the Bible
by Ura Miller
from Master Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$11.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
20th-Century Children's Book Treasury
by Janet Schulman
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$44.99 $20.00 (1 in stock)
A B C is for Christmas
by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by Sally Augustiny
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
A is for Annabelle
by Tasha Tudor
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-Preschool
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$6.39
ABC Book
by C. B. Falls
from Dover Publications
for Nursery-1st grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$7.99
ABC Book of God's Creatures
Little Jewel Books
by Mary M. Landis, illustrated by Lester Miller
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Rod & Staff Phonics & Reading (Location: REA-R&S)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Adding: A Poem
by Christina Rossetti, illustrated by Jan Balet
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Adelita
by Tomie DePaola
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Adventures of Beekle
by Dan Santat
from Little, Brown & Company
2015 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Adventures of Beekle
by Dan Santat
from Scholastic Inc.
2015 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A BabyLit Camping Primer
BabyLit
by Jennifer Adams
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Preschool
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Adventures with Words
First Adventures in Learning Program
by Adelaide Holl, illustrated by J.P. Miller
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
Kohl's Cares Edition from Applesauce Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.95
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Akiak
by Robert J. Blake
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Albert
by Donna Jo Napoli
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
Alexander
by Harold Littledale, illustrated by Tom Vroman
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander Kitten
Junior Elf Book #8003
by Jessica Potter Broderick; illustrated by Marge Opitz Burridge
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Alfie and the Big Boys
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie Gives a Hand
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie Wins a Prize
by Shirley Hughes
Reissue from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Alice in Wonderland (adapted)
by Lewis Carroll (original text), illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt
from Unicorn Publishing House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alice in Wonderland: A BabyLit Colors Primer
BabyLit
by Alison Oliver, Jennifer Adams
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Preschool
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$11.99
All Aboard! Pacific Northwest
All Aboard!
by Kevin Meyers, Haily Meyers
1st edition from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Preschool
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$11.99
All Kinds of Kisses
by Nancy Tafuri
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
All Kinds of Signs
by Seymour Reit, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
All My Treasures
by Jo Witek, illustrated by Christine Roussey
from Abrams Appleseed
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Valerie Worth
from Sunburst Book
Lyrical Poetry for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.99 $5.00 (6 in stock)
All the World's a Stage
by Rebecca Piatt Davidson, illustrated by Anita Lobel
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
All Those Secrets of the World
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Leslie Baker
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Alphabet Book
by P. D. Eastman
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$5.99
Alvin Ailey
by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Always Room for One More
by Sorche Nic Leodhas
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
1966 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99
Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy
by David Soman and Jacky Davis
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Animal Alphabet
by Brian Wildsmith
from Star Bright
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America the Beautiful
by Katharine Lee Bates
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
America the Beautiful
by Katharine Lee Bates, illustrated by Chris Gall
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Ones
by Barbara Bash
from Sierra Club Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Andy: A Visit to the Hospital
Whitman Tell-A-Tale #2524
by Florence Michelson, illustrated by Hazel Hoecker
from Whitman Publishing Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Angel in the Waters
by Regina Doman; illustrated by Ben Hatke
from Sophia Institute Press
Realistic Fiction for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Sex Education (Location: HEAL-SEXED)
$9.95
Angelina and the Princess
Angelina Ballerina
by Katharine Holabird
Picture Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Angelina's Baby Sister
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Angelo
by David Macaulay
1st edition from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Angus and the Cat
by Marjorie Flack
from Sunburst Book
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Angus and the Ducks
by Marjorie Flack
from Sunburst Book
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Angus Lost
by Marjorie Flack
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Angus Set
by Marjorie Flack
from Sunburst Book
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$26.07
Animal Characters
by Jean Christian Knaff
from Picture Book Studio
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Born Alive and Well
by Ruth Heller
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Animals Build a House
Wonder Books #817
by Robert Marsia and Gilbert Delahaye
from Wonder Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Animals in the Zoo
by Feodor Rojankovsky
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Animals in Winter
by Henrietta Bancroft
Revised from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Animals of the Bible
by Dorothy P. Lathrop, text selected by Helen Dean Fish
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
1938 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Animals' Bus Ride
by Helen Wing; illustrated by Irma Wilde
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ann Likes Red
by Dorothy Z. Seymour
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Anna Karenina: A BabyLit Fashion Primer
BabyLit
by Jennifer Adams
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
for Nursery-Preschool
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles, Peter Parnall
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Wild Animals
by Jan Brett
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Anno's Counting Book
by Mitsumasa Anno
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$8.99
Anno's Counting Book
by Mitsumasa Anno
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Antarctica
by Helen Cowcher
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ape in a Cape
by Fritz Eichenberg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
1953 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.99
Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds
by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Barry Moser
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Apple Picking Time
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Apple Tree Christmas
by Trinka Hakes Noble
from Sleeping Bear Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.95
Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes
Book 22
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$8.99
April Fool
by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
April's Kittens
by Claire Turlay Newberry
from Troll Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Armadillo from Amarillo
by Lynne Cherry
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Around the Year
by Tasha Tudor
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.19
Arrow to the Sun
by Gerald McDermott
Reprint from Puffin Books
1975 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Arthur's Christmas Cookies
I Can Read! Level 2
by Lilian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
by Eric Carle
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
for nursery-3rd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$18.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
B is for Bluegrass
Discover America State-by-State
by Mary Ann McCabe Riehle, illustrated by Wes Burgiss
from Sleeping Bear Press
for nursery-3rd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave
by written by Marianna Mayer, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Babar and Father Christmas
by Jean De Brunhoff
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Babar and His Children / Tale of Benjamin Bunny
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar); Beatrix Potter (Benjamin)
from Grolier Society
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Babar and His Children OSI
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Babar and the Succotaash Bird
by Laurent de Brunhoff
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Babar and Zephir / Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar) and Beatrix Potter (Squirrel Nutkin)
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Babar's Book of Color
by Laurent de Brunhoff
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Babushka Baba Yaga
by Patricia Polacco
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Baby Believer Collection
by Danielle Hitchen; illustrated by Jessica Blanchard
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Baby Believer (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Baby Brains
by Simon James
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
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