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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209 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7), Library Binding
¡Viva México!
by Argentina Palacios, illustrated by Howard Berelson
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
3 x 3 Three by Three
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Adventures of Tom Thumb
by Marianna Mayer, illustrated by K. Y. Craft
First Edition from SeaStar Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
Aladdin
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Pablo Ramirez
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Anatole and His Donkey
by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated from the French by Richard Howard
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
And I Mean It, Stanley
by Crosby Bonsall
1st edition from HarperCrest
for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Angelo the Naughty One
by Helen Garrett, illustrated by Leo Politi
1966 Printing from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (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)
Anno's Counting Book
by Mitsumasa Anno
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$8.99
Apple Strudel Soldier
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by John E. Johnson
from Follett Publishing Co.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
Arabian Nights: Three Tales
by Deborah Nourse Lattimore
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
Arthur's Christmas Cookies
I Can Read! Level 2
by Lilian Hoban
from HarperCrest
for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Arthur's New Power
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Byron Barton
1st edition from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Attack and Defense
by Robert Coupe
from Mason Crest Publishers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Baboushka and the Three Kings
by Ruth Robbins, Nicolas Sidjakov (Illustrator)
from Houghton Mifflin
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1961 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Baby Elephant's Trunk
by Sesyle Joslin, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Behold... the Unicorns!
by Gail Gibbons
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Berry Book
by Gail Gibbons
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Best Friends
by Miriam Cohen, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Big Brother
by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Mary Chalmers
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Big Red Barn
by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Felicia Bond
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boom Town
by Sonia Levitin, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat
by Karla Kuskin
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Brave Davy Coon
by Laurence Hyde
from Harper & Brothers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Brown Cow Farm
by Dahlov Ipcar
First Edition from Doubleday & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Case of the Hungry Stranger
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Crosby Bonsall
from Harper & Row
Children's Mystery for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cat and the Devil
by James Joyce, illustrated by Richard Erdoes
from E.M. Hale and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Changes, Changes
by Pat Hutchins
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Cherry Tree
by Daisaku Ikeda, illustrated by Brian Wildsmith, English version by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Church Mouse
by Graham Oakley
from Kane Miller
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Circles, Triangle and Squares
by Tana Hoban
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Circus Numbers
by Rodney Peppe
Revised from Delacorte Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Clocks and More Clocks
by Pat Hutchins
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
First BCE from Doubleday & Company
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Contest
by Nonny Hogrogian
from Greenwillow Books
Armenian Folktale for 1st-3rd grade
1977 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Crane Maiden
by Miyoko Matsutani, illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Crictor
by Tomi Ungerer
from Harper & Brothers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cyrano the Crow
by Don Freeman
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Danny's Pig
by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Mariana
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Days Before Now
by Margaret Wise Brown
Library Binding from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Digging for China
by Richard Wilbur, illustrated by William Pene du Bois
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Do You Move As I Do?
by Helen Borten
from E.M. Hale and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Dorrie and the Witchville Fair
by Patricia Coombs
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Dr. Seuss's ABC
by Dr. Seuss
Book Club from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Earning Money
Living and Working Together
by Frederic Rossomando, Florence Leventhal, Marilyn Szymaszek, illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi
from Franklin Watts
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
by Russell Hoban
First Edition from Parents Magazine Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Emperor and the Nightingale
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Bill Sokol
from Pantheon Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Fireside Stories
by Veronica S. Hutchinson
from Minton, Balch & CO.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
First Book of Sea Shells
by Betty Cavanna, Illustrated by Marguerite Scott
from Franklin Watts
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Follow the Dream
by Peter Sís
from Dragonfly Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Frog and Toad All Year
An I Can Read Book
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCrest
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
G is for the Grand Canyon
by Barbara Gowan, illustrated by Katherine Larson
1st edition from Sleeping Bear Press
for Nursery-1st grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
George and Martha Rise and Shine
by James Marshall
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Go, Train, Go!
by Elizabeth Terrill, Rev. W. Awdry
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Gobble It Up!
by Jim Arnosky
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Good Knight for Dragons
by Roger Bradfield
from Young Scott Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Good-Night, Owl!
by Pat Hutchins
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Grouchy Uncle Otto
by Alice Bach, illustrated by Steven Kellog
from HarperCrest
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday Egg
by David Cornel DeJong, illustrated by Harvey Weiss
1st edition from Atlantic Monthly Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Have You Seen My Duckling?
by Nancy Tafuri
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1985 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hole, a Box and a Stick
by Gladys Yessayan Cretan, illustrated by Edward Frascino
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Hosie's Alphabet
by Hosea, Tobias and Lisa Baskin, illustrated by Leonard Baskin
from Viking Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
1973 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
How Many Donkeys?
by Regina & Haig Shekerjian, illustrated by Bob Binkley
from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
How Tevye Became a Milkman
by Gabriel Lisowski, Sholem Aleichem
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hungry Leprechaun
by Mary Calhoun, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Hurry Hurry
by Edith Thacher Hurd, Illustrated by Clement Hurd
from Harper & Row
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$20.00 (2 in stock)
I Know a Lady
by Charlotte Zolotow & James Stevenson
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Should Have Stayed in Bed
by Joan M. Lexau, illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Harper & Row
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
Ida the Bareback Rider
A See and Read Beginning to Read Book
by Syd Hoff
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
by Laura Numeroff
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Illustrated Comic Alphabet
by Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Indian Two Feet and His Horse
by Margaret Friskey
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny and the Monarch
by Margaret Friskey, illustrated by Katherine Evans
Cadmus Edition from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny Crow's Garden
by L. Leslie Brooke
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Keep Running, Allen
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
Kenny's Window
by Maurice Sendak
Undated Reprint from HarperCrest
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Kick, Pass, and Run
by Leonard Kessler
from HarperCrest
for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Kid Brother
by Jerrold Beim, illustrated by Tracy Sugarman
from Morrow Eagle
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Lady Who Saw the Good Side of Everything
by Pat Decker Tapio, illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Seabury Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lady With the Ship On Her Head
by Deborah Nourse Lattimore
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lassie and the Secret Friend
by Kennon Graham, illustrated by Bob Schaar
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Legend of the Willow Plate
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Liam's Watch
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Life and Work of Auguste Rodin
by Richard Tames
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Frederic Remington
by Ernestine Giesecke
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Henry Moore
by Sean Connolly
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Child
by Jessie Orton Jones & Elizabeth Orton Jones
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Little Fish That Got Away
by Bernadine Cook, illustrated by Crockett Johnson
from Young Scott Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Little Indian
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Richard Scarry
from Simon and Schuster
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Little Wood Duck
by Brian Wildsmith
from Franklin Watts
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Look at a Kitten
by Dare Wright
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Looking-for-Something
by Ann Nolan Clark, illustrated by Leo Politi
1966 Printing from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ma Lien and the Magic Brush
by Hisako Kimishima, illustrated by Kei Wakana, retold by Alvin Tresselt
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Madeline and the Gypsies
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Viking Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Madeline and the Gypsies
by Ludwig Bemelmans
7th Printing 1972 from Viking Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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