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.
Did you find this review helpful?
871 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11)
26 Fairmont Avenue
by Tomie De Paola
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
365 Great Bible Stories
by Carine MacKenzie
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
5,000-Year-Old Puzzle
by Claudia Logan, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$21.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
A Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Abraham Lincoln (hardcover)
by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire; edited by Rea Berg
75th Anniversary from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 1st-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$21.95
Action Bible
from David C. Cook
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
Action Bible Expanded Edition
by Sergio Cariello
from David C. Cook
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$32.99
Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol
by written by Eric A. Kimmel; illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
for 3rd-8th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol
by Eric A. Kimmel; illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Holiday House
for 3rd-8th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by ??
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Carlo Collodi, translated and adapted by Angelo Patri and illustrated by Mary Liddell
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, Arthur Rackham, Walter Crane, and Alexander Calder
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables for Children
by Aesop, illustrated by Milo Winter
Pap/Com from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
African-Americans in the Thirteen Colonies
by Deborah Kent
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Ain't Burned All the Bright
by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jason Griffin
from Atheneum
for 5th-Adult
2023 Caldecott Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$19.99
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, in Rhyme
by Arthur Ransome, illustrated by Thomas Mackenzie
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
Alamo!
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Mexican-American War (Location: HISA-19TEX)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander Graham Bell
by Elizabeth MacLeod
from Kids Can Press
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$7.99
Amelia Earhart - Coloring Book
by Muriel Earhart Morrissey
from Bellerophon Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
America's Lost Dream
by Tom Dooley
from Master Books
American History for 4th-6th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$12.79 $10.00 (2 in stock)
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
American Tall Tales
by Mary Pope Osborne, Michael McCurdy
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales & Fables for 4th-8th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Andy Warhol
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Anno's Journey
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Anno's Journey
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 2nd-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.95
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
by Mitsumasa Anno, Masaichiro Anno
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
by Mitsumasa Anno, Masaichiro Anno
from Philomel Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
Another Book of Verses for Children
by E.V. Lucas (editor), illustrated by F.D. Bedford
from Macmillan
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$26.00 (1 in stock)
Anselm of Canterbury
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Armando and the Blue Tarp School
by Edith Hope Fine, Judith Pinkerton Josephson
from Lee & Low Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Arrival
by Shaun Tan
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$21.99
Art of the New American Nation
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
Ashanti to Zulu
by Margaret Musgrove, Leo & Diane Dillon
from Puffin Books
Word Books for 2nd-5th grade
1977 Caldecott Medal winner
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.99
Athanasius
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Atoms
Golden Books of Knowledge
by Jerry Korn
from Golden Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Augustine of Hippo
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
by Faith Ringgold
from Dragonfly Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
Baby Whale Sharp Ears
by John Y. Beaty, illustrated by Helene Carter
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$80.00 (1 in stock)
Bach's Goldberg Variations
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$16.95
Bard of Avon
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken Mochizuki
from Lee & Low Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
1st edition from Falcon Press Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls
by William Cole, illustrated by Tomi Ungerer
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum
by Ashley Bryan
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-7th grade
$9.99 $5.50 (5 in stock)
Beauty of the Beast
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Meilo So
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bedtime Stories
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Carl & Mary Hauge
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
Beethoven
by Reba Paeff Mirsky
from Follett
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Beetle Is Shy
by Dianna Hutts Aston
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99
Before There Was Mozart
by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome
2nd ed. from Beautiful Feet Books
for 1st-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Benjamin Franklin, American Genius
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Walker Books
for 3rd-8th grade
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Between the Lines
by Sandra Neil Wallace; illustrated by Bryan Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for 2nd-6th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Stories for Young Readers
Junior Deluxe Editions
by April Oursler Armstrong, illustrated by Jules Gotlieb
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest Story
by Kevin DeYoung
from Crossway Books
for 1st-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest Story Bible Storybook
by Kevin DeYoung, illustrated by Don Clark
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$27.99
Bill Peet
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Birds, Beasts and the Third Thing
by D. H. Lawrence; illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines
by Caroline Arnold
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$7.95
Black Elk's Vision
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Heart of Indri
by Dorothy Hoge; illustrated by Janina Domanska
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$22.99
Black Whiteness
by Robert Burleigh
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for 4th-7th grade
1999 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Blizzard!
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
2001 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Bluebirds Seven
by R. Bruce Horsfall
1st edition
for 3rd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Body in Action
Golden Books of Knowledge
by Mitchell Wilson, adapted by Ann Reit
from Golden Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Bonny's Big Day
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Brave Cloelia
by Jane Curry
1st edition from J. Paul Getty Museum
for 4th-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare!
by Marcia Williams
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
Brendan the Navigator
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Bright Star
by Gary Crew
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Buffalo Hunt
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
Building on Nature
by Rachel Rodriguez, illustrated by Julie Paschkis
from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Butterflies and Moths
Golden Library of Knowledge
by Richard A. Martin
from Golden Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Can You Count to a Googol?
by Robert E. Wells
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$7.99
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99
Captain Cook: Pacific Explorer
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Capyboppy
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Non-fiction for 1st-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Casey at the Bat
by Ernest L. Thayer & Christopher Bing
1st edition from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
2001 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Castle
by David Macaulay
from Graphia
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$16.99
Castle of Ladies
by Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Norman Laliberté
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Cathedral
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1974 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.99
Cats in Krasinski Square
by Karen Hesse
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
123456789