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?
303 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Used Books & Materials
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
by Carlo Collodi, translated by E. Harden and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Amelia Earhart
by Francene Sabin and Joanne Mattern, illustrated by Karen Milone
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (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 $8.00 (2 in stock)
American Tall Tales
by Mary Pope Osborne, Michael McCurdy
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales & Fables for 4th-8th grade
$19.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Anno's Journey
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Babar the King / Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar); Rose Dobbs (reteller, Grimm), Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott Espensheid
from Random House
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Bartali's Bicycle
by Megan Hoyt; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
from Quill Tree Books
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
1st edition from Falcon Press Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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 (3 in stock)
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 $6.50 (1 in stock)
Beowulf (retold)
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Story Library - Four Volume Set
from Educational Book Guild
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Black Elk's Vision
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$8.00 (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)
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 (1 in stock)
Boy Named FDR
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
from Dragonfly Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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 $4.50 (1 in stock)
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 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Introduction to Poetry
Books for Young Explorers
by Michael Driscoll & Meredith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 2nd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Story Bible
by Catherine F. Vos
from Eerdmans
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Children's Illustrated Bible
by Selina Hastings, illustrated by Eric Thomas
from DK Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Poetry
by Michael Rosen & Paul Howard
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Colter's Run
by Judith Edwards, illustrated by John Potter
from Falcon Press Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Cornstalks: A Bushel of Poems
by James Stevenson
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (4 in stock)
Cut Down to Size at High Noon
by Scott Sundby & Wayne Geehan
from Charlesbridge
for 2nd-6th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Dance Me a Story
by Jane Rosenberg
from Thames and Hudson
for 3rd-8th grade
in Dance (Location: ELE-DANCE)
$10.00 (4 in stock)
Discovery of the Americas
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
DK Illustrated Family Bible
from DK Publishing
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Doll People
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
Reprint from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Dream Keeper And Other Poems
by Langston Hughes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Drop Around the World
by Barbara Shaw McKinney, Illustrated by Michael S. Maydak
from Dawn Publications
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Earth Science (Location: SCI-EARTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Dry Bones and Other Fossils
by Gary & Mary Parker
2nd edition from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$11.19 $6.50 (3 in stock)
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Egermeier's Bible Story Book
by Elsie E. Egermeier
from Warner Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Egermeier's Bible Story Book
by Elsie E. Egermeier
from Warner Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Egermeier's Bible Story Book
by Elsie E. Egermeier
41st Printing from Warner Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Egermeier's Bible Story Book
by Elsie E. Egermeier
from Warner Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Egermeier's Bible Story Book
by Elsie E. Egermeier
27th Printing from Warner Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eleventh Hour
by Graeme Base
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Emperor's New Clothes
by Hans Christian Andersen as told by Various Authors
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Enchanted Book
by Janina Porazinska, translated by Bozena Smith, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
for 1st-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Exotic Invaders
by Jeanne M. Lesinski
from Walker Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
The American Story Series
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$11.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Poems for Children
by Holly Pell McConnaughy, editor
from Barnes & Noble
for 1st-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
First Starry Night
by Joan Shaddox Isom
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First to Fly
by David Craig & Peter Busby
from Crown and Covenant
for 4th-6th grade
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Fly on the Wall Street
by Sandi Nelson, illustrated by Jared Beckstrand
from Two Harbors Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Economics Resources (Location: ECON-REF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington Carver
by Tonya Bolden
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Go Free or Die
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
God's People
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of Fairy Tales
by Translated by Marie Ponsot, Illustrated by Adrienne Segur
from Golden Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Good Ol' Cowboy Stories
by Jack Terry
from Harvest House
for 4th-7th grade
in Cowboys & Cattlemen (Location: HISA-19CO)
$7.00 (3 in stock)
Good Queen Bess
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from HarperCollins
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Grandpa's Box
by Starr Meade
from P&R Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Bible Doctrine for Kids (Location: BIBR-DOC)
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Great Animal Search
by Caroline Young
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Higglety Pigglety Pop!
by Maurice Sendak
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Highwayman
by Alfred Noyes, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition
for 3rd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
How to Eat a Poem
from Dover Publications
for 5th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
I Heard Good News Today
by Cornelia Lehn
1st edition from Faith & Life Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Spy Fantasy
by Jean Marzollo
1st edition from Cartwheel Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Look and Find Books (Location: PIC-LOOK)
$14.99 $6.50 (1 in stock)
I'm In Charge of Celebrations
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
If I Were In Charge of the World and Other Worries
by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lynne Cherry
from Aladdin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Family Bible Stories
from New Leaf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Images of God
by John and Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
1st edition from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Winter
by Russell Freedman
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Indian Winter
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 5th-8th grade
in Native American History (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Inventor's Times
by Dan Driscoll, James Zigarelli
from Tangerine Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
John Hancock
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Chuck Mitchell
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Joseph, Chief of the Nez Perce
by Dean Pollock, author and illustrator
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1989 Newbery Medal winner
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Eric Beddows
1st edition from Harper & Row
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher Book of Classic Boy Stories
by Michael Morpurgo, editor
1st edition from Kingfisher
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Lessons from Nature
by John Bunyan
from Back Home Industries
Lyrical Poems for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$24.00 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Liberty
by Lynn Curlee
from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Little Fox
by Edith Brecht, Illustrated by Joan Sandin
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Little Ships
by Louise Borden, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Loony Limericks from Alabama to Wyoming
by Jack Stokes
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Madam President
by Catherine Thimmesh, Illustrated by Douglas B. Jones
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Many Thousand Gone
by Virginia Hamilton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Martin Luther
by May McNeer & Lynd Ward
from Abingdon Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Cassatt
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Mary Poppins from A to Z
by P. L. Travers, illustrated by Mary Shepard
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Meanest Doll in the World
by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mike Fink
by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Millions to Measure
by David M. Schwartz
from Scholastic Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Millions to Measure
by David M. Schwartz
from HarperTrophy
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
Personification for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
1234