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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91 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), In-Stock Books & Materials
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
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)
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
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)
Anno's Journey
by Mitsumasa Anno
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 2nd-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.95
Arrival
by Shaun Tan
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$21.99
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)
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)
Bill Peet
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 4th-8th grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$24.99
Castle
by David Macaulay
from Graphia
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$16.99
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
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 Introduction to Poetry
Books for Young Explorers
by Michael Driscoll & Meredith Hamilton
First Revised Edition from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 2nd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99
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)
D'Aulaire American Biographies Package
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$111.86
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
Greek Mythology for 4th-9th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from New York Review of Books
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.95
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)
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)
Eleventh Hour
by Graeme Base
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.00 (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)
Gift of the Magi and Other Stories
by O. Henry, illustrated by P. J. Lynch
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-10th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99
God's Story
from Master Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$19.99
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)
Great Animal Search
by Caroline Young
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1st edition from Puffin Books
Poetry for 4th-8th
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.99
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)
Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Holling Quintet
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-8th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$66.95
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 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 Spy Super Challenger!
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Look and Find Books (Location: PIC-LOOK)
$14.99
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)
Joan of Arc
by M. Boutet De Monvel
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
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)
Journey That Saved Curious George
by Louise W. Borden
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Junipero Serra: Founder of the California Missions
by Linda Gondosch, Illustrated by Emmanuel Beaudesson
from Ignatius Press
for 5th-8th grade
in California (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$14.99
Kids at Work
by Russell Freedman, photographs by Lewis Hine
from Clarion Books
for 6th-9th grade
1995 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$11.99
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)
Life of Our Lord
by Charles Dickens
from Simon and Schuster
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Latin American & Hispanic Culture (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$8.99
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 Poppins from A to Z
by P. L. Travers
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
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)
Mill
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.99
Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Miss Hickory
by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
from Puffin Books
Personification story for 3rd-7th grade
1947 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
My Secret Camera
by Mendel Grossman
from Harcourt
for 4th-8th grade
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round
by Doreen Rappaport
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Peter Pan
Dover Evergreen Classics
by J. M. Barrie
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from InquisiCorp Corporation
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Alice Carsey
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
$18.00
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
from Creative Editions
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Pinocchio
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Sidney G. Firman
from Dover Publications
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Poetry for Kids: Walt Whitman
for 2nd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Pyramid
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Ancient Egyptian Architecture for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.99 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Ray of Light
by Walter Wick
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-7th grade
in Light & Sound (Location: SCI-PHY)
$17.99
Shrewbettina's Birthday
by John S. Goodall
1973 Printing from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for Preschool-Adult
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Sieur de La Salle
by John Paul Zronik
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
So You Want to Be President?
by Judith St. George & David Small
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
2001 Caldecott Medal winner
in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Soldiers of the American Revolution
by James L. Collins, Jr.
from Center of Military History
for 5th-10th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Song of Robin Hood
by Anne Malcolmson & Grace Castagnetta, illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-Adult
1948 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$22.99
Space Child's Mother Goose
by Frederick Winsor, illustrated by Marian Parry
from Purple House Press
for 2nd-8th grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$13.95
Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages
by Harold Bloom
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-8th grade
in Short Stories (Location: LIT-ANTH)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Flight
by Mary Lee Settle
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Fort Sumter
by Eugenia Burney
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Fort Sumter
by Eugenia Burney
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Sweet Corn
by James Stevenson
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Talking to the Sun
by Selected by Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrell
from Henry Holt and Company
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Tempest, The
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales
by William Shakespeare
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ten Kings and the Worlds They Ruled
by Milton Meltzer
1st edition from Orchard Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-7th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$16.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Treasury of Verse for School and Home
by M. G. Edgar and Eric Chilman, editors
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Trial by Ice
by K. M. Kostyal
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Volcano
by Patricia Lauber
from Bradbury Press
for 4th-7th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Waiting to Waltz
by Cynthia Rylant
from Atheneum
for 1st-7th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99
Wanderings of Odysseus
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$19.00 (1 in stock)
War to End All Wars
by Russell Freedman
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$11.99
Wide Open Spaces
by Jack Terry
from Harvest House
for 4th-7th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World Made New
by Marc Aronson & John W. Glenn
from National Geographic
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$17.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
You Come Too
by Robert Frost
from Henry Holt and Company
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$13.99