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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311 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), Trade Paperback, In-Stock Books & Materials
A is for Annabelle
by Tasha Tudor
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-Preschool
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$7.99
ABC Book
by C. B. Falls
from Dover Publications
for Nursery-1st grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$7.99
Adelita
by Tomie DePaola
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
Fir from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (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 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
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
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 (5 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
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 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Angel Child, Dragon Child
by Michele Maria Surat
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Angel in the Waters
by Regina Doman; illustrated by Ben Hatke
from Sophia Institute Press
Realistic Fiction for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Pregnancy & Infant Care (Location: PRE-INF)
$9.95
Angus and the Cat
by Marjorie Flack
from Sunburst Book
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Angus and the Ducks
by Marjorie Flack
from Sunburst Book
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Angus Lost
by Marjorie Flack
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Animals in Winter
by Henrietta Bancroft
Revised from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Ann Likes Red
by Dorothy Z. Seymour
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
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
Annie and the Wild Animals
by Jan Brett
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Apple Picking Time
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Apples to Oregon
by Deborah Hopkinson
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Armadillo from Amarillo
by Lynne Cherry
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Around the Year
by Tasha Tudor
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Arrow to the Sun
by Gerald McDermott
Reprint from Puffin Books
1975 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Babushka Baba Yaga
by Patricia Polacco
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Baby Brains
by Simon James
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Beauty and the Beast
by Jan Brett
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature
by Stan & Jan Berenstain
from Dover Publications
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$15.99
Berlioz the Bear
by Jan Brett
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Best Trick
by Rebecca Lewis
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Big Bad Bruce
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Big Frank's Fire Truck
by Leslie McGuire
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Big Green Pocketbook
by Candice Ransom & Felicia Bond
from HarperCollins
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
1953 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Biggest Bear
by Lynd Ward
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest Frog in Australia
by Susan L. Roth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99
Bony-Legs
by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Dirk Zimmer
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Buford the Little Bighorn
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Bugs, Beetles, and Butterflies
Puffin Science Easy-to-Read Level 1
by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Lisa Flather
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Buttercup Hill
by Eileen M. Berry
from Bob Jones University Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Caboose Who Got Loose
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Carrot Seed
by Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson
from HarperCollins
Humorous Book on Botany for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (4 in stock)
Chester the Worldly Pig
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Chester's Way
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Chick & the Duckling
by Mirra Ginsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Word Books for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (8 in stock)
Chicken Soup With Rice
by Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.95
Children of the Earth and Sky
by Stephen Krensky, Illustrated by James Watling
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
Christmas in the Big Woods
My First Little House
by Laura Ingalls Wilder (adapted), illustrated by Renee Graef
Adapted from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cowardly Clyde
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Crane Wife
by Odds Bodkin
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00
Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars
by Margery Facklam
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Crow Boy
by Taro Yashima
from Puffin Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
1956 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Curious George
by H. A. Rey
36th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99
Curious George Flies a Kite
by Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Curious George Gets a Medal
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George Goes to the Hospital
by H. A. & Margret Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Curious George Learns the Alphabet
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Curious George Rides a Bike
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Curious George Takes a Job
by H. A. Rey
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Dance at Grandpa's
My First Little House
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Day the Goose Got Loose
by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
First Scholastic Printing April 1993 from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Days of the Blackbird OSI
by Tomie dePaola
from Puffin Books
for Prescool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Deer in the Wood
My First Little House
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Diary of a Wombat
by Jackie French
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Digging Up Dinosaurs
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Duffy and the Devil
by Harve Zemach
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-2nd grade
1974 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Each Peach Pear Plum
by Allan & Janet Ahlberg
from Puffin Books
Rhyming Story for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Edward the Emu
by Sheena Knowles
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
El Chino
by Allen Say
from HMH Books for Young Readers
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Eli
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Ella
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Empty Pot
by Demi
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.99
Evening at Alfie's
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Everybody Cooks Rice
from First Avenue Editions
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Farewell to Shady Glade
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Feast for 10
by Cathryn Falwell
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Feelings
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Emotions for Kids (Location: BIB-CHEM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Fin M'coul
by Tomie dePaola
from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
First Book of Fairy Tales
by Mary Hoffman
from DK Publishing
Fairy Tales for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
First Thanksgiving
by Jean Craighead George
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99
Fishing in the Air
by Sharon Creech
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll
by Franklyn Mansfield Branley
Revised from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Flower Garden
by Eve Bunting
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00
Fortune-Tellers
by Lloyd Alexander, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Frederick
by Leo Lionni
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
1968 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Freight Train
by Donald Crews
from Mulberry Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
1979 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses
by Jan Brett
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Frog Alphabet Book
by Jerry Pallotta
from Charlesbridge
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
From Akebu to Zapotec
by June Hathersmith
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
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