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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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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
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)
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)
Baby Animals
Extraordinary Animals
by Andrew Brown
from Crabtree Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 and Small, Short and Tall
by Ron Roy, illustrated by Lynne Cherry
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines
by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$24.99
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)
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)
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)
Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$7.00 (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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Freedom's Fruit
by William H. Hooks
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Funny Ride
by Margaret Hillert; illustrated by Jozef Sumichrast
from Follett Publishing Co.
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
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 Do Airplanes Fly?
Ask Isaac Asimov
by Isaac Asimov and Elizabeth Kaplan
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 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)
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)
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)
Magic Leaf
by Winifred Morris & Ju-Hong Chen
from Atheneum
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Man Named Washington
by Gertrude Norman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Man Who Walked Around the World
by Benjamin Elkin, illustrated by Katherine Evans
from Children's Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Maurice Maeterlinck's Blue Bird
by Brian Wildsmith
from Franklin Watts
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mei Li
by Thomas Handforth
Reissue from Doubleday & Company
1939 Caldecott Medal winner
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Memory String
from Clarion Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mice at Bat
An I Can Read Book
by Kelly Oechsli
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Rhymes: Ancient Greece
Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times
by Susan Altman, Susan Lechner
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Monkey and the Crab
by Seishi Horio (reteller), illustrated by Tsutomu Murakami
from Heian International, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Mother's Mother's Day
by Lorna Balian
from Abingdon Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car
by John Burningham
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.89
Mr. Sipple and the Naughty Princess
by Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler, illustrated by Richard E. Martin
from Follett
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Much Bigger Than Martin
by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
My Mama Says There Aren't Any
by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Kay Chorao
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
New Golden Dictionary
by Bertha Morris Parker, illustrated by Aurelius Battaglia
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
No Funny Business
by Edith Thacher Hurd, illustrated by Clement Hurd
from HarperCrest
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Nothing to Wear But Clothes
by Frank Jupo
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Nubber Bear
by William Lipkind, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Ogre and His Bride
by Nami Kishi, retold by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Shosuke Fukuda
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
One Silver Second
by Daphne Doward Hogstrom, illustrated by Gordon Laite
Stated First Printing from Rand McNally
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
Orcas Around Me
by Debra Page, illustrated by Leslie W. Bowman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Outside my Window
from HarperCrest
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Pet Dragon
by Christoph Niemann
First Edition first Printing from Greenwillow Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peter's Three Friends
by Winifred Bromhall
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Dwight David Eisenhower
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of John Hancock
by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler
from Holiday House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Pied Piper of Hamelin
by Sara and Stephen Corrin (retellers), illustrated by Errol Le Cain
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Pilgrims' Party
A Really Truly Story
by Sadybeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Pirates' Adventure on Spooky Island
by Leonard Kessler
from Garrard Publishing Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ponce de Leon
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
President's Cabinet and How it Grew
by Nancy Winslow Parker
from Parents Magazine Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Government & Civics Resources (Location: GOV-REF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Proverbial Mouse
by Moira Miller
First Edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Puzzle of the Dinosaur-Bird
by Miriam Schlein, illustrated by Mark Hallett
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Quilt, The
by Ann Jonas
from Greenwillow Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Raggedy Ann Stories
by Johnny Gruelle
from Johnny Gruelle Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Reading of Poetry
by William D. Sheldon, Nellie Lyons,, Polly Rouault
from Allyn and Bacon
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever (Giant Golden Book)
by Richard Scarry
De Luxe edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$17.99
Riddles Around the World
from E.M. Hale and Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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