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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479 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
1, 2, 3, Go!
by Huy Voun Lee
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
3 Little Golden Books Classic Collection
from Golden Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
3D Sapshots: Puppies (with 3D glasses)
from Fog City Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Dog Books (Location: SCI-MAMDOG)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
ABC's of Character
by Tony & Kathy Salerno with Andy Holmes, illustrated by Cesar De Castro
from Magination Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Character Building (Location: BIB-CH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Adding: A Poem
by Christina Rossetti, illustrated by Jan Balet
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Adventure of Charlie and His Wheat-Straw Hat
by Berniece T. Hiser, illustrated by Mary Szilagyi
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Charles Santore
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
All the World's a Stage
by Rebecca Piatt Davidson, illustrated by Anita Lobel
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Alphabet From A to Z
Facsimile from Western Publishing
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Ones
by Barbara Bash
from Sierra Club Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Angelina and Alice
by Katharine Holabird
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Angelina's Baby Sister
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
1st edition from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Angelina's Birthday
by Katharine Holabird; illustrated by Helen Craig
First Edition from Pleasant Company Publications, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Characters
by Jean Christian Knaff
from Picture Book Studio
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Orchestra
by Ilo Orleans
1st edition from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Animals' Picnic
by Ernest Nister
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Wild Animals
by Jan Brett
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes
Book 22
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Around the Year
by Elsa Beskow
from Floris Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Art & Max
by David Wiesner
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Arthur's Christmas Cookies
I Can Read! Level 2
by Lilian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Arthur's Pen Pal
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Lillian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
by Eric Carle
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
B is for Beaver
by Marie & Roland Smith, illustrated by Michael Roydon
from Sleeping Bear Press
for nursery-3rd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$18.99 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Babar and His Children
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Babar's Book of Color
by Laurent de Brunhoff
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Nursery-1st grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Babar's Picnic
by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated by Merle Haas
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Babes and Cradles
by Maud Wolcott Spalding, illustrated by Lucile Patterson Marsh & Anita Parkhurst
from Southern Publishing Association
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Wren and the Great Gift
by Sally Lloyd-Jones
from Zonderkidz
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Baby's Book of Animals
by Roger Priddy
from DK Publishing
for Nursery-1st grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Backyard Bear
by Jim Murphy, illustrated by Jeffrey Greene
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Ballad of Matthew's Begats w/CD
by Andrew Peterson, illustrated by Cory Godbey
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
by Fred Rogers, illustrated by Luke Flowers
from Quirk Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Beauty and the Beast
by Marianna Mayer
from Four Winds Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Beaver the Tailor
by Lars Klinting
from Douglas & McIntyre, Limited
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bedtime Story
from Mondo Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Before I Was Born
by Harriet Ziefert, Illustrated by Rufus Coes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjy and the Barking Bird
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Beware! Museum Bears
by Jacqueline Karas, Illustrated by Malcolm Ashman
First Ed 1st Printing from Bridgewater Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Big New School
Follett Beginning-to-Read Book
by Evelyn Hastings, illustrated by Polly Jackson
from Follett Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of Killingworth
by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root
1st edition from Sun Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Biscuit Storybook Collection
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
1st edition from HarperFestival
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Black and White
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-3rd grade
1991 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Book of Giant Stories
by David L. Harrison
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Book of Pigericks
by Arnold Lobel
First Ediition from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Verses for Children
by E. V. Lucas
1st THUS from Popular Culture Ink
for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bored - Nothing to Do!
by Peter Spier
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$44.00 (1 in stock)
Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians
by Carla Morris, illustrated by Brad Sneed
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Boy With a Drum
by David L. Harrison, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
from Merrigold Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Girl
by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Breakfast at the Liberty Diner
by Daniel Kirk
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bringing in the New Year
by Grace Lin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bushels of Bears
by Sue Hegarty, illustrated by Alice Shaw
from Zon International
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cabin Key
by Gloria Rand, illustrated by Ted Rand
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Camille and the Sunflowers
by Laurence Anholt
1st edition from Barron's
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Camille Pissarro
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Caribou Alphabet
by Mary Beth Owens
from Dog Ear Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch
by Harvey Cartoon Studios
1974 printing from Wonder Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Cat in the Hat Comes Back
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Cats from Away
by Peter Parnall
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
Book 23
by Beatrix Potter
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure
by Jennifer Thermes
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Charlie at the Zoo
by Marcus Pfister
from North-South Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses - A Poetry Pop-Up Book
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
1962 Reprint from Viking Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Everyday Bible
by Selina Hastings
from Tyndale House
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Picture Book
by Ernest Nister
from Delacorte Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Children's Stories of the Bible from the Old and New Testaments
by Barbara Taylor Bradford
from Playmore Publishers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Christian Mother Goose Book
by Marjorie Ainsborough Decker
Eighth Printing, July 1982 from Decker Press
for Nursery-1st grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Christmas Alphabet
by Robert Sabuda
from Orchard Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carol Miracle
by Luise Putcamp
from Abingdon Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
City Seen from A to Z
by Rachel Isadora
from Greenwillow Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Clara's Dancing Feet
by Jean Richardson and Joanna Carey
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Bedtime Stories
by Scott Gustafson
from Greenwich Workshop Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois
by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Color Zoo
by Lois Ehlert
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Nursery-1st grade
1990 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Coming to America
by Betsy Maestro
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Mother Goose
by Ethel F. Betts
from Longmeadow Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Corduroy
by Don Freeman
from Viking Press
Personification Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Curious George Flies a Kite
by Margret Rey
from Weekly Reader
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Daddy is Home!
by David Blomquist, illustrated by Aliki, music by Larry Grossman
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Day at the Fair
Grandma's Attic Keepsake Edition
by Arleta Richardson, Illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young
from Chariot Family Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Day with Whisker Wickles
by Cynthia Jameson, illustrated by James Marshall
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Friends
by Zhenya Gay
from Harper & Brothers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Peter Rabbit
by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Leslie Tryon
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dick Whittington and His Cat
by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Melisande Potter
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Digger Dan
Tell-A-Tale Books
by Patricia Lynn, illustrated by Si Frankel
from Whitman Publishing Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Diggers
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$60.00 (2 in stock)
Disney's Bambi
by Disney
from Disney Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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