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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347 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), 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)
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)
5,000-Year-Old Puzzle
by Claudia Logan, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$21.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
A. Lincoln and Me
by Louise W. Borden
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
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
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Heidi Holder
1st edition from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (adapted)
by Adapted by David Blair and illustrated by John Bradley, Original by Lewis Carroll
1st.Edition from Courage Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
All the Children of the World
by Karen Mezek Leimert
First Edition from Nelsonword Publishing Group
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
All the Places to Love
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
American Moments
by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Bruce Strachan
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-4th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by Dr. Seuss
15th printing 1967 from Vanguard Press
Rhyming Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Animalia
by Graeme Base
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Robert Scott Saw
by Sandra Markle
from Chronicle Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Another Book of Verses for Children
by E.V. Lucas (editor), illustrated by F.D. Bedford
from Macmillan
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$26.00 (1 in stock)
Aquila's Drinking Gourd
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (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)
Art & Max
by David Wiesner
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Arthur and the Super Chimp Contest
An I Can Read Book
by Lillian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.50 (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)
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)
Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Atlas Editions
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Whale Sharp Ears
by John Y. Beaty, illustrated by Helene Carter
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$80.00 (1 in stock)
Bag in the Wind
by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Barry Root
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Barnabas Children's Bible
by Rhona Davies, illustrated by Marcin Piwowarski
from Anno Domini
for 1st-4th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Bear on the Train
by Julie Lawson
from Kids Can Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (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 Deborah Apy, Michael Hague (illustrator)
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales & Fables for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Before They Were Authors
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Between the Lines
by Sandra Neil Wallace; illustrated by Bryan Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for 2nd-6th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Stories for Young Readers
Junior Deluxe Editions
by April Oursler Armstrong, illustrated by Jules Gotlieb
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 10
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 3
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 5
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 6
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 7
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (4 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 8
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Story - Volume 9
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Big Bedtime Storybook
by Patsy Scarry, illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest Story
by Kevin DeYoung
from Crossway Books
for 1st-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$10.00 (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)
Black Elk's Vision
by S. D. Nelson
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$12.00 (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)
Bluebirds Seven
by R. Bruce Horsfall
1st edition
for 3rd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bones
from Scholastic Reference
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bonny's Big Day
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 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 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)
Brave Harriet
by Marissa Moss
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Brer Rabbit and His Tricks
by Ennis Rees; illustrated by Edward Gorey
from Young Scott Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$9.00 (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)
Brothers in Hope
by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Lee & Low Books
for 1st-4th grade
2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$6.00 (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)
Charles Dickens
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Book of Bible Stories
by Jane Werner; illustrated by Masha
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Simon and Schuster
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99 $14.50 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Cooper Edens
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (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
Arcadia
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Princess House Books
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Joanna Isles
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Thomas Kinkade
First Edition, Thus from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Weathervane Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Juanita C. Bennett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
Popular Edition from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$8.00 (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 (2 in stock)
Child's Story Book
by Kay Chorao
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (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 Bible
from Golden Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$10.00 (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 Illustrated Bible
by Selina Hastings
from DK Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$12.00 (2 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)
Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes
by Selected and Edited by Robert Wyndham, Illustrated by Ed Young
from Philomel Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Chinese Siamese Cat
by Amy Tan, illustrated by Gretchen Schields
from Macmillan
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Trees
A New True Book
by Kathy Henderson
from Children's Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.00 (1 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)
Christopher Robin Book of Verse
by A. A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
1st edition from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Cloak for the Dreamer
by Aileen Friedman
from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Math Picture Books (Location: MATR-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Colt Named Mischief
from Doubleday & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
by Oliver Postgate & Naomi Linnell
from Franklin Watts
for 2nd-5th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$7.50 (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)
Cryptomania!
by Edith H. Fine; illustrated by Kim Doner
from Tricycle Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vocabulary Resources (Location: REF-VOC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Delver's Danger
Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection
by Susan Thompson-Hoffman, illustrated by Eileen Major Buzzanco
from Trudy Corporation
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Disguises and Surprises
Supersmarts
by Claire Llewellyn
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$5.00 (1 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)
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Elephant's Child
by Rudyard Kipling
2nd Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (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)
Enemies of Slavery
from Holiday House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Everyday Mysteries
by Jerome Wexler
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
$4.00 (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)
$10.00 (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)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Eye for Color
by Natasha Wing, Art by Julia Breckenreid
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Family Read-Aloud Holiday Treasury
by Selected by Alice Low, Illustrated by Marc Brown
First Ediition from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Flight
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer
from Philomel Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (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)
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