Here's my ongoing list of my favorite board books and picture books. In an attempt to keep my list "short," I've narrowed down our greatest hits to books that are or have been in heavy rotation and which we (the parents) actually don't mind reading over and over. (I also have a list of annoying books--beloved by my children--that I'm sick of reading and do NOT find charming, but we'll save that list for another day.) I always love to talk about children's books, so if you think I'm missing out on a fabulous find, please chime in. I wonder how many of these books you love and/or remember...
KID-TESTED, MOTHER-APPROVED
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
Babies on the Go by Linda Ashman
Baby Farm Animals by Garth Williams
Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton
Binky by Leslie Patricelli
Bunny Bungalow by Cynthia Rylant
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
Ella the Elegant Elephant (and other Ella books) by Carmela D’amico
Fancy Nancy (any and all of them) by Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser
Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
The Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg
Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny, Too by Mo Willems
Little Miss Spider by David Kirk
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
CUTE & CLEVER BOOKS I LOVED INSTANTLY
Apple Trouble by Ragnhild Scamell
Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Hondo & Fabian by Peter McCarty
How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
I’m A Duck by Teri Sloat
Mother, Mother I Want Another by Maria Polushkin Robbins
Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash by Sarah Weeks
The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch
Roar of a Snore by Marsha Diane Arnold
Seven Spunky Monkeys by Jackie French Koller
Silly Tilly by Eileen Spinelli
That New Animal by Emily Jenkins
Waking Up Wendell by April Stevens & Tad Hills
What Do You Want? by Lars Klinting
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra
ONES I LOVED WHEN I WAS LITTLE THAT THEY LOVE NOW, TOO
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Corky by Patricia Scarry
Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Happy Birthday To You! by Dr. Seuss
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Kermit the Hermit by Bill Peet
The Little Brute Family by Russell Hoban
Lovable Lyle by Bernard Waber
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Many Moons by James Thurber
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Walk the Mouse Girls Took by Karla Kuskin
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Last Updated: May 16, 2010
