Nine Picture Books for Reading Aloud

My love of books runs deep, and reading aloud is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. I take the “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge to mean 1,000 unique books. (It doesn’t actually—you can and will read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie a thousand times. That counts.) But I like to make things harder on myself and make sure we’ve read a lot of different books. Along the way, I’ve discovered a few picture books that I absolutely love reading aloud. Some might be old favorites, but I hope you also find some new treasures to share!

A Gold Star for Zog

My son received A Gold Star for Zogas a Christmas gift from his preschool teachers. We could tell from his reaction that it was a beloved classroom book—and for good reason! The characters are sweet, and the rhyming story is easy to read out loud. I brought it in as part of “book flight” about knights when I was the first grade mystery reader, and they loved it too!

Bear Came Along

My (formerly bachelor) brother always manages to pick out the best books for my kids. (Now that he’s married, they come much more nicely wrapped.) The story of Bear Came Alongis fairly sweet and simple, but the illustrations are exceptional. (Probably why it won a Caldecott.)

Bear’s New Friend

All of Karma Wilson’s Bear books are a delight, but I especially like Bear’s New Friend. Maybe I find the story of how Bear makes a new friend charming. Maybe I’m just tired of my toddler insisting we read Bear Stays Up for Christmasand Bear Finds Eggs in July. We’ll never know. (No one tell him about Bear Says Thanks until November.)

Grumpy Monkey

My husband’s grandmother (the aforementioned GG) is one of those dangerously generous people who will buy you one in every color if you even hint that you like something. My husband liked monkeys as a kid, as kids do, and her buying him a monkey gift became a running joke that culminated in 30 monkey-themed presents for his 30^th birthday. (Thankfully, we didn’t get a repeat when he turned REDACTED this year.) Since then, she includes occasional nods to this tradition in gifts for the kids, including introducing us to Grumpy Monkey. We can all be a grumpy monkey sometimes, and this book helps give helpful language to that feeling—and how to respond.

Hello Lighthouse

Hello Lighthousewas another gift from my brother (and another Caldecott winner—I think I cracked the code). It was our first introduction to Sophie Blackall, who has become a beloved author and illustrator in our home. We used The Baby Treewhen we told our girls, who were 5 ½ and 4 at the time, that their baby brother was on the way. That baby brother is currently obsessed with Blackall’s Farmhouse. Blackall is prolific as both an author and an illustrator, and we love having her books on our shelves.

The Knight Owl

The Knight Owl by Christopher Denise was another gift from my brother and another Caldecott winner (yep, definitely cracked it). My toddler LOVES this story of an owl who wants to be a knight and how he wins over the dragon terrorizing the castle. I brought it and its sequel, Knight Owl and Early Bird, as part of my knight book flight as mystery reader, and it was a hit with the first-grade crowd as well.

Miss Rumphius

Miss Rumphius is a classic from prolific children’s author and illustrator Barbara Cooney. I love this story of Miss Rumphius, her adventures, and her quest to add beauty to the world, even when she’s limited by her circumstances. If you love Miss Rumphius or some of Cooney’s other classic illustrations, like in Roxaboxen, check out World More Beautiful: The Life and Art of Barbara Cooney and Because Barbara to learn more about her.

Nanette’s Baguette

Mo Williams is of course known for his Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie books. But Nanette’s Baguette is my personal favorite. Who knew so many words could rhyme with baguette?! And of course, I can relate to Nanette’s choice to (spoiler alert) consume the baguette before bringing it home to her mother. I wish we all had a baker named (of course) Juliette in our neighborhood.

What Sounds Fun to You?

This book actually came to us courtesy of both my sister-in-law and my cousin, who both recognized that my girls might need help learning to have fun too since mom is still working on it. I love that What Sounds Fun to You? is full of cheerful illustrations and easy ideas for having fun. Sometimes I need the help.

Bonus: The Book With No Pictures

Ok, technically, this book from The Office alum B.J. Novak doesn’t count because it is, as the title says, The Book With No Pictures. It is also not great children’s literature by any stretch of the imagination. But my kids think it is absolutely hilarious as a read-aloud. If you are also learning to have fun, this is an easy way to add some levity to reading time. (Heads up that it does contain the word “butt” if that’s a no-go in your family.)

What are some of your favorite picture books to read aloud? Do you secretly hope your kids will never outgrow picture books? Did I just out myself as a ridiculous overachiever for my thousand-book quest? Let me know in the comments—I love hearing from you!

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