Welcome to an insightful journey through the '28 Best Children's Picture Books,' written by Muhiuddin Alam on the book recommendations and reviews site, ReadingAndThinking.com.
Over the years as a leading authority on literary expertise, I've created numerous articles on the topics of Parenting and Children's Reads, many of which can be found on this site. I'm also a regular contributor to other websites and publications.
I have received many requests to recommend some of the best picture books. In response, I'm pleased to offer my expert recommendations in this article.
So, when I suggest these books, it's because I've read a lot and want to share the best ones with you. I'm all about making your reading experience awesome. Trust in a guide deeply immersed in the literary books and stories. I love books just like you do!
I will recommend the best children's picture books in this post, which is based on my in-depth study and extensive research in this field. Some notable recommendations include here: My Dad, Stone Soup, The Gardener, Miss Rumphius, The Little House, and Hug.
These aren't the only books on this topic. Below, you'll find 28 books with detailed descriptions of each of these outstanding resources, helping you make well-informed decisions in your top picture book journey.
"Picture books can bring children a full range of nourishment in literature, philosophy, science, and art."
Picture books, as a comprehensive art form, originate from the author’s intuition and rely on the author’s spiritual power to grasp things as a whole.
The characteristic of intuition is the image, and the thing used to express the author's intuition can only be the image, and it is unique.
The creation is vivid and concrete, but the concept is rational and logical. It is difficult in itself to use rational and logical language to summarize vivid and highly personalized creations. It is always impossible for a theory to accurately refer to the object itself.
The 28 Best Children's Picture Books 2023
As an unreliable mother, I have done many wrong things. Only one thing is right. From 6 months to 6 years old, he spends half an hour to an hour every day, watching picture books and telling stories with him.
If you want your child to be interesting, and knowledgeable...Reading picture books with him is really the best choice. Picture books can bring children a full range of nourishment in literature, philosophy, science, and art.
Picture books can help shape children's correct values. I bought more than 600 picture books, and I read each one with him. Some picture books we laughed and broke together, and some picture books we cried...
I selected the 28 most popular high-quality picture books in 2023. If you have children, or you want to be a kid again, you can use them as a reference when buying picture books!
1. My Dad by Anthony Brown
The description of the father is very resonant with the child. The picture in this book is big and exaggerated, and there is very little text.
The key is that the father in the book and the child in reality have a super consistent impression of his father.
The child will feel that it is his father. There is a picture with a text saying "Dad eats as much as a hippo", and the baby finds it very interesting.
2. Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth
The joy of cooperation, sharing, and a little scam permeate the children's hearts in detail.
3. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
The closeness to nature is something every child will like. This is the effect of the picture on the children, and the way of writing letters is also novel and attractive place.
In fact, everyone has the complex of longing for letters, eagerness to get that kind of family, and unique comfort, not to mention the transition from pessimism to hope.
4. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
My grown-up children had been sent this book from the USA when they were small and it has been a part of our lives ever since. All these years later I wanted a copy for a special friend - and was amazed to find it through Amazon.
It is a really simple, inspiring story of a lady who wants to make the world more beautiful. I would recommend it to anyone, not just children. I just wish it was available in Hardback.
5. The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive by Joanna Cole
Parents have always been worried that their children are afraid of science or have weak scientific knowledge. This set of introductions is too timely.
The hot sale on the Internet has proved that there are many kinds of shouts, there are many supporting products, and DVDs, which can fully understand this set. , The child’s scientific foundation is no longer a problem, the key is to ensure that the child will like it, and you will too.
6. Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock
There are so many uses for this picture book. The most basic is a story of a little boy's loss of life, which is similar to his own children; secondly, the close relationship between siblings and brothers; thirdly, it is too classic in 19th century Paris. The bright yellow tones of autumn can't be put down now.
The most suitable thing is to wait for the child to get older. When you take it to Paris, the map you hold in your hand, the changes in Europe are not as fast as in China.
The scenery inside must be found again, even if it is used as a gamebook, let the child on the map It is also a fun parent-child to find what the younger brother has lost. One book for two generations.
7. Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales (Peter Rabbit) by Beatrix Potter
Peter Rabbit has a deep European brand. Without the arrogance of DISNEY, children would not think of them as people in animal skins.
This complete and unabridged collection contains all 23 of Beatrix Potter's Tales in one deluxe volume with all their original illustrations.
The stories are arranged in the order in which they were first published so they may be read in their proper sequence.
8. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The exquisite painting style is a successful picture book, and if it reflects the current social hot spots, it will be able to enter the thinking track of adults.
The erosion of the countryside by urbanization is such a heavy topic. Who says that children must be ignorant?
Although the little house was saved and found its home again on a hill with small daisies and apple trees, it still left suspense.
Who can guarantee that it will never be swallowed by modern civilization? This "Little House", which has been published for more than 60 years, still tells a beautiful story to children.
9. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
You know GUCCI in Italy and LV in France, but do you know these? Wheat from Italy, a hen from France, cinnamon from Sri Lanka, a cow from England, sugar cane from Jamaica, and apple from America! Travel around the world to make apple pie without the supermarket opening?
Children don’t care whether the logic behind the story is absurd or not. They just feel so happy that they always ask when they see the apples in the supermarket, is it American? This should be called "the world on the tip of the tongue"!
10. Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault
The cat in the boots is very cool and clever. He thought of various tricks to turn his short, poor, and poor owner over. This is a very classic story.
If an adult hadn’t been exposed to it when he was a child, he might think that there are various tricks of fraud in the book, but For children, these so-called evils are caused by adults. With this vision, it is not right to talk about princes and princesses in fairy tales all day long.
11. Sophie's Masterpiece by Eileen Spinelli
This is a very Western story. If it is China, our similar praise will be reflected in the silkworms, such as "spring silkworms to the dead silk ends", but this complex is reflected in a spider in the West, at least not Put on colored glasses for the children first-spiders can also be cute.
Reading the picture book, you can also play him the cute "little spider" children's song, which is available on the Internet, and compare it with "Charlotte's Net", which is more comprehensive.
12. When I Feel Scared (The Way I Feel Books) by Cornelia Maude Spelman
Children will recognize similar experiences in their own lives as this little bear describes feeling scared when he has a bad dream or his mother goes away. Eventually, our hero realizes that it's OK to be scared sometimes, and there are ways he can help himself when he's frightened.
13. Happy Birthday, Moon (Moonbear) by Frank Asch
When the child talks to the moon, please close your mouth you think he is ignorant and boring! Because the little bear in the world who knows how to talk to the moon does the same.
In the eyes of Little Bear, the moon is alive and its friend, so he rowed a boat to see it, celebrated birthdays with the moon, and gave gifts. He couldn't be happier.
The hat that is used as a birthday gift is basically the spokesperson for the children's desire for friendship and building good relationships.
Therefore, we should encourage children to talk to nature, whether it is a small flower a duck, or a frog.
14. Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Why are animals naked? Because if they put on clothes, all kinds of embarrassment will occur. The sheep will eat the clothes for lunch, and the hedgehog will poke many holes in the clothes.
A super interesting book, adults and children will laugh when they read it. It is said that it has been selling well in the United States for more than 30 years.
15. Hug by Jez Alborough
If your child is over 2 years old, you don't need to watch it unless you think he needs supplementary education in emotional intelligence.
The whole book has only two words "hug and hug", you can think of it as a "hug and hug" textbook about baby apes.
In particular, how to hug elephants, giraffes, and hippos that have no hands in science.
There is a real feeling in the live world, please review it, how long have you not hugged your child? You know, in another 10 years, if you want to hug, you have to beg him!
16. Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Burningham
Let children learn to share and read Uncle Gamborg! How generous is he? Children, rabbits, pigs, cows, and goats are allowed to go on the boat free of charge.
He also takes everyone to dry clothes, eat snacks, and drink tea. For the children of Uncle Gan, if there is a chance to become the director of tourism in the future, at least half of the scenic spots in the country can be free.
17. The Crocodile and the Dentist by Taro Gomi
The trick to dealing with children who don't like to brush their teeth! The crocodile and the dentist are just a pair of imaginary enemies worthy of the name.
They stage a child-level horror movie for a rotten tooth. If the child sees it and throws away the lollipop, it is worth the fare!
18. No, David! by David Shannon
David, the most experienced troublemaker in the picture book world, played baseball in the house and caused the vase; stood on a chair and used his tongue to fill the sugar bowl; doodled on the wall, turned the bathroom into a swamp pool, and ran across the street with his butt...naughty David is almost omnipotent.
"David, you can't" is the mum's catchphrase, which seems to be annoying. And in the end, the plot took a turn for the worse.
Mom hugged David, who was punished for sitting on a small bench, and said, "I love you." In contrast, all the previous steps are weak!
19. The Napping House by Audrey Wood
This is a work that tells humorous stories in a romantic tone and wins the true love of all princesses by controlling their mothers.
The whole picture book is full of fantasy. The protagonist’s house seems to have a hypnotic ability. The grandmother, the little boy, the puppy, and the kitten are all asleep.
According to the physiological schedule, they are all led by the mouse, waking up one by one in a dramatic manner.
The author uses a large number of repetitive sentence patterns and repetitive sentence structures, which are very good for improving children's observation and language skills.
20. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
When they were young, the post-'80s had all watched cartoons adapted from this picture book. Do you still remember the snowman who was exposed to the sun with a carrot nose on the ground? Super nostalgic.
There are a large number of pictures in the picture book, but they do not appear in the picture without holding a word.
At this time, the adults who have no images will show the short ones! On the contrary, a 2-year-old child can tell you a snowman "emoji emperor" he understands from these picture grids. In contrast, Hamlet was suddenly overshadowed by his inner superiority.
21. The Hungry Caterpillar
This is the most famous caterpillar in the world! (United States) by Eric Carle
This book is very popular. It is said that 20 million copies have been sold worldwide, and the caterpillars in the book are regarded as superstars in the caterpillar world. This caterpillar is very greedy.
From Monday to Sunday, the more food it eats, the larger the page size, and the place where the bug crawls is designed with a small hole, which is very interesting and can be guided by it. Children should not be picky eaters.
22. The Giving Tree
Understand what love is from a big tree (United States) by Shel Silverstein
You liked a tree when you were a kid. Will you continue to like it when you grow up? The little boy in the story returned to the tree after he got old.
Looking at the big tree, in the end, only the stump is left, which makes people sad and move. Love is tolerance and love is perfect. Many times the parents are the tree.
23. I will always love you
The most moving is often the simplest (English) by Paeony Lewis
For children, the most worrying thing is, what should I do if my mother doesn't love me? Especially, when I do something wrong, will my mother stop loving me?
In the story, Ali breaks his mother's favorite bowl, and he also begins to worry about what to do if her mother doesn't love herself, so he goes to find his mother and does a love test.
The most touching sentence in this story is the simple 5 words, "I will always love you". It seems simple, but parents may not be able to do it. True love is unconditional.
It has nothing to do with how many points the child has scored on the test, what job the child finds, or whether the child finds a good partner. There is also "Forgot to Say I Love You" in similar picture books.
24. Guess how much I love you
Tell your children that love can be measured (Ireland) by Sam McBratney
Love is an abstract concept. Parents often tell their children that they love them without discussing it. Is love measurable? This book turns love into a concrete thing, using exaggerated movements to measure love.
Mother Rabbit and Baby Rabbit really love acting. After reading this book, Wei Tang and I played it again. Whose love is greater in the game, in order to show that I love more violently, I stretched my arms to infinity. The muscles were almost strained.
25. Richard Scarry's Golden Children's Book
See the three words "Scarry", hurry up and buy! (United States) by Richard Scarry
Scarry is the most powerful and best-selling monster writer in the American children's book industry!
His books are basically family heirlooms! Listen to me, when you see the word "Skerry", you can pay for it. That's right! "Busy Town", "Turning Around", "A Day in the Police Station", "A Day in the Airport", and "A Day in the Fire Station"... are very, very classic, and they have been beaten on all book websites.
Super high score! Its biggest feature is that the picture is very "busy", the amount of information is huge, there are many small animals doing various things, and the baby will pick out different points of interest in the picture.
The author is so imaginative. Have you ever driven a cucumber car, pencil car, or banana car? Have you ever thought that hot air balloons look as delicious as ham sausage?
26. I Love You, Daddy
The father's position in the baby's heart soars by Jillian Harker
All fathers will love this set of books because, with this set of books, their status in the children's hearts soars instantly. The best dad will accompany the baby to bake bread and play games to give him the most constant sense of security.
It is a super magnet between father and child. If your family is a male baby, this set of books also teaches him everything he needs to learn to become a man.
27. I like books
Use this fun book to make children fall in love with reading (British) Anthony Brown
I like books, funny books, horrible books, fat books, thin books... The text is extremely simple, and the fun is that the text and pictures are very interesting, talk about fat books, little fat books take fat books, and talk Thin books, thin people take thin books; tell fairy tales, little monkeys pretend to be Little Red Riding Hood; tell comic books, monkeys become Batman...
If you want your children to think books are fun and dependable, this book is A particularly good brainwashing tool.
28. Animals should never wear clothes
They will be embarrassed if they are not naked (United States) Judi Barrett, (United States) Ronald Barrett
Why are animals naked? Because if they put on clothes, all kinds of embarrassment will happen. The sheep will eat the clothes for lunch, the hedgehog will poke many holes in the clothes, and the mouse will get lost in the hat...
This is a super interesting book, for adults and children. Everyone laughs when they read it. It is said that they have been selling well in the United States for more than 30 years.
