Picture books for children
Books that engage kid's attention
If you are looking for picture books for children that thoroughly engage kindergarten and preschool students, the following have been a hit over and over with my students throughout my teaching career.
Young children love the language of a great story accompanied by clear illustrations. They also enjoy playing with toys or story related items they have made that further story comprehension. (Read more about this...)
Below are a variety of picture books for children that offer opportunities to direct the children's attention to the skills of listening and speaking, phonemic awareness and reading and writing.
To purchase any of the picture books, go to the Amazon links at the bottom of the page.
 Goodnight Moon by Wanda Gag is a great book for teaching rhyme. For teaching ideas for Goodnight Moon read more... |
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin and John Archambault is a fun book for teaching the alphabet. Make your own tree with construction paper and then use alphabet sponges to paint on the letters. |
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson |
The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese . This is a great story to instigate discussions on past and diverse cultures. |
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Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey |
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle |
Red is Best by Kathy Stinson and Robin Baird Lewis |
50 Below Zero by Robert Munsch |
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch |
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton |
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
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The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Hughet Bishop and Kurt Wiese |
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent |
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Canadian shoppers, purchase books from Amazon.ca for cheaper shipping rates
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Shopping from the USA? Use Amazon.com
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Criteria for choosing good picture books for children include:
- the book is still interesting when it is read over and over
- the illustrations are recognizable from a distance
- the story instigates discussions and questions
- the book is interesting to a variety of grades
More Great Classroom Picture Books for Children
Andy and the Lion by Daugherty, James
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Curious George by H. A. Rey
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
Lilly's purple plastic purse by Kevin Henkes
Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Birmingham
Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Kindergarten children enjoy books by Bill Peet...
and of course, they love Eric Carle's stories.
Go from picture books for children to Kindergarten Reading
Literacy pages:
Reading / Literacy
Listening & speaking
Phonemic awareness
Writing skills
Responding to literature
Math & literature
Picture books
Also see theme pages