Picture books for children

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

Goodnight Moon by Wanda Gag is a great book for teaching rhyme. For teaching ideas for Goodnight Moon read more...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

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

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

The Story about Ping

The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese . This is a great story to instigate discussions on past and diverse cultures.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Grouchy Ladybug
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The Snowy Day


The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Blueberries for Sal


Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Make Way for Ducklings

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle

Red is Best

Red is Best by Kathy Stinson and Robin Baird Lewis

50  Below Zero

50  Below Zero by Robert Munsch

the Paper Bag Princess

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Swimmy

Swimmy by Leo Lionni

 

The Five Chinese Brothers

The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Hughet Bishop and Kurt Wiese

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent

Freight Train
Freight Train by Donald Crews

Rain
Rain by Robert Kalan and Donald Crews

Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type
Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin & Betsy Lewin

Millions of Cats
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

The Snowy Day
The Snowy Day by Exra Jack Keats

The Story of Ferdinand
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson

Canadian shoppers, purchase books from Amazon.ca for cheaper shipping rates

Shopping from the USA? Use Amazon.com

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...

Bill Peet picture books


and of course, they love Eric Carle's stories.
Eric Carle picture books



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

Literacy pages:

Reading / Literacy
Listening & speaking
Phonemic awareness
Writing skills
Responding to literature
Math & literature
Picture books
Also see theme pages