Young children enjoy picture books about everyday objects and experiences. They like text with good rhythm and word repetition and love funny characters. The following picture books for children are suitable for 3 - 7 year olds. Choose picture books that tell a good story and they will inspire children to draw, to create characters with art materials and to act out the stories.
Provide opportunities for kids to ask questions about what they have heard or read . I have also used the books below, with students from grades Kindergarten to 12, for teaching art based on the styles of the various illustrators.
Criteria for choosing good picture books for reading to groups of children:
- 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
- the images are suitable for clarifying the meaning of words and concepts in the story
Andy And The Lion
by Daugherty, James
The Art Lesson
by Tomie De Paola
Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Carrot Seed
Ruth Krauss
The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
Corduroy
by Don Freeman
The Complete Adventures of Curious George
by H. A. Rey
Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest
Grandfather’s Journey (Caldecott Medal Book)
by Allen Say
Guess How Much I Love You
by SamMcBratney 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 RobertN. Munsch
The Little House
by Virginia Lee Burton
Any of the Madeline Books
…
Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
All of Jan Brett’s books are wonderful and beautifully illustrated.
The Mitten
by Jan Brett
Mr. Gumpy’s Outing
by John Birmingham
Old Black Fly
by Jim Aylesworth
The Rainbow Fish
by Marcus Pfister
The Runaway Bunny
by Margaret Wise Brown
The Snowman
by Raymond Briggs
Stellaluna
by Janell Cannon
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by William Steig
Bill Peet picture books for children ….
Bill Peet is not as well known now as he used to be. He worked Disney for 27 years and was a key participant in the production of classic films such as Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians for which he was not only an artist, but the screenwriter as well. His books are fast-paced stories full of adventure.
Eric Carle’s stories…
Eric Carle’s books are wonderfully illustrated in a collage style. He has illustrated over 70 books.
Purchase Eric Carle Books here…
Shopping from Canada?
Go to Amazon.ca
to find the books above.