Thanks to A.P.P. for sharing this fantastic list of kids book recomendations!  Please share your own favorites/dislikes at the end!

*Another Proud Papa’s list of classic picture storybooks*

This is my list of “classic” picture books.  This includes only storybooks—no nonfiction.  I have omitted books that my little boy likes, but which I don’t think are actually “classics” or especially popular.  As to their age level or difficulty, they are two steps more advanced than infant/baby cloth books, one step more advanced than board books and very
simple books like the (great-for-one-year-olds) *Biscuit* series and *Freight Train.*  They typically have a clear plot, and vocabulary that is usually well above *Dick and Jane.*  But (with one exception) they are not “chapter books,” they are picture books.

*Top 10 (for our boy, between ages 1¾ to 2¾) in alphabetical order*

1. Bemelmans. *Mad about Madeline: The Complete Tales.* – It began with * Madeline* and *Madeline’s Rescue,* but the other stories are good too.  The  illustrations are strange and childlike, but they work, and most importantly, our little boy loved all these stories.
2. *The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books.* – A great selection, great value.  Every single story has been a hit with the kid.  Some of them are basically baby/young toddler books, like the wonderful *Are You My Mother,* a great hit when our boy was one.
3. Brown, Margaret Wise.  *Friendly Tales.* – A great anthology, a few Wise classics.
4. *Little Golden Book Favorites.* – Four of the very best Little Golden Books.
5. Lobel. *Frog and Toad* series.  They’re all the same and they’re great.
6. Minarek. *Little Bear* series.  Another wonderful, consistent series, excellent childlike sensibility.
7. Piper, Watty. *The Little Engine that Could.* – Was a top favorite for many months.
8. Potter, Marian. *The Little Red Caboose.* – We have many little golden books, this is one of our boy’s favorites.
9. Rey. *The Complete Adventures of Curious George.* – Everything about these stories is wonderful.  Shame they didn’t write more.  There are new stories that are in the style of the Reys, and in fact, they aren’t bad.  But they aren’t as good as the originals, which are all in this volume.
10. Zion. *Harry the Dirty Dog* series. – The whole series is great, very consistent quality.

*Next 10 **(for our boy, between ages 1¾ to 2¾) in alphabetical order***

1. dePaola, Tomie.  *Tomie’s Little Mother Goose.* – Great, simple edition.
2. Freeman, Don. *Corduroy.* – Wonderful little story about a teddy bear and the girl who loves him.
3. Hirsch, E.D. *What Your Preschooler Needs to Know.* – This is a great anthology.  It’s not a discussion for adults, it’s a collection for kids.
4. Hoff.  *Danny and the Dinosaur.* – The kid liked it, I found it a little annoying.  All of the Hoff books listed below are very similar.  Haven’t seen Hoff’s others but I’m sure they’re similar.
5. Lobel. *Mouse Soup.*
6. Keats, Ezra Jack. *The Snowy Day.* – An instant hit with our boy.  Requested many times.
7. Potter, Beatrix. *The Tale of Peter Rabbit.* – At least.  We have *The Complete Tales* and are working our way through.  *Peter Rabbit* is still maybe the best, but the other stories are very good, too.  The anthology has stories even simpler than *Peter Rabbit* and some that are beyond our boy’s range at present.
8. Slobodkina, Esphyr. *Caps for **Sale**.* – Another instant hit with our kid.  He *loves* the monkeys when they say “tsz, tsz, tsz…”
9. *Walt Disney’s Classic Storybook.* – Yeah, it’s Disney, but…these *are*classics now, and the kid *does* like ‘em, so what can you do?  Great value.
10. *Wind in the Willows,* four simplified books put out by Sterling, “easy reader classics.”  You might turn up your nose at the simplified adaptation, but my boy loved it.  I’m curious about others in the “easy reader classics” series (*do* avoid the *Rikki-Tikki-Tavi* in the series, it’s not the Kipling story at all; get the Chuck Jones version).

*Other top classic picture storybooks, in alphabetical order*

Anglund, Joan Walsh.* Love Is a Special Way of Feeling*. – The original of the sappy greeting cards is kind of a cute children’s book.  Appeals to our little boy.

Awdry. *Thomas the Tank Engine.* – Get some version of the original.  Our train lover loves this.

Averill, Esther. *The Fire Cat.* – Excellent moral and sensibility, very appealing to our little fire truck-loving boy.

Berenstain.  *Berenstain Bears* series. – Hard to pick one.  They aren’t the best kid’s books, but they’re consistently entertaining, useable, and wholesome, excellent for this age/ability level.

Brown, Margaret Wise.  *The Color Kittens.* – We absolutely love Margaret Wise Brown.  Wonderful use of language, excellent insight into childhood innocence and ways of thinking.  Never found one of hers we didn’t like.  It’s in *Friendly Tales.*

Brown, Margaret Wise.  *Goodnight Moon.* – Her most famous.  Kind of weird. We like many others better, but we like this one too.

Brown, Margaret Wise.  *The Runaway Bunny.*

Burton, Virginia L. *Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.* – Instantly appealing for our power equipment loving kid.

Burton, Virginia L. *The Little House.* – Great for kids and adults alike—appeals on both levels very well.

Cooney, Barbara. *Miss Rumphius.* – This is one we just picked up at the bookstore without knowing it is something of a classic.  Lovely story.

Crampton. *Scuffy the Tugboat.* – One of our boy’s absolute favorites. Read this in *Little Golden Book Favorites.*

Daugherty, James. *Andy and the Lion.*

Engelbreit, Mary.  *Nursery Tales.* – These versions may not be classics but the stories are.  We really liked this volume.

Flack, Marjorie.  *Angus and the Ducks.** – Old-fashioned but charming.*

Flack, Marjorie.  *Angus Lost. *– Ditto.

Flack, Marjorie.  *The Story about **Ping**.* – Strangely appealing story.  Complaints about “corporal punishment” seem misplaced (the last duck on the boat gets a little swat on the rear end, big deal).

Handford, Martin. *Where’s Waldo?** – Our boy thinks it’s fun.*

Hoff.  *Oliver.*

Hoff. *Sammy the Seal.*

Johnson. *Harold and the Purple Crayon.* – Minimalist, but fun!

Kipling, Rudyard. *Chuck Jones’ Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.* – Not sure if all or only some of this is actually Kipling, but it’s a great rendition.  The cartoon is on YouTube, too.

Leaf, Munro. *The Story of Ferdinand.* – Another funny book.  Check out the video version on YouTube.

Lobel. *Owl at Home.* – This and the next have the same sensibility as *Frog and Toad,* very kid-friendly stuff.

Lobel. *Mouse Tales.*

London.  *Let’s Go Froggie.* – For slightly younger kids, maybe.  Initially very appealing but the formula & characters seemed threadbare after the first two.

London.  *Froggy Gets Dressed.*

Lowrey. *The Poky Little Puppy.* – The repetition will get on your nerves but will fascinate a toddler or younger preschooler.  Was possibly our boy’s all-time favorite.  Read this in *Little Golden Book Favorites.*

McClintock. *A Fly Went By.* – Great story of its kind. In the *Big Blue Book of Beginner Books.*

McCloskey, Robert. *Make Way for Ducklings.* – Charming, instantly likeable story about a family of ducks in Boston, Mass.

Milne.  *Winnie-the-Pooh.  *This is a chapter book, and it doesn’t have enough pictures, but its sensibility appeals to older toddlers and preschoolers, so we were able to get through most of this in pieces (haven’t quite finished as of this writing).

Mosel, Arlene. *Tikki Tikki Tembo.* – The kid liked the language.

Prelutsky, Jack. *Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young.* – We haven’t made it all the way through this one yet but on just one reading, we can tell this is going to be great.  The kid wanted us to read page after page of these.  Who would have thought kid rhymes you have never heard before would be so entertaining to both the kid and you?

*The Real Mother Goose.* – Maybe for purists but it’s a good edition.

Sendak. *Where the Wild Things Are.* – A top favorite for many, we’ve read it quite a few times but it isn’t a great household favorite of ours.

Dr. Seuss.  *Dr. Seuss’s ABC.* – We like a lot of his simpler stuff.  The earlier stuff, written for slightly older kids, isn’t as compelling, but these selections are actually a little simpler than the other books here.  Yes, Seuss uses a lot of  nonsense and that can be a little nonsense, but unlike some other nonsense purveyors, he has a great sense of play and
lightheartedness that appeals strongly to kids.

Dr. Seuss.  *Hop on Pop.*

Dr. Seuss.  *The Cat in the Hat.*

Dr. Seuss.  *Green Eggs and Ham.*

Dr. Seuss.  *Fox in Socks.*

Dr. Seuss.  *The Foot Book.*

Dr. Seuss.  *Marvin K. Mooney…*

Dr. Seuss.  *One Fish Two Fish…*

Stone. *Because a Little Bug Went Ka-CHOO!* – in *Big Blue Book…*

Ward, Lynd. *The Biggest Bear*. – This is new to us still but the kid seems to like it a lot.  Acceptable only if you’re comfortable with the idea of shootin’ critters, and little boys who want bearskins, but then befriend bear cubs…

Williams, Margery. *The Velveteen Rabbit.* – A little advanced for this level, but accessible enough.  A basic classic.

*Frequently-listed books to investigate further*

About this list: these are on many lists of classics, but we don’t have them yet, or we do and the jury is still out.

Brunhoff, Jean de. *The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant.* – Mother shot? Babar learns the ways of his oppressors?  But maybe OK.  (Might want to get an anthology of the whole series.)

Cooney, Barbara. *Chanticleer and the Fox. *– Is it “boring” or too advanced?* *

dePaola, Tomie. *Strega Nona*.

dePaola, Tomie.  *Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs.*

Flack, Marjorie. *Ask Mr. Bear.* – May be too young for the kid now.

Flack, Marjorie.  *Angus and the Cat.** – No doubt similar to the two we have.*

Gag, Wanda. *Millions of Cats. – *The cats fight each other at the end?  Maybe OK though.

Goble, Paul. *The Girl who Loved Wild Horses.* – Eh…might be boring, the art may be  confusing.

Gramatky, Hardie. *Little Toot*.

Hughes, Shirley. *Alfie *books. – We just received one collection, the jury is still out.

Hughes, Shirley. *Dogger.*

Hodges, Margaret (retelling). *Gulliver in Lilliput.* – Looks a little advanced, but maybe not.

Keats, Ezra. *John Henry.*

Leaf, Munro. *Manners Can Be Fun* (and other Leaf “fun” books). – May be advanced in theme; but looks good.

Lear, Edward. *A Book of Nonsense*.

Lobel, Arnold. *Fables.* – Looks promising, but might be too advanced for the kid, and the writing/fables might not actually be that great, so check it out.

Marshall, James. *George and Martha*.  (There’s a collection of all the stories.) – Very well-reviewed, but the artwork doesn’t look attractive and big fat hippos…?

McClosky, Robert. *Blueberries for Sal.*

Numeroff, Laura and Felicia Bond. *If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.*  Buy the treasury?

Pulley, Kelly. *The Beginner’s Bible.* – Other selections seem too “devotional”; could this work as more of a pure storybook?  The Genesis 1 story seems to work that way.

Rosen, Michael. *We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.*

Scarry, Richard. *Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book.*  (Check whether this is in the “best storybook ever.”)

Swift, Hildegarde H. *The Little Red Lighthouse and the **Great** **Gra y** **Bridge**.* – We just got this, and the jury is still out.  Kid liked it first time through.

Van Allsburg, Chris.  *Jumanji.* – Themes & concepts might be beyond the kid.

Van Allsburg, Chris. *The **Garden** of **Abdul Gasazi*.

Waber, Bernard. *Ira Sleeps Over. *

Williams, Vera. *”More, More, More,” Said the Baby.* – Possibly overrated, and possibly too babyish for the kid.

Wood, Don and Audrey. *The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear.*

Thurber, James. *Many Moons.*

*On some lists, but not on ours*
Note on this list: here is a list of books that seem to be “classics” or quite popular, but which we aren’t reading.  I haven’t seen many of these and am basing my rejection strictly on Amazon previews and reviews.

Your mileage may vary…no, your mileage inevitably *does *vary.  This is just my opinion.  I’m open to hearing defenses of cherished books that are cruelly cast aside below, though.

Allard, Harry. *Miss Nelson Is Missing!* – A cynical modern story about a dysfunctional institution: school.  Not the right message to be sending to kids about school or learning.

Brown, Marcia. *Once a Mouse.* – Looks simple and with “arty” cred, but looks overrated.

Degen, Bruce. *Jamberry.* – Too babyish for the kid, too many nonsense words, no story.

*Dick and Jane* series. – What, are you kidding?  They might be classic, but they turned off generations of kids to reading.  My reaction to the *Bob Books* is exactly the same.  You get *good* books to teach a child to read.
The ones that are simplified in a way so as to be boring are evil.

Falconer, Ian. *Olivia.* – As one reviewer said, this is what Eloise would be if she were a pig.  More adult-oriented, yet encourages misbehaving and immaturity.

Guarino, Deborah. *Is Your Mama a Llama?* – We have it.  *I *kind of like it, the kid doesn’t seem to.

Henkes, Kevin. *Julius the Baby of the World.* – A story about a mean older brother. Nah.

Hoban, Russell. *Bedtime for **Frances**.* – Popular, but focuses on a problem we’d rather not have the kid dwelling on.

Kellogg, Steven. *Paul Bunyan.* – Not accurate to the original folk tale; illustrator has an annoying style.

Kellogg, Steven. *Pecos** Bill. *– See above.

Kraus, Robert. *Leo the Late Bloomer*.* *– Could be good, but not a classic…and the kid isn’t a late bloomer.

Krauss, Ruth. *The Carrot Seed.* – Looks charming and I’m sure the kid would like it, but I can’t justify $7 for so few words and pages.  Maybe would have been better when he was younger.

Leonni, Leo. *Frederick**.* – Terrible moral: it’s OK to sit around and write poetry, when your compadres are getting the food you need to avoid starving.

Mayer, Mercer. *There’s a Nightmare in My Closet. *– The kid has no fear of monsters that we know of, despite being exposed to some scary creatures here and there.  No need read an “antedote” book to a problem that for him does
not yet exist.

Sendak, Maurice.  *Pierre**: A Cautionary Tale.* – Yet another modern story of a naughty boy made to look appealing, with perfunctory moralizing at the end; the effect is to glamorize rebellion.

Sendak, Maurice. *In the Night Kitchen.* – Seems to be a bizarre, pretentious story, “like an LSD trip” says one reviewer.  Not our style.

Silverstein, Shel. *Where the Sidewalk Ends.* – This *is *a big-time classic.  We have it.  Often funny, but this brand of nonsense and humor hasn’t gelled with us yet.  We’ll keep trying…

Silverstein, Shel. *The Giving Tree.* – A poisonous moral, apparently.

Steig, William. *Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.* – Read it at the bookstore.  Seemed depressing, just as one reviewer makes it out to be.  ”Sylvester’s redemption comes only by chance…”  Appears overrated.

Thompson, Kay. *Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups.* – The heroine is a spoiled brat, and is written to appeal to cynical adults.  This is not what “empowerment” looks like.

Tazewell, Charles. *The Littlest Angel. – *Appears to be really depressing, with the theme of a dead 4-year-old, and to give nobody’s ideas about the Christian notion of heaven.

Van Allsburg, Chris.  *The Polar Express.* – Is the ending really the picture we want to give to kids about Santa Claus?  And the message, of being a “true believer,” seems wrong.  Faithfulness, charity, yes; irrational belief, no.

Viorst, Judith. *Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.* – How depressing.  Our kid doesn’t seem to have bad days, yet, thank goodness, just bad moments.  Kid lit as therapy?  We don’t need it.

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