(From: McDonnell, F. (1997). Flora McDonnell's ABC. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.)
(From: McDonnell, F. (1997). Flora McDonnell's ABC. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.)
Delightful in their simplicity, picture books for toddlers are
perfect for reading to young children who are not yet ready for more difficult
picture books. The following list includes a selection of high quality titles
that can be found in most libraries and large bookstores.
Ahlberg, Allan, & Ahlberg, Janet. (1978). Each peach pear plum: An 'I Spy' story. New York: Scholastic.
This book invites readers to play "I Spy" with a variety of nursery rhyme and folktale characters.
Alborough, Jez. (2000). Hug. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Bobo the chimp searches the jungle for his mommy, hoping for a hug.
Applet, Kathi A., & Kosaka, Fumi. (2001). Bubbles, bubbles. New York: HarperCollins.
A little girl revels in the joys of taking a bath.
Balan, Bruce, & Nash, Scott. (2005). Cows going past. New York: Dial.
A child looks out the window during a car trip and sees cows engaged in all sorts of un-cow-like activities, such as playing golf, fishing, and drinking tea.
Barton, Byron. (2001). My car. New York: Greenwillow.
Sam loves his car, and toddlers will, too.
Brett, Jan. (1990). The mitten: A Ukrainian folktale. New York: Putnam.
A group of animals snuggle up inside a lost mitten.
Brown, Marc Tolon. (1995). Hand rhymes. New York: Puffin.
Parents and other adults can follow the drawings that accompany these rhymes to teach simple finger plays to their children.
Cole, Joanna, Calmenson Stephanie, & Tiegreen, Alan. (1992). Pat-a-Cake and other play rhymes. New York: Mulberry.
Another excellent collection of simple finger plays for toddlers and their grown-ups.
Cousins, Lucy. (1990). The little dog laughed and other nursery rhymes. New York: Dutton.
A collection of classic nursery rhymes illustrated in Lucy Cousins’ characteristic naïve art style.
Day, Alexandra. (1985). Good dog, Carl. New York: Simon & Schuster.
In this nearly wordless picture book, Carl the dog baby-sits the baby while Mother is away.
Dyer, Jane. (1996). Animal crackers: A delectable collection of pictures, poems, and lullabies for the very young. Boston: Little Brown.
A collection of illustrated short works for toddlers (and babies).
Ehlert, Lois. (1991). Red leaf, yellow leaf. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
This simple book depicts the life cycle of a maple tree.
Emberly, Ed. (1992). Go away, big green monster. Boston: Little, Brown.
As the reader turns the pages of this playful book, a not-so-scary monster is slowly revealed.
Feiffer, Jules. (1999). Bark, George. New York: HarperCollins.
George the dog tries to bark, but instead he quacks, oinks, moos, and makes a series of other animal sounds.
Fleming, Denise. (1991). In the tall, tall grass. New York: Holt.
A young child crawls through the grass to find a series of living creatures, such as bees, ants, and moles.
Fleming, Denise. (1992). Count! New York: Holt.
The vivid handmade paper illustrations in this counting book take the reader all the way from 1 to 50.
Ford, Miela. (1996). Follow the leader. New York: Greenwillow.
A series of zoo photographs depict two polar bears playing follow the leader.
Ford, Miela. (1998). Mom and me. New York: Greenwillow.
A mother polar bear and her cub sleep, play, and eat together in the zoo.
Frazee, Marla. (1999). Hush, little baby: A folk song with pictures. New York: Harcourt.
An amusing illustrated version of the classic folksong.
George, Kristine O'Connell, & Smith, Maggie. (2001). Book! New York: Clarion.
A toddler expresses his joy in receiving a picture book as a present.
Hubbard, Patricia, & Karas, G. Brian. (1996). My crayons talk. New York: Holt.
A series of talking crayons sing about their colors.
Isadora, Rachel. (2002). Peekaboo morning. New York: Putnam.
A toddler plays peek-a-boo around the house.
Johnson, Crockett. (1955). Harold and the purple crayon. New York: Harper & Row.
In this classic picture book, Harold draws himself into an imaginary purple world.
Kasza, Keiko. (1990). When the elephant walks. New York: Putnam.
A series of animals walk through the forest.
Keats, Ezra Jack. (1962). The snowy day. New York: Viking.
Peter dons his red snowsuit and goes out into a magical, snowy world.
Kroll, Virginia L., & Kosaka, Fumi. (2003). Busy, busy mouse. New York: Viking.
The text tells the story of a family's busy day, as the pictures depict the daily activities of an equally busy mouse who lives in the family's house.
Mallat, Kathy. (1999). Brave bear. New York: Walker.
A bear conquers his fears to rescue a baby bird.
McBratney, Sam, & Jeram, Anita. (1995). Guess how much I love you. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare express their love for each other.
McDonnell, Flora. (1997). Flora McDonnell's ABC. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
A lushly illustrated ABC book.
McDonnell, Flora. (1996). I love animals. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
A little girl names all of the animals on her farm.
Morris, Ann, & Heyman, Ken. (1989). Bread, bread, bread. New York: Lothrop.
Photographs and text describe different kinds of bread from all over the world.
Morris, Ann, & Heyman, Ken. (1989). Hats, hats, hats. New York: Lothrop.
Photographs and text describe all kinds of hats.
O'Garden, Irene, & Jabar, Cynthia. (2003). Scrubbly bubbly car wash. New York: HarperCollins.
A bubbly ride through an automated carwash.
Opie, Iona Archibald, & Wells, Rosemary. (1996). My very first Mother Goose. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
More than sixty classic nursery rhymes, illustrated with chubby bunnies, smiling mice, and other happy characters.
Oxenbury, Helen. (1994). Tom and Pippo and the bicycle. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Toddler Tom and his faithful stuffed monkey Pippo wish they had a bicycle of their own. Just one of the many Tom and Pippo books.
Prince, April Jones, & Laroche, Giles. (2006). What do wheels do all day? Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
"What do wheels do all day? Push. Pull. Pedal. Tow." Perfect for car-crazy little ones.
Rathmann, Peggy. (1994). Good night, gorilla. New York: Putnam.
As he locks up the zoo one night, Gorilla steals the zookeeper’s keys and lets all his animal friends loose.
Reasoner, Charles. (1994). Whose mommy is this? A sliding surprise book. Los Angeles: Price Stern Sloan.
Clues in the pictures help toddlers guess whose animal mommy is hidden in each scene.
Rothstein, Gloria, & Rockwell, Lizzy. (2003). Sheep asleep. New York: HarperCollins.
A modern twist on counting sheep. Ten sheep get reading for bed by putting on their pajamas, brushing their teeth, flossing, and so on.
Schaefer, Carole Lexa, & Morgan, Pierr. (1996). The squiggle. New York: Crown.
A little girl finds a piece of string, which she plays with as she walks to the park with her schoolmates.
Shannon, David. (1998). No, David! New York: Blue Sky Press.
Although he finds himself getting in trouble frequently, David still knows that his mommy loves him.
Shaw, Nancy, & Apple, Margot. Sheep in a jeep. (1986). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
A group of sheep drive their jeep into a mud puddle.
Suen, Anastasia, & Smith, Elwood H. (2003). Raise the roof. New York: Penguin.
A simple rhyme scheme details the steps involved in building a house. Playful cartoon art adds to the fun.
Tabby, Abigail, & Yaccarino, Dan. (2001). Baby face. New York: Harperfestival.
This interactive pop-up book describes the parts of a baby’s face.
Walsh, Ellen Stoll. (1989). Mouse paint. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
Three white mice discover three jars of paint: one red, one blue, and one yellow. Wonderful torn-paper art.
Ward, Cindy, & dePaola, Tomie. (1988). Cookie's week. New York: Putnam.
Cookie the kitten gets into a series of messes, one for each day of the week.
Ziefert, Harriet, & Saaf, Donald. (2000). Train song. New York: Orchard.
The catchy rhyming text in this book describes a steam engine.
Zolotow, Charlotte, & Vitale, Stefano. (2001). Sleepy book. New York: HarperCollins.
Gentle verses describe how a number of animals and insects sleep, e.g.: "the snowy/crane/sleeps/standing/on one long/leg/like/a flower/on its/stem." Vitale's rich oil-on-wood paintings lend quiet dignity to the simple poems.
