Best Picture Books

This is a post for all my friends out there with young children. For example, I could write, "In the great green field . . ." and many of you would begin to recite from memory "The Big Red Barn." With LBA now six and a half, we are moving into "chapter" books for him and he is getting better at reading himself every day. SoBA is also improving a great deal and often wants a "bigger" book than the board or picture book.

Nonetheless, when I saw this article in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, I was prompted to share it with you. The gist of the article was whether or not the picture book was still worthwhile and helpful to children. Well, poop on that. We make our way through our extensive library - although there are books that tend to stay in the rotation for extended periods of time.

That is not to say that I wouldn't mind a new book now and then. Like maybe this one. And if it's being read by Samuel L. Jackson, more the better.

Here's the list(s) from the article. I've bolded the ones we read regularly. So what are your favorites?

From Dara Laporte, from Politics and Prose:

• “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey
• “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina
• “Good Night, Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann
• “Stone Soup” by Jon Muth (but we have the soldier's twist on this story)
• “This Little Chick” by John Lawrence

Susan Modak’s list (she's from the Noyes Children's Library)

• “Baby! Baby!” by Vicky Ceelen
• “F Is for Fiesta” by Susan Middleton Elya
• “The Lion’s Share: A Tale of Halving the Cake and Eating It, Too” by Matthew McElligot
• “The Way the Storm Stops” by Michelle Meadows
• “Weslandia” by Paul Fleischman

And from Tracey Grant, the WP Momspeak Columnist:

• “Here Comes the Train” by Charlotte Voake
• “When Mama Comes Home Tonight” by Eileen Spinelli and Jane Dryer
• “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak
• “The Going to Bed Book” by Sandra Boynton
• “Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram