Picture Books

The logic of this list is rather less precise than the logic for classics. Most of these are what we would consider classics, but some are our go-to books for teaching and/or reading and writing about, the ones that make their ways into our personal and professional libraries. Our annotations, then, will consist of criticism and scholarship that references these particular books, as well as teachable points.

Berenstein, The Berenstein Bears books

Bridwell, Clifford, the Big Red Dog

Brown, Goodnight Moon

Bunting, Smoky Night

Cannon, Stellaluna

    Coats, Karen. see chapter 2 of Looking Glasses and Neverlands.

Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Cole, The Magic Schoolbus series

Cronin/Bliss, Diary of a Worm

Eastman, Go, Dog! Go!

Eastman, Are You My Mother?

    Coats, Karen. see Chapter 2 of Looking Glasses and Neverlands.

Freeman, Corduroy

Gaiman/McKean, The Wolves in the Walls

Gerstein, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Gilman, Something From Nothing

    Coats, Karen. see chapter 3 of Looking Glasses and Neverlands.

Gomi, Everyone Poops

Gregory, How Smudge Came

    Coats, Karen. “The Reason for Disability.” Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature 39.1 (2001): 11-16.

Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon

Joyce, George Shrinks

Keats, The Snowy Day

Kunhardt, Pat the Bunny

Leaf, The Story of Ferdinand

Martin, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?

Martin et. al. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Martin, The Rough-Faced Girl

McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings

McKissack, Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters

Myers, Harlem

Moon, Little Red Riding Hood

Munsch/McGraw: Love You Forever (popular, although extremely creep-tacular)

Murray, Henrietta, There’s No One Better

Numeroff, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Parish, Amelia Bedelia series

Penn, The Kissing Hand

Pilkey, Dog Breath

Pilkey, The Paperboy

Pilkey, Cat Kong

Pilkey, The Dumb Bunnies

Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Rappaport, Martin’s Big Words

Rey, Curious George series

Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

Sendak,  In the Night Kitchen

Sendak, Outside Over There

Dr. Seuss (all, or at least, most)

Shannon, No, David!

Silverstein, The Giving Tree

Slobodkina, Caps for Sale

Smith/Scieszka, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

Smith/Scieszka,  The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Smith/Scieszka, The Frog Prince Continued

Smith/Scieszka, Science Verse

Stone/Smollin, There’s a Monster at the End of This Book (starring Grover)

Van Allsburg, Jumanji

Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Weisner, The Three Pigs

Weisner, Tuesday

Willems, Don’t Let the Pigeon… books

Willems, Knuffle Bunny

Woodson, Coming On Home Soon

Yolen, Owl Moon

Young, Lon Po Po

Zelinsky, Rapunzel