Finding worthy picture books to place before your preschooler can sometimes feel like wading through a garbage heap looking for a few precious pearls. We have endless options available to us, but not all books for the 5 and under crowd are created equal. In this list you’ll find the ones worth treasuring: well-written stories with beautiful illustrations, excellent content, thoughtful characters, and proven literary value. These are picture books that have stood the test of time and deserve a place in your home library.
- Aesop’s Favorite Fables by Milo Winter
- Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
- Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
- Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman
- Baby Farm Animals by Garth Williams
- Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
- Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban
- The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
- Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson
- Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
- The Brambly Hedge Collection by Jill Barklem
- Brave Irene by William Steig
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
- A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
- Counting Kisses by Karen Katz
- Curious George Classic Collection by H. A. Rey (the 7 original Curious George stories)
- Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
- A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
- Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
- Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
- Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
- The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter
- The Complete Tales of Winne-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
- The Construction Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta
- The Clubhouse by Nathan and Joy Clarkson
- Corduroy by Don Freeman
- Daddy Calls Me Man by Angela Johnson
- Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
- Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
- Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
- The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
- Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
- Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
- Found (Psalm 23) by Sally Lloyd-Jones
- Freight Train by Donald Crews
- Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
- Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman
- God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren
- Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- Gossie and Gertie by Olivier Dunrea
- The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
- Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch
- Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
- Hedgie’s Surprise by Jan Brett
- He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands by Kadir Nelson
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
- If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
- Jamberry by Bruce Degen
- James Herriot’s Treasure for Children by James Herriot
- Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom
- The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
- John Henry by Julius Lester
- Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
- Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik
- The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
- The Little Kitten by Judy Dunn
- Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
- Loved (The Lord’s Prayer) by Sally Lloyd-Jones
- Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber
- Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
- Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
- Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
- Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
- Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
- Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
- Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
- The Mitten by Jan Brett
- The Napping House by Audrey Wood
- Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
- Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff
- Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
- Paddington Storybook Collection by Michael Bond
- Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle
- Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
- The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston
- The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
- A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Aston
- Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
- Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman
- Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
- The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
- Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola
- Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
- This is My Home, This is My School by Jonathan Bean
- The Three Bears by Golden Books
- Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett
- The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
- You Are My I Love You by Maryann Cusimano Love
- You Are Special by Max Lucado
Have we left out a favorite title of yours? We’d love to know what your favorites are!
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