Sheena Loves Sunsets

50 Picture Books for Your Home Library: 2024 Update

My eldest is now 9 and I’ve officially spent roughly around those same number of years accumulating children’s picture books from various secondhand shops! Our home is now full of them, which you’ll find in every room around the house (probably every corner too haha) and many of them are very well loved!

Today, I want to share with you all our top family favorites. These are the 50 books I would pick if I were to curate a home library for a friend who is just starting.

NOTES:

STORY BOOKS

  1. “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf
  2. “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey
  3. “Roxaboxen” by Alex McLerran
  4. “Frederick” by Leo Lionni
  5. “Winnie the Pooh” by AA Milne (and all the original Pooh books)
  6. “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter (and the rest of Beatrix Potter’s books please!)
  7. “Brambly Hedge” by Jill Barklem (It’s like Beatrix Potter’s books)
  8. “The Little House” by by Virginia Lee Burton
  9. “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” by Virginia Lee Burton
  10. “The Story About Ping” by Marjorie Flack
  11. “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper
  12. “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey
  13. “The Story of Little Babaji” by Helen Bannerman
  14. “Stone Soup” by Marcia Brown
  15. “Once a Mouse” by Marcia Brown
  16. “Tiki Tiki Tembo” by Arlene Mosel
  17. “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen
  18. “Ox Cart Man” by Donald Hall
  19. “Stellaluna” by Janell Cannon
  20. “An Extraordinary Egg” by Leo Lionni
  21. “The Crow Boy” by Taro Yashima
  22. “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt
  23. “Dragons Love Tacos” by Adam Rubin
  24. “Curious George” by HA Rey (Get a book with many stories)
  25. “Madeline” by Ludwig Bemelman (And the other Madeline books)
  26. “The Year at Maple Hill Farm” by Alice Provensen
  27. “When I Was Young in the Mountains” by Cynthia Rylant
  28. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” by Judi Barrett
  29. James Mayhew’s Katie and the Artists Series (Review here)
  30. Anholt’s Artist Series (Review here)

READ ALOUDS FOR YOUNGER KIDS

  1. “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen
  2. “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina
  3. “Carrot Seed” by Ruth Krauss
  4. “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr.
  5. “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss
  6. “May I Bring a Friend” by Beatrice de Regniers
  7. “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” by Bill Martin Jr.
  8. “Owl Babies” by Martin Wadwell

BEGINNING READERS

  1. Frog and Toad Series by Arnold Lobel
  2. Little Bear Series by Else Minarik

BOOKS ON FAITH & CHARACTER

  1. “The Ology” by Marty Wachowski (Review here)
  2. “The Biggest Story Bible” by Kevin de Young
  3. “The Garden the Curtain and the Cross” by Carl Laferton
  4. “ABC Bible Verses” by Susan Hunt
  5. “Big Truths for Little Kids” by Susan Hunt
  6. “A Children’s Book of Virtues” by William J. Bennett

POETRY

  1. “Now We Are Six” by AA Milne
  2. “When We Were Very Young” by AA Milne
  3. “A Children’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson
  4. “A House is a House for Me” by Mary Ann Hoberman

Hope the list is helpful. I’ll see if I can make another article next time for chapter books and books for bigger kids. Or do you want another expansion of this list? Haha let me know!

RELATED POSTS: