I LOVE books. And I particularly love children’s books. They’re beautifully illustrated, they create fantastical worlds in young readers’ minds, and they bring to life valuable life lessons in creative ways. Summer is an awesome time to take on a reading list with your kids, and I thought I’d help inspire you by sharing with you the children’s books that inspire me.
This is a long-awaited post, one that has taken me months to create, because I have always wanted to share with you my absolute favorite children’s books. These are not necessarily all award winning {although some most certainly are}, and some of the titles may not be the most familiar to you, but I think that’s what is so delightful about collecting book recommends from a variety of people. You might just discover a treasure you didn’t know existed.
These books, in my opinion, are the most lovely stories, the most beautiful illustrations, the best imagination-sparking tales, the funniest experiences, and just the most beloved children stories out there. So here it is, in no particular order, my {ultimate} children’s book list:
101. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
100. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
99. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
98. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
97. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
96. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
95. The Berenstain Bears Series by Stan and Jan Berenstain
94.Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
93. There’s a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
92. Sidney and Norman: A Tale of Two Pigs by Phil Vischer
91. Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
90. Corduroy by Don Freeman
89. Little Bear’s Trousers by Jane Hissey
88. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
87. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
86. Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
85.The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
84. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch
83. The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy
82. Olivia by Ian Falconer
81. The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy
80. Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson
79. The Wingdingdilly by Bill Peet
78. Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
77. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
76. Eloise Collection by Kay Thompson
75. I Wanna Iguanaby Karen Kaufman Orloff and David Catrow
74. Barn Dance!by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
73. The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
72. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
71. Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall
70. Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard and James Marshall
69. The Monster at the End of this Bookby Jon Stone
68. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
67. The Night I Followed the Dog by Nina Laden
66. The Principal’s New Clothes by Stephanie Calmenson
65. No Jumping on the Bed! by Tedd Arnold
64. Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff
63. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
62. Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
61. George and Martha by James Marshall
60. Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman
59. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis
58. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
57. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
56. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
55. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? by Bill Martin
54. On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman
53. Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
52. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
51. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
50. The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss
49. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
48. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry
47. The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
46. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
45. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
44. Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie dePaola
43. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones
42. Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado
41. Franklin by Paulette Bourgeois
40. The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell
39. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
38. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
37. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
36.The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
35. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
34. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly From Childs Play
33. Welcome to Trucktown! by Jon Scieszka
32. Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
31. Dr. DeSoto by William Steig
30. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema
29. A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
28. A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock
27. Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
26. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
25.“Stand Back,” Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!” by Patricia Thomas
24. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
23. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber
22. Sally’s Room by Mary K. Brown
21. Arthur Adventure Series by Marc Brown
20. Old Bear by Jane Hissey
19. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
18. Little Bear Series by Else Holmelund Minarik
17.The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
16. Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
15. Beatrix Potter Complete Series by Beatrix Potter
14. A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
13. David’s Father by Robert Munsch
12. I Was So Mad by Mercer Mayer
11. If You Give…Series by Laura Numeroff
10. The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
9. How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
8. The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, Illustrated by John Pinkney
7. Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
6. Curious George by H.A. and Margaret Rey
5. Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky
4. Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert N. Munsch
3. The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
2. Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
1. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Happy Summer reading!
Kat
Love Makes A Family {by mommyponders} 
This is a wonderful, wonderful list and I’m so glad that you grew up with some of the older classics. I just scooped up Ferdinand and One Morning in Maine at Amelie’s school library clearing (freebie) box. Unwanted! Can you imagine?
That’s a shame {but a win for you!} I have always always read. I don’t remember not having a book in my hands, and some of these are definitely classics, but I also made sure to include some newer charming ones as well. I’m glad you like the list 🙂
I just remembered some of my childhood in there. LOL. You did leave out one of my favorite books as a child though. “The Story about Ping” by Marjorie Flack. I used to read that book over and over again lol.
It’s there Dannie, #52 🙂 I loved it when I was little too
now how on earth did I miss it? I was looking specifically for it LOL
Great list! You might enjoy Sherman Alexie’s thoughts on “The Snowy Day”:
Thank you for that link! I loved the article 🙂
Thank you so much for including my book, “I Wanna Iguana” along with so many classics! Most of those books on your list are among my favorites, too!
Absolutely! I LOVE your books! Thank you for your amazing contributions to the world of children’s literature 🙂
And thank YOU for promoting literacy for kids!
The world is a better place because children’s authors take the time to share their magic with children.
I love writing for kids, and it’s especially fun when I go into schools and can talk about the joy and importance of reading. I always tell them, “If you want to be a writer, you have to first be a READER.”
I totally agree with you, Karen. I love reading and that has certainly contributed to my love of writing. I grew up reading and simply could not get enough of books. I think I read Roald Dahl’s “Matilda” about a dozen times one summer. When I found a book that captured my imagination, I really could not get enough of it. I actually saw “I Wanna Iguana” featured on PBS’s “Between the Lions” a couple of years ago when I was watching with my son, and I replayed it about a dozen times because I just loved it! Maybe I’m a book fanatic, but I’m more excited about your comments on my post today than I would be if you were Brad Pitt! 🙂
Oh, you are funny! But I appreciate the kind words. How great that you saw the “Between the Lions” show. That was very exciting for me, to see my words animated like that. (Of course, if didn’t hurt to have David Catrow’s amazing illustrations.) Have you seen our last collaboration, the companion to the Iguana book? It’s called “I Wanna New Room.” I hope we can do more one day.
I imagine that it was just wonderful to see your book come to life like that. It makes me miss “Reading Rainbow”! I have not yet read “I Wanna New Room,” but I certainly will now! David Catrow is just amazing!! Some of my favorite children’s book illustrations ever ever. So beautiful.
Yes, he is really good. I also love to read children’s books and love the illustrations. And I do remember “Reading Rainbow.” Used to watch it with my kids. 🙂
Oh Wow Kat! That was such a HUGE task! So many of these are some of our favorites as well and some I have never run across. I love how you have Miss Nelson is Missing and Miss Nelson is Back back-to-back. Apparently when she’s back, it’s slightly better than when she is missing! 😉 Love your list!
Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop! Please check out our upcoming Kid Lit Giveaway Hop – sign-ups are now OPEN! Best, Renee
http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/kid-lit-giveaway-hop-sign-ups-open/
Renee, thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I tried to throw some in there that aren’t the “usual” favorites that you see on every book list. It took me months to compile. 🙂 Thanks for the link!! I’ll be sure to sign up!
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