What makes a great picture book? Is it the illustrations? Is it the rhythm of the words? Should it be funny? Should it teach us something? Yes, Yes, and Yes! Picture books can be soothing or rambunctious; they can be silly or sad. They can be for kids or for adults. The best part of a picture book is what happens when you share the book with someone else.

I am pleased to present my Alphabet of Books – one picture book for each letter of the alphabet. I limited myself to books that were currently on the shelf at the Aurora Public Library, so if you don’t see your favorite, it could have been checked out! Please feel free to add your favorites in the comments! In this list, you’ll find 2 books of poems, several award-winners and a book by a famous cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine. Click on the titles or the images to see more about each book.

     All the World  by Liz Garton Scanlon

     Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Just thinking of this book makes me say “Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk.”

     Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

     Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Which is it? A duck or a rabbit?

     Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

     The Firekeeper’s Son by Linda Sue Park

     The Great Gracie Chase by Cynthia Rylant

     Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss

     In the Wild  by David Elliott

     Journey by Aaron Becker

    Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin, Jr.

     Look Out, Jack! The Giant is Back! by Tom Birdseye

     Many Moons by James Thurber

     Night Tree by Eve Bunting

     Oh, No! by Candace Fleming

   Purple, Green, and Yellow by Robert Munsch

     Quackers by Liz Wong

     Red Sings From Treetops by Joyce Sidman

     Stella Louella’s Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst

     The Tale of Tricky Fox by Jim Aylesworth

     Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson

     The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

   Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

    Sorry!

There are no titles that begin with “X”, so you get an “X-tra” book, instead. Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill. This is a picture book biography that is shelved with our other juvenile biographies.

     You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman

     Zin! Zin! Zin!: a Violin by Lloyd Moss

Maybe this would be an activity you could try with your kids!