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
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!
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