Wow what a great book

December 17, 2012 2:22 PM

What are your favorite children's illustrated books?

What are your favorite children's illustrated books specifically for the 4-6 year old range, and importantly, for each one why is it a favorite? (The best written? Best illustrated? Best story? Personally meaningful?)

Books not originally written in English are fine too (indeed I'm very interested in hearing about such books, in particular from Europe).

posted by Dansaman to education (67 answers total)

The Velveteen Rabbit-- old school, timeless illustrations and perhaps one of the most heartfelt storylines about love and morality, ever. It resonated with me deeply as a child and still today, as an adult.
posted by chloe.gelsomino at 2:24 PM on December 17, 2012

I was fond of Richard Scarry's "Big, Busy World" at that age. I think I admired his drawings of buses in particular.
posted by thelonius at 2:27 PM on December 17, 2012 [9 favorites]

William and the Night Train is one that we've worn out. Lovely illustrations, an elegant story, and text that reads in a beautiful cadence.
posted by jbickers at 2:27 PM on December 17, 2012

The Snowy Day because of the colors.
posted by jgirl at 2:29 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

This may be one for slightly older than 6, but I first read Catwitch when I was very, very young and it still remains one of my top all-time favorites. The story is rich, vivid and captivating and the illustrations are absolutely stunning.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:30 PM on December 17, 2012

I loved Animalia and The Eleventh Hour (better for older kids) by Graeme Base. So much fun detail hidden in the pictures.

The Stinky Cheese Man is fun because it "breaks" the rules of children's books. Maybe this is more standard these days, but back in the early 90s when it came out, I remember thinking, "whoaaa, can they DO this!?"

The Happy Hocky Family is hilarious and ironic and awesome and honestly every family should have a copy of it. Trust me. If you buy nothing else, buy this one. It's a little kid book that kids AND adults will find funny. (It was quoted to death in our house for yeeears.)
posted by phunniemee at 2:30 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Chicken Sunday

Thunder Cake

Both by Patricia Polacco.
posted by Danf at 2:31 PM on December 17, 2012

Pagoo was a favorite night reading, both when we were reading to our children and when the children could read on their own.
posted by francesca too at 2:31 PM on December 17, 2012

Chris Van Allsburg has lovely illustrations in all of his books which compliment his stories beautifully. Easily, he is one of my favorite children's authors. My favorite is "The Polar Express" - which Hollywood went and made a mess out of; he really captures the essence of believing in Santa and Christmas. Another book of his that Hollywood screwed up was "Jumanji". VanAllsburg is all about fantasy and believing in what you can't see.

Another one of my favorites from him is "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick":

A fictional editor's note tells of an encounter between a children's book editor named Peter Wenders and an author and illustrator named Harris Burdick, who says he has 14 stories that he has written; he has brought one picture from each story with a caption. He leaves with a promise to deliver the complete manuscripts if the editor chooses to buy the books. The next day, Burdick didn't show up. Burdick never returned to Wenders' office. Over the years, Wenders tried to find out who Harris Burdick was, but he never found out. Burdick was never seen again, and the samples are all that remain of his supposed books. Readers are challenged to imagine their own stories based on the images in the book.

I used to use that book with my fourth graders, letting them each pick one of the pictures and write a story about it.
posted by NoraCharles at 2:31 PM on December 17, 2012 [4 favorites]

Probably Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I can still recite most of it by heart, as I've been able to do for most of my life. There's something about the style in which it's written--the cadence of the awful things just piling on, the repetition of the terrible, horrible &c--that has always sounded absolutely right to me. I like the illustrations--Alexander's expressions are perfect--but they've never been the heart of the book for me; the words are.
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:34 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Santa Calls" or anything by William Joyce really because that man is a gifted illustrator. Also, the story in "Santa Calls" is genuinely sweet unlike so many maudlin Christmas stories.
posted by GuyZero at 2:35 PM on December 17, 2012

The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater. I love the message that you don't have to conform, you can express yourself creatively.
posted by dottiechang at 2:39 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

This may be a bit young, but The Fourteen Bears of Summer and Winter was my all time favorite book as a wee one.
The cadence, colours and art really calls, even to this day.
posted by whowearsthepants at 2:42 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Louis Darling illustrated editions of the Beverly Cleary books.
The Oz books illustrated by John R Neill.
Everything illustrated by Garth Williams, Hillary Knight, Maurice Sendak,Robert McCloskey and Lois Lenski.
posted by brujita at 2:43 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

My kids always loved the Pettson and Findus books. The well-done drawings are so full with silly details it takes days to look at them carefully, and they are all so joyfully Swedish.
posted by Namlit at 2:46 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. Lovely, 1930s-era illustrations that look like they're colored in cake frosting, and terrific proto-feminist story about kindness, wisdom, and bravery.
posted by scody at 2:47 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't think I can choose a particular book, but I love the work of James Marshall, who was both author and illustrator. His illustrations are deceptively simple, but very evocative and enjoyable, and funny. I particularly like the "George and Martha" series (which you can buy as a collection), the "Miss Nelson" series, "The Stupids" series, and "Space Case".

I also like William Steig's picture books, especially "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" and "Brave Irene".

I don't know if I was in the 4-6 age range when I read these books, but I was fascinated by the illustations in the Greek Myths and the Norse Myths books by the D'Aulaires.
posted by mogget at 2:47 PM on December 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

Anything illustrated by Steven Kellogg.
posted by misterbrandt at 2:50 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Goodnight Moon.
posted by treblemaker at 2:54 PM on December 17, 2012

Graeme Base's "Animalia," as a mentioned above is simply fabulous: intricate, beautiful, educational, attention-absorbing. There is simply *so much* to find in each picture. Jan Brett's books, "The Mitten" and "The Hat," are wonderful for similar reasons. Chris Van Allsburg is tremendous, but for the 4-6 set, I'll recommend "Two Bad Ants," which is drawn from the ants' perspective. Lane Smith's work on "The Stinky Cheese Man" is silly and off-kilter, to match the stories. Ian Falconer's "Olivia" books are marvelous for their sly humor. David Shannon's "David" books (especially "No, David!") really capture something about being small and having your own agenda.

My 4-about-to-be-5-year-old loved, loved, loved "Charlotte's Web" (she's a farm kid), which has both lovely writing and the illustrations of Garth Williams.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:57 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I really enjoyed Where the Wild Things Are. Depending on the child, it might be a little scary, but it's very nicely drawn.
posted by blurker at 2:57 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Almost Everything. HUGE book.

Sector 7.


Anno's Journey.

Midsummer Knight.

All these books are wordless (I am pretty sure). The last three are story books.
We have a lot of fun narrating them, adding dialog, sound effects, etc.

We have (gulp) over a thousand childrens' books and these are the ones we pull out the most.
posted by beccaj at 3:01 PM on December 17, 2012

Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline books!
posted by colin_l at 3:07 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

There are a ton of good suggestions here; I would add "anything with your name in it". My brother has a very unusual name and when we were kids my aunt found an illustrated version of a Norwegian fairytale with his name in it that he LOVED; it was destroyed in a fire and I'm actually giving him another copy for Christmas.

Anyway, yeah, characters with your name make books super special to kids.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:09 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I loved Old Cricket. So much so, in fact, that I bought the other two books by the same author/illustrator duo, but was disappointed in the other two.

LOVED the illustrations.
posted by wwartorff at 3:11 PM on December 17, 2012

I suppose some might argue that 4-6 is too young for Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince ("The Little Prince"), but it was my favorite book in the world when I was five, and remains among my favorites today at 53, both for the charming worldview of the quirky story and the endearing illustrations.
posted by trip and a half at 3:11 PM on December 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Just about anything by Maurice Sendak, but particularly 'In the Night Kitchen' and 'Where the Wild Things Are'.
posted by Gneisskate at 3:19 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Pettson and Findus books for their excellent art (although the writing is good, too).
posted by martinrebas at 3:21 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein, for Elmer's adorably cute tufty feathers, and its message. It's totally a book about gay rights (adults will chuckle at Elmer's room decorations), but it doesn't include the word gay once--it's just about being yourself and standing up to bullies and being appreciated for the skills you have.

Miss Rumphius, for its gorgeous illustrations of flowers, frank discussion of aging, and the take-home message about doing something to make the world better.

The Paper Bag Princess, because that princess takes no shit from anybody.
posted by ActionPopulated at 3:21 PM on December 17, 2012

My kids and I loved Stanley's Wild Ride (Aut: Linda Bailey. Ill: Bill Slavin)

and I'll second everything from Graeme Base.
posted by njk at 3:29 PM on December 17, 2012

There's a really beautiful edition of Hansel and Gretel illustrated by Jen Corace that I adore.
posted by nonasuch at 3:55 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Who Needs Donuts?
posted by miss tea at 3:56 PM on December 17, 2012

I loved all of the Richard Scarry books. Especially What Do People Do All Day, which I will probably be flipping through for nostalgia's sake when I go home for Christmas and I'm 25. The drawings are just so incredibly detailed that I would spend hours just flipping through and staring at all the tiny details.

The Tiger Skin Rug! Beautiful funky watercolors, a (probably inaccurate) depiction of an exotic culture, and ~my very favorite animal~ as a kid...

Mister Dog, The Dog Who Belonged to Himself! Oh my god I wanted to be friends with this dog and hang out in his beautifully illustrated cottage SO BAD.

The reading level on these is more advanced, but Paul O. Zelinsky's oil-painting-illustrated versions of Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel just BLEW MY MIND as a kid. So beautiful. Check out the 'more inside' section...

Oh man I am tripping down memory lane right now...
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:00 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, by Tomie dePaola. My son loved that book when he was little. Lovely illustrations.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:01 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rumpelstiltskin illustrated by Edward Gorey. Because Edward Gorey! When Rumpelstiltskin gets mad his clothes tie themselves in knots.

Ultra-Violet Catastrophe!: Or, The Unexpected Walk with Great-Uncle Magnus Pringle -- Loved this one because it's about a girl who loves tramping in the outdoors getting dirty (like me) and features a whimsically eccentric great-uncle. Some of the girl's expressions are priceless.

Jennifer's Walk, if you can find it. - Another girl that loves exploring the outdoors, with beautiful, bright, detailed illustrations.
posted by frobozz at 4:10 PM on December 17, 2012

Oh, and Arm in Arm - absurdism for children. For good or ill, I think this book helped shape what my sense of humor was to become.
posted by frobozz at 4:15 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Monster at the end of this Book

I also had a particular fondness for Dr. Seuss' The Cat's Quizzer
posted by RonButNotStupid at 4:30 PM on December 17, 2012

David Wiesner's "Flotsam" is mysterious and wordless and beautiful. Especially good if you have a beach-going child.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:33 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I keep thinking of more! All those years shelving picture books at the library...

My daughter loved "Jennie's Hat" by Ezra Jack Keats. I had to buy a copy for her because she kept asking for it.

Trina Schart Hyman had a very distinctive style - perfect for the many fairy tales she illustated. Her version of "Little Red Riding Hood" was a Caldecott Honor Book, and she won the Caldecott Medal for "St. George and the Dragon".

Rosemary Wells is probably best known for the Max & Ruby books (now series). Like James Marshall, she has a deceptively simple style, but her characters can express quite a bit with an arched eyebrow.
posted by mogget at 4:49 PM on December 17, 2012

Russell Hoban's Frances books! If I have to choose a favorite, it's Bread and Jam for Frances, in which young Frances becomes a picky eater and decides that she only wants to eat --- you guessed it --- bread and jam.

Laid out like that, it sounds like a didactic tale designed for picky eaters, but the Frances books are so much more than problem-solving books! Now that I think about it, they do all have a pretty simple problem at their core: Frances has to cope with the new baby sister, Frances becomes a picky eater, Frances' good friend decides he doesn't want to spend time with a girrrrrrrrl, Frances is envious of her sister's upcoming birthday, and so on.

But during my childhood, it wasn't the problems that stayed with me; it was the stories and the gentle humor. My sister and I still quote Bread and Jam to each other routinely; the meals in the book are described simply but beautifully, in a way that really resonated with me even as a child.

But that's not all that I love about these books. I love the comfortable family dynamic, which is loving and sustained but not sappy. I love the easy pleasant humor of the narration. I love the subtle wryness of the parents' words and actions, which really only came across when I got old enough to read these stories to my own nieces.

At a recent family gathering, my niece asked if I'd put her to bed and read her Bread and Jam for Frances. Of course I did, and I kept choking on my own laughter. For example, while Mother is trying to get the baby to sleep, Frances is left to her own amusement:

Frances went to her room and took some gravel out of the drawer where she had been saving it. She put the gravel into her empty coffee can and put the lid on it.

Frances marched into the living-room and rattled the gravel in the can. As she marched she sang a marching song:

Here we go marching, rattley bang!

"Please don't do that, Frances.", said Father.

That moment shows so much quiet observation of how people actually behave: that a little girl has a special cache of gravel (or whatever weird little mundane collection) in her dresser drawer, that she would unself-consciously make the loudest possible noise while everyone else wants the baby to sleep, and that instead of jumping right into a scolding, a tired but experienced parent would start with a quiet "Please don't do that" --- that all feels so real to me.

I suggest trying to find the original pastel illustrations rather than the more recent brightly-colored revamped illustrations, but that might be my own nostalgia talking: the chalky tones of those older illustrations is deeply endearing to me.
posted by Elsa at 4:53 PM on December 17, 2012 [9 favorites]

I loved the illustrations (and the story) in Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins. It's a great little folk-tale and the pictures are gorgeous, the goblins manage to not be scary at all, while still being appropriately goblin-y. :)
posted by blue_bicycle at 4:56 PM on December 17, 2012

Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, Chrysanthemum, Wemberly Worried are all books by Kevin Henkes who is an author and illustrator who really captures the mentality of being a little kid in school. I love how he makes kid's fears and joys really palatable and illustrates them in a really whimsical fashion. the books, in my experience give kids a jumping off point in which to discuss fear of first days at school and dealing with friendships and things of that nature. I still love them as an adult.
posted by ruhroh at 4:59 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

In The Night Kitchen (and Where The Wild Things Are, and anything by Maurice Sendak).

My daughter loved James Marshall's George And Martha stories. Also the Max and Ruby books by Rosemary Wells.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 5:40 PM on December 17, 2012

by Robert McCloskey: Make Way For Ducklings and Blueberries For Sal in particular;

by William Steig (who wrote Shrek): the Dr. De Soto books; Pete's A Pizza; etc.

Babar the Elephant of course

the Curious George books
posted by DMelanogaster at 6:00 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

La Corona And The Tin Frog
posted by turgid dahlia 2 at 6:02 PM on December 17, 2012

You Are My I Love You for warm fuzzy feelings
posted by okay-quiet-time at 6:32 PM on December 17, 2012

Gorgeous linoleum block illustrations make Christopher Wormell's Blue Rabbit and Friends and Blue Rabbit and the Runaway Wheel are two of the most beautiful children's books ever. They're also hilariously funny and a little bit subversive.
posted by apparently at 6:47 PM on December 17, 2012

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. Gulp, I can hardly read it aloud.
posted by tamitang at 8:37 PM on December 17, 2012

Oh man, ALL THE POLO BOOKS by Regis Faller. They have NO words, which means you look at them and tell the story, or just look at them. They are GREAT! (Sorry to be so enthusiastic, but my daughter just turned 7 and I wish we were still "reading" them}
posted by jcworth at 8:41 PM on December 17, 2012

Chris Van Allsburg - Polar Express. gorgeous illustration, well integrated into the story. When I got to It broke my heart to lose the bell, it made me cry when I 1st read it, in the bookstore I worked in. still makes me choke up, and I have read it aloud many times.

Maurice Sendak - Where The Wild Things Are. Lively, quality illustration. One of my favorite stories. After returning home to his bed, Max discovers supper waiting for him. And it was still hot. A very reassuring message.

Barbara Cooney - Miss Rumphius. A morality tale, not too heavy-handed, and with heroine. My son also loved Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran,m illustrated by Cooney.

Caldecott Medal winners for best picture book.
posted by theora55 at 9:02 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

And the Shepard illustrations for Winnie the Pooh are charming, as are the stories.
posted by theora55 at 9:03 PM on December 17, 2012

Oh my god YES Blueberries for Sal! Gorgeous.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:05 PM on December 17, 2012

The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey, because I just love the illustrations. I think it's a perfect book.

Almost anything by Peter McCarty, but especially Hondo & Fabian. Again, just beautiful illustrations. You could tear out every page and frame it.
posted by peep at 9:41 PM on December 17, 2012

Seconding Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, and Make Way for Ducklings! Those books are woven into my childhood in a way that makes it hard to describe what I love about them.

follow-up: of course, the Frances quote I posted, with the gravel and the coffee can and the "Please don't do that, Frances" comes from A Baby Sister for Frances, not Bedtime for Frances.
posted by Elsa at 9:45 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another great one by David Weisner is Tuesday. (and I see that it was adapted into an animated short, as well!)
posted by 1367 at 9:46 PM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can't believe no-one has yet mentioned The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (illustrations). Wonderful pictures, very entertaining to read aloud, both grandsons absolutely love it.

(There's a film version too.)
posted by humph at 3:26 AM on December 18, 2012

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and other Beatrix Potter books. I adored these little books as a five year old. So pretty, and so many details! Rediscovered them at 12, and they joined the list of my favorite books again. I still love them.
posted by Xere at 4:00 AM on December 18, 2012

How could I forget Roald Dahl illustrated by Quentin Blake! Inexcusable. That's more than just "a" great book. ("Terrible, yes. But great," as our good friend Ollivander says.)
posted by Namlit at 4:05 AM on December 18, 2012

Check out Owl Moon, which tells the story of an unusual but deeply meaningful family right of passage (being old enough to go out and look for owls at night) that a child shares with a father. Interesting to the young (I think we first read it at 3), but will open up additional layers as the child's understanding deepens, and the illustrations are gorgeous, evocative, magical. The whole thing makes me teary every time.
posted by acm at 7:10 AM on December 18, 2012

The Fourteen Bears of Summer and Winter was my all time favorite book as a wee one.

OMG someone else who knows this book! I haven't thought of it in a very long time but I loved it SO much when I was little. The detail-freakiness of it was so appealing--all the little bears had their own interests and personalities, and that was all conveyed through the art, since I don't think anyone actually SAID much during the whole thing! (Just an example--one of the little bears was named Virginia, and she was an artist; she painted the branches on her tree house silver for Christmas, and she always carried around a little sketchbook to draw in. The illustrator of the book was named Virginia Parsons, and there was a little sign outside the tree house that said "Virginia Parsons--Artist." How I still remember this after all these years, I have no idea--just a sign of how well it worked.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:25 AM on December 18, 2012

I like Suzanne Bloom's books about the bear and goose, in particular A Splendid Friend, Indeed and What About Bear?. Those would be for the younger end of 4-6, I'd say, and I like them evenly for their art and their message. Likewise with Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, which makes a great readaloud if you can do that frustrated two-page rant all in one breath.

Lunch is a great one for this age: simple words, great art, and kids like guessing the foods from the partial images (everyone always gets the watermelon), and they're also learning colors.

Duck on a Bike is great for its art and its whimsy. Likewise--but sadly, long out of print--is Elephant Buttons. It's a wordless book, a quick fun read, and the kids love it.

And Grumpy Bird is another great one to read to kids, especially if you do the voices.
posted by johnofjack at 8:14 AM on December 18, 2012

Someone just showed me I Want My Hat Back a couple of weeks ago and it has really stuck with me for being hilarious but subtle. The art is beautiful but understated, and it's the expressions on the animals' faces that really makes the story.
posted by marginaliana at 8:15 AM on December 18, 2012

I think at that age it was the illustrations that really grabbed me.

Maurice Sendak's illustrations always seemed to balance realism, whimsy, something a little sad, and weren't too cutesy. I especially loved Where the Wild Things Are. On one level, it's a wish-fulfillment fantasy. On another, it differentiates between civil and uncivil behavior. I think even young kids can pick up on that.

Another book that really sticks with me is Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like by Jay Williams and Mercer Mayer, which is just absolutely beautiful.

I credit Dr. Suess for my love of language.
posted by Boxenmacher at 9:44 AM on December 18, 2012

I really like Napoleon - it's about a dog (although he looks more like a pillow) playing in the attic on a rainy afternoon. I love the pictures themselves - he stages a train robbery with his toy train set and decorates an old coat with Christmas lights - but I also love the story of him playing alone, having the best possible time amusing himself with his imagination and whatever's up there in the attic. He's by himself, and he's having tremendous fun. I just find the whole thing charming.
posted by kristi at 8:42 AM on December 19, 2012

One of my favorite books when I was little was The Unicorn and The Moon by Tomie de Paola. It had a very strange sort of mystique, with beautiful illustrations in very dark colors, that didn't match the bright cheeriness of the other books that I had. And I really appreciated that.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is also a serious favorite - the way Harold is able to use his ingenuity with his crayon to solve problem, and the way he is able to interact with the drawings he made himself, are pretty incredible.
posted by taltalim at 11:02 AM on December 19, 2012

I will strongly second David Shannon's books (and yes, especially 'No, David!'). I used to read out loud to children at a hospital and 'No, David!' was always a huge hit because they knew what was coming (lots of repetition and the illustrations make it obvious, too) and the story echoes what their own parents have said to them many times before.

Peter Sis is an excellent children's book author/illustrator and I adore his story without words (that's the technical phrase for wordless children's books) called Dinosaur!. I've also done that one with the children at the hospital and wow, huge hit. They really enjoyed having the agency to make their own story up to match the illustrations. He's also done many Caldecott award winning books at a variety of age levels.

Allen Say is an amazing author/illustrator who tackles things from a bit of a non-Western perspective (he's Japanese-American). He does stories from his own life which really tug on your heart strings. My personal favorites are Grandfather's Journey and Kamishibai Man. Also a Caldecott winner (as is David Shannon for that matter).

You might investigate not only the Caldecott winners but also the Pura Belpré illustrator award winners (those are for books that are about the Latino/a experience and they are often in Spanish or bilingual) and of course the Coretta Scott King winners and the Geisel Award winners and so forth.

You should check out, too, the Database of Award Winning Children's Literature, where you can do a specific search for non-English picture books from non-North American countries very easily. There's quite a bit out there.

Finally, your local children's librarian should have a stock of personal favorites (if nothing else, what they read at Storytime) that will give you a wide range of newer books as well (trust me, there will be much specificity and passion if you get them going!).
posted by librarylis at 10:25 PM on December 19, 2012

Scaredy Squirrel & it's sequels by Melanie Watt, because they are clever, and funny, and colorful.
posted by stampsgal at 11:41 AM on December 20, 2012