Thursday Thirteen: 13 Picture Books I Love

Thursday Thirteen #35

Hello all! This week I offer you thirteen picture books that I love. Yes. I love picture books and I really enjoy discovering new gems of the genre. Do you have any favorites to recommend? Do you agree with my selections? Please let me know.

This is the Picture:
1. Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems – I love reading this book out loud, even to my Mother. When the Pigeon says, “Your Mother would let me drive the bus” she replied, “No, I wouldn’t.”

2. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff – Now, if only I could get a mouse to clean my house…

3. Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watts – One wouldn’t generally think of a germophobic squirrel with possible OCD as a great subject for a picture book. This is where one would be wrong.

4. The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Marianna Mayer – Illustrated by K. Y. Craft, this book is luminescent. Yes, the story is good, but read this version for the pictures.

5. The Adventures of Cow by Cow (as told to Lori Korchek and photographed by Marshall Taylor.) – Follow a small squishy cow on the adventure of her lifetime. Children will love to correct Cow’s misconceptions (for example, Cow thinks live cows are frogs…) and adults will groan at the visual puns.

6. Sector 7 by David Wiesner – This Caldecott Honor Book tells its story with only pictures. The few words that do appear are on signs and such. What better way to tell a story of creativity and an unusual friendship.

7. Mucky Moose by Jonathan Allen – This picture book shows what happens when you turn a perceived disadvantage into a strength. Also? The wolf is hilarious.

8. Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard and James Marshall – This book is a bona fide classic. If you have not read it, I suggest that you rectify the situation. Then you can ask yourself…is Miss Nelson really missing?

9. The Moon Singer by Clyde Robert Bulla – This is my favorite picture book of all time. Not merely for the pictures, which I do enjoy, but really for the story. Something in this tale of an abandoned and misunderstood boy who finds freedom in singing reached out and grabbed hold of me when I was very young. It still has not relinquished its hold.

10. Mars Needs Moms! by Berkeley Breathed – What would you do if Martians stole your Mom? You’d follow them, right? This story illustrates the selfless love of parents for their children…and a child’s love for a parent.

11. Art Dog by Thacher Hurd – Mild mannered museum guard by day, mysterious painter by night, can Art Dog save the day when art thieves strike?

12. Frederick by Leo Lionni – Perhaps only a mouse like Frederick can adequately explain how important it is to save up more than just food for the long cold winter. The long days are made that much shorter with stories to pass the time.

13. Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester – Tacky isn’t like the other penguins. They do everything gracefully…he does not. But sometimes an outspoken Hawaiian shirt-wearing penguin can be just what you need when hunters come around.