Picture Books

Picture books have a special place in our hearts. I am sure you feel the same way. Unlike books for older children, that have more general appeal, we feel that families should select picture books based on what the parent loves to read. If you love the book, you’ll be able to model the joy of reading as you read it over, and over, and over again. Besides a love for the book, we also like to select books that teach a beautiful message. We also love what Charlotte Mason modeled, that young children shouldn’t have only as many books as they can learn to love. So that makes it really important that the few books we choose are ones we really have a relationship with. If you don’t already have a collection of picture books you love, here are a few to get you started. 

Before we get to the books, we are obligated to let you know that if you purchase any the books on these links, a portion of the purchase price will go to us, at no cost to you, allowing us pay our techie teens for performing some of the tasks on this site, such as formatting the html on these links when I just can’t figure it out. Enjoy!

The Little Red Hen 

The Little Red Hen

By Jerry Pinkney

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We love this edition of The Little Red Hen because it emphasizes the value of work. Emerging readers benefit from the delightful repetition as well as typography that utilizes text color to coordinate with the different animals. We love that the Little Red Hen’s chicks work alongside—and get to partake in the rewards of their labor alongside her as well!

The Little Engine That Could

The Little Engine That Could

By Watty Piper, Illustrated by Loren Long

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The Little Engine That Could is a book we read over and over. The train-like progression of the rhythm of the words makes it fun to read. The messages of working together, helping others, and believing you can do hard things are ones all ages can learn from.

Child's Garden of Verses

A Child’s Garden of Verses

By Rober Louis Stevenson, Illustrated by Tasha Tutor

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A Child’s Garden of Verses is thoroughly sweet. The pictures transport you to a magical childhood. The poetry is higher lexile than we usually see in picture books, but still simple enough for kids to understand, gently scaffolding them into a world of beautiful words.

These books make us happy just thinking about! They are a treasured part of our bookshelf. Once children are ready to read on their own, we also invite you to check out our favorite books for readers.

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