4 Picture Books You’ll Love (Mary)

One of my favorite things to do with my family is to read all together. Because my kids are 7,5, and 1- and my husband is an artist- I am always on the lookout for great new picture books to read. Particularly ones I don’t mind reading over and over and over again.
A winner picture book, in my humble opinion, does at least 1 of 3 things. 1) Gets the reader involved. 2) Makes the reader sincerely laugh. 3) Has adorable illustrations/photographs that just make you smile and sigh and they inspire words to come out of you like “charming”. (A good storyline to go with these is key!)
Here are some fun ones I discovered this week.

1. Gets the reader involved:

Let’s Play by Herve Tulette

The main character in this story is that little yellow dot you see in the bottom right corner. He wants to play with you. You get to chase him across pages, help him sneak through tunnels, and play hide and go seek with him. Both my 5 year old and my 7 year old LOVED this book! And even though they knew the yellow dot was just a yellow dot- they couldn’t help themselves. They did everything that yellow dot wanted them to.

(More from this author include Mix it Up and Press Here. Super fabulous books as well!)

2. Makes you sincerely laugh:

Guess Again by Mac Barnett

This is just a small taste of the fun.

Even my husband and I said “Lets read it again!” as soon as it was over.

(Another fun one like this is Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krause Rosenthal.)

3. Makes you sigh and smile and squeal:

The Secret Life of Squirrels: A Love Story

Guys! Nancy Rose is a genius! She builds these adorable miniature sets in her backyard and hides nuts all around them. Then she sets up her camera and keeps an eye out for when the squirrels decide to show up! The story that went along with the pictures just made it so charming you just want to “squeee” on every page. (That’s that high pitched squeal you do when things are so cute you can’t contain yourself.)

Like these ones!

Squeeee!

(Also by Nancy Rose: Secret Life of Squirrels and Merry Christmas, Squirrels)

4. A little bit of everything:

Ninja Baby by David Zeltser

Nina was a ninja right from the start. And things get even more interesting when a King Fu Master shows up!

We read it at least 20 times.

(If you liked this you should also check out Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos.)

I am always looking for great picture books! What picture books have your kids/students/nieces and nephews/grandchildren enjoyed that I should go find at the library?