100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know

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Recently I posted a list of which of 100 Top Children’s Novels I had read. It had a great response, so when I saw a list of 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know posted by the New York Public Library, I knew I was going to have to see how many of these I’d read. I have marked the ones I’ve read to at least one of my children in bold.

  1. ABUELA  by Arthur Dorros,
  2. ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY  by Judith Viorst
  3. ANANSI AND THE MOSS-COVERED ROCK by Eric A. Kimmel
  4. ANDY AND THE LION  by James Daugherty
  5. BARK, GEORGE by Jules Feiffer
  6. THE BOSSY GALLITO: A TRADITIONAL CUBAN FOLK TALE retold by Lucia M.Gonzalez; illustrated by Lulu Delacre
  7. BREAD AND JAM FOR FRANCES by Russell Hoban; illustrated by Lillian Hoban
  8. BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? by Bill Martin, Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle
  9. BRUNO MUNARI’S ABC by Bruno Munari
  10. BUZ by Richard Egielski
  11. CAPS FOR SALE; A TALE OF A PEDDLER, SOME MONKEYS AND THEIR MONKEY BUSINESS by Esphyr Slobodkina
  12. THE CARROT SEED by Ruth Krauss; illustrated by Crockett Johnson
  13. A CHAIR FOR MY MOTHER by Vera B. Williams
  14. CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
  15. CLICK, CLACK, MOO : COWS THAT TYPE / by Doreen Cronin
  16. COME ALONG, DAISY! by Jane Simmons
  17. CORDUROY by Don Freeman
  18. CURIOUS GEORGE by H. A. Rey
  19. DINOSAUR ROAR! by Paul Stickland and Henrietta
  20. DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS! by Mo Willems
  21. DUCK ON A BIKE by David Shannon
  22. FIRE TRUCK  by Peter Sís
  23. FREIGHT TRAIN by Donald Crews
  24. FROGGY GETS DRESSED by Jonathan London
  25. THE GARDENER by Sarah Stewart
  26. GEORGE AND MARTHA by James Marshall
  27. GO AWAY, BIG GREEN MONSTER! by Ed Emberley
  28. GOIN’ SOMEPLACE SPECIAL by Patricia McKissack
  29. GOOD NIGHT, GORILLA by Peggy Rathmann
  30. GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret W. Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd
  31. GOSSIE  by Dunrea Olivier
  32. GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY by Allen Say
  33. HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON by Crockett Johnson
  34. HARRY THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion ; illustrated by Margaret Graham
  35. HENRY HIKES TO FITCHBURG by D. B. (Donald B.) Johnson
  36. HORTON HATCHES THE EGG by Dr.Seuss,
  37. HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOOD NIGHT? by Jane Yolen
  38. I KISSED THE BABY! by Mary Murphy
  39. IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE by Laura J. Numeroff
  40. IT COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE: A YIDDISH FOLKTALE retold and illustrated by Margot Zemach
  41. JOHN HENRY by Julius Lester; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
  42. JULIUS by Angela Johnson ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey
  43. KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON by Kevin Henkes
  44. LILLY’S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE by Kevin Henkes
  45. THE LINE-UP BOOK by Russo Marisabina
  46. THE LITTLE RED HEN: AN OLD STORY by Margot Zemach
  47. LON PO PO: A RED RIDING HOOD STORY FROM CHINA by Ed Young
  48. LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE by Bernard Waber
  49. MABELA THE CLEVER by Margaret Read MacDonald
  50. MACHINES AT WORK by Byron Barton
  51. MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelmans
  52. MAISY GOES SWIMMING by Lucy Cousins
  53. MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS by Robert McCloskey
  54. MAMA CAT HAS THREE KITTENS by Denise Fleming
  55. THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS by Mordicai Gerstein
  56. MARTHA SPEAKS by Susan Meddaugh
  57. MIKE MULLIGAN AND HIS STEAM SHOVEL by Virginia L. Burton
  58. MILLIONS OF CATS by Wanda Gág
  59. MISS NELSON IS MISSING! by Harry Allard and James Marshall
  60. MR. GUMPY’S OUTING by John Birmingham
  61. MUFARO’S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS: AN AFRICAN TALE retold and illustrated by John Steptoe
  62. MUNCHA! MUNCHA! MUNCHA! by Candace Fleming
  63. MY FRIEND RABBIT by Eric Rohmann
  64. THE NAPPING HOUSE by Audrey Wood
  65. NO, DAVID! by David Shannon
  66. OFF TO SCHOOL, BABY DUCK! by Amy Hest
  67. OLD BLACK FLY by Jim Aylesworth
  68. OLIVIA by Ian Falconer
  69. OWEN by Kevin Henkes
  70. PAPA, PLEASE GET THE MOON FOR ME by Eric Carle
  71. PIERRE: A CAUTIONARY TALE by Maurice Sendak
  72. THE POLAR EXPRESS by Chris Van Allsburg
  73. PUSS IN BOOTS by Charles Perrault
  74. THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF MOTHER GOOSE: A TREASURY OF 386 TIMELESS NURSERY RHYMES by Arnold Lobel
  75. ROUND TRIP by Ann Jonas
  76. RUMPELSTILTSKIN by Paul O. Zelinsky
  77. THE SNOWY DAY by Ezra Jack Keats
  78. SPOTS, FEATHERS AND CURLY TAILS by Nancy Tafuri
  79. THE STORY OF FERDINAND by Munro Leaf
  80. THE STRAY DOG Marc, Simont
  81. STREGA NONA by Tomie De Paola
  82. SWIMMY by Leo Lionni
  83. SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE by William Steig
  84. THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT by Beatrix Potter
  85. TAR BEACH by Faith Ringgold
  86. TEN, NINE, EIGHT by Molly Bang
  87. THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY by Simms Taback
  88. THE THREE BEARS by Paul Galdone
  89. TRASHY TOWN by Andrea Griffing Zimmerman
  90. THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS BY A. WOLF by John Scieszka
  91. TUESDAY by David Wiesner
  92. UPTOWN by Collier Bryan
  93. THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle
  94. THE WHEELS ON THE BUS adapted and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
  95. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak
  96. WHERE’S SPOT? by Eric Hill
  97. WHISTLE FOR WILLIE by Ezra Jack Keats
  98. THE WOLF’S CHICKEN STEW by Keiko Kasza
  99. YOKO by Rosemary Wells
  100. ZOMO THE RABBIT: A TRICKSTER TALE FROM WEST AFRICA retold and illustrated by Gerald McDermott

I count 41 of the top 100. There are a few I’m not counting that I know we’ve read some version of, like Mother Goose, but I’m not sure if it’s the one listed. It looks like I’ve got a lot more to go. Lucky for me, I’ve still got a little girl who loves a good picture book. (I’ve also got some older kids who pretend that they aren’t listening!)

If you like book lists, my favorite list is the 1000 Good Books List.

So, how many have you read?

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5 thoughts on “100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know”

  1. 58. I remember reading many of the same books to my children that you've read. I'm surprised by some on the list but one of our absolute favorites has always been The Napping House. We also loved The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf! We laughed and laughed at that one! I have those two tucked away to read to my grand children when the day comes…of in the future of course!:)

    Blessings,

    Tonya

    http://www.thetravelingpraters.com

  2. Thanks for the mention of my book, Dinosaur Roar!

    If you want to find out more about the life of a children's author and illustrator, please have a look at my blog, which has links to all my sites.

    Best wishes,

    Paul Stickland

    http://paulstickland.tumblr.com/

  3. I think I counted 58 of those books as ones we have read. I guess I have a way to go too. Happy reading.

    Blessings,

    Dawn

  4. I've read 51! And, yes, my list is now posted. I've read a number of the same ones you have. I agree with the commenter who loves The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. That one is a classic! 😉

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