Best Picture Books for Storytelling

As this blog is all about books I felt I must mention some of our favorites books about books (or stories).   The wonder of storytelling and the art of books - that is what draws me to childrens' picture books.  They seem to weave these two so artfully.

My husband and I both have theatre backgrounds so the theatrical comes a little easier during our storytimes, but I still enjoyed Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud To Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox.  It is so true that time reading with our children helps to shape their future. 

I also learn a lot from many of these picture books.  There are great lessons, even for parents.  A Few Blocks has such a lesson.

First, I must mention the absolutely amazing story about books - The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce.  It is available in book, short Oscar-nominated film or app format.  See more information about it at Best Books & Learning App's.

No Bears by Megan McKinlay,  illustrated by Leila Rudge.  A fairytale without bears.  The storyteller is determined, but is it possible to have a fairytale without them?

Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown

The animals are each introduced to the perfect books and their vocabulary explodes.  A lovely nod to loving literature.

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates.  Dog love books so he decides to start his own bookstore.  He knows just what to recommend.

The Little White Owl by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Jane Chapman.  Stories help bring people (and owls in this story) together.   

Our favorite series, Elephant and Piggie Books, offers up We Are In a Book! by Mo Willems.  Great fun!

Read It, Don't Eat It! by  Ian  Schoenherr
Rhyming advice on how to take care of a library book.

Limelight Larry by Leigh Hodgkinson  

This is a wonderfully hilarious story all about Limelight Larry - or at least he would like it to be.

Wolves by Emily Gravett

Rabbit borrows a book about wolves.  This story is written in such a way that it is very informative and yet so engaging and entertaining.

Calvin Can't Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Keith Bendis

Find the Magic by Lee Cohen, illustrated 
by Julia Harnett Harvey. Euripides, the frog, takes his friends on an adventure in which they find magic in the pages of books. From a series of books by Susan Yost-Filgate and  Leonard Filgate - now with a new author/illustrator team, but just as good.

A Few Blocks by Cybele Young. This is storytelling at it's best. I try to use this method to distract uncooperative children.  Viola uses imaginative storytelling to distract her brother so that he will go to school. The 3-D paper sculptures used to create this story are fabulous!

Chalk by Bill Thompson
A wonderfully creative book with no words.  Magical chalk  helps the childrens' drawings come to life.  So much fun to play with chalk and explore magical worlds after enjoying this story!

We love new books at our house - if you love any literature on this topic that didn't make my list, please do share!

Great Picture Books for Inkblots and Other Art

Art is a subject quite close to my heart and that is evident in my very long list of recommendations.  I spent my college years frequenting many a museum as an art major.  I adore art and creativity and want to open my childrens' eyes to all of the possibilities at a young age.  We love to do craft/art projects and I even did an  A to Z Animals project with Greysen and his friend last year - soon to start with Camden as she is just learning her ABC's.  You can find those here: http://pinterest.com/ribbit0608/a-to-z-crafts/

We've recently discovered some wonderful art books that have had us making some very creative projects. We made our own "inkblots" with acrylic paint and fingerprint drawings (although my youngest was against getting her fingers dirty for this!).  Outside of my own pins on Pinterest, this is my favorite resource for art projects related to childrens' books: http://pinterest.com/kbus/children-s-book-related-crafts-and-activities/#

Art by Patrick McDonnell 
A simple, but beautiful, ode to art.

Bridget's Beret by Tom Lichtenfeld
Bridget's beret is her artistic expression - can she still make art without it?  

Not a Box - and -
Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis 
These two books are an excellent way to get kids thinking creatively.  It's not just a box/stick - they magically become so much more with a little imagination.

the dot  - and - 
ish by Peter H. Reynolds
Are both wonderful books about creativity and not being afraid to try something.

Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg 
This is a brilliant book.  About making art out of mistakes.  

Willy's Pictures by Anthony Browne
Seen Art? by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith. I love art museums and love great, historical works of art. It is exciting for me to share these things with my children. Both of these books are incredibly entertaining ways to introduce this to your children.

Inkblot: Drip, Splat and Squish Your Way to Creativity by Margaret Peot
 Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book by Ed Emberley - who has written loads of books, the most popular of which is Go Away, Big Green Monster! Emberley has a number of other art and drawing books, but this is a favorite at our house.

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow. If you've ever painted with a pre-schooler, then you will enjoy this book.  You must be prepared for a mess and a mess this child makes - the kids find it hilarious!

Art & Max by David Wiesner
A wonderfully imaginative book!  Art is the artist and he doesn't think that Max can paint, but what Max creates is fantastic.

A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Chad Cameron. This book opened up a great discussion on using other mediums.  Most children are only familiar with crayons, markers, acrylics, but art can be so much more.

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman
Perfect Square by Michael Hall
Two very clever books that look at shapes in a new way.


The following three are excellent educational color books - primary and secondary colors, and color mixing.  These have taught my kids so much.

Warthog's Paint: A Messy Color Book by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh

White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker


We also adore the Sesame Street video/song Three Primary Colors that is excellent for teaching children about colors and color-mixing: http://youtu.be/yu44JRTIxSQ

Chalk by Bill Thompson
And a late addition - I forgot about this book until I saw it at the library this week.  This book is excellent for art or storytelling.  An extra fun activity - make the book come alive: Chalk Activity 

The iPad also has a great app called Art Circles.  There are multiple circles organized by color or curator or other topics.  Some pieces of art even have a mega-zoom feature.  The kids and I have had great fun exploring art this way.

We love new books at our house - if you love any literature on this topic that didn't make my list, please do share!

Our Absolute Favorite Author/Illustrator

I have always loved books. My entire life I have been fascinated with them, the beauty of them.  I was an advanced reader at a young age and just wouldn't put books down.  I still find myself doing that, although in the past few years it is usually Childrens' Picture books that catch my fancy.  Of course, these do combine two of my favorite things: literature and art.  


Picture books can be truly engaging, educational and beautiful.  My husband and I spend a lot of time reading books to our children, ages 2 and 5.  They in turn spend a lot of time curled up with their favorite books.  Our 5 year old, Greysen, is just grasping basic reading skills, so a whole new world of reading is opening up to him.  Camden, our precocious 2 year old, will rarely sit still, but loves to sit in front of the bookcase and "read" all of the books - her often word-for-word retelling is amazing.


I think books hold an amazing power for children to learn and grow.  Not simply for the language skills, but also the life lessons.  I will try to label all of the books that I post so that the topics covered are easier to access.  My local librarians are incredibly helpful when it's come to finding books on particular topics: sharing, anger, loss, bullying.  I have looked in the past for a website to help me find great books within these topics, but have found none.  If you know of any, please share them here.  


What better way to start this blog than with our favorite author/illustrator, Charles Fuge. This does not cover one particular topic, but we enjoy his books so thoroughly that he must be the first thing that we share.

I believe our first encounter with Charles Fuge was with his book I Know a Rhino.  We happened upon it at the local library and oh what fun!  


"I know a Rhino, We like to take tea, I have two sugars, and Rhino has three"


Very simple rhyming and fun animal illustrations.  That is probably what we love most about Fuge's books.  I don't know a child that doesn't adore animals and his illustrations certainly make the animals adorable.  


Sadly, this book is out of print, but you can find it at the library or in used format (that's where I got our copy).


When I discover an author/illustrator that I love, I enjoy searching out their other literature.  We have found that we like (and subsequently own) nearly everything that Fuge has written/illustrated.  

Bedtime Hullabaloo! is by far our favorite book.  Written by David Conway and illustrated by Charles Fuge, Bedtime Hullabaloo! is just so much darn fun.  While I've read some critics feel that the alliteration and wordplay is uneven, my whole family thinks it is great fun.  


"One night on the silly savannah a ludicrous leopard is leapfrogging to bed..."


Greysen and Camden can recite the whole book (and can tell someone when they've read it incorrectly!).  We plan to share it at a Campfire Stories event at our library this week.


Once again, Fuge's illustrations are playful and amusing images of animals.  

We have read every book on the list below of Fuge's works and loved them all.  His earlier works are not as playful, the animal illustrations are a little more realistic, but still beautiful.   We usually give gifts of books and those pictured here are top choice!

Greysen and Camden's review of all of the above books: "We love the animals and the stories that have stuffed animals.  We love the animals.  We love the animals!"

I tried to label each book as to the main topics or themes covered.  I will likely revisit many of these books in future posts.  

Charles Fuge Illustrated Books
Title	Author	Labels
Whale is Stuck/Whale Gets Stuck	Hayles, Karen	cooperation, problem solving
Flea's Best Friend	Fuge, Charles	dogs
Dinosaurs! : a spot-the-difference puzzle book	Parker, Steve	puzzle
Sam's Sneaker Search	O'Brien, Claire	lost, found, shoes
My dad!	Fuge, Charles	dad, father
It's a Monster Party!	Pym, Tasha	differences, new friends
I Know a Rhino	Fuge, Charles	bedtime, animals, rhyme
Trumpet: the little elephant with a big temper	Clarke, Jane	temper, tantrum, anger
I Love It When You Smile	McBratney, Sam	bad day, bad mood, smiling
Yes We Can!	McBratney, Sam	individuality, friendship
This is the Way	Fuge, Charles	animal sounds, animal actions
Yip!Snap!Yap!	Fuge, Charles	sounds
Astonishing Animal ABC	Fuge, Charles	ABC, alphabet, animals
Bedtime Hullabaloo	Conway, David	bedtime
Three Little Dinosaurs	Fuge, Charles	flight, dinosaurs, friends
Wombat Series:
Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball	Churchill, Vicki	favorite things, bedtime
Found You, Little Womat!	McAllister, Angela	getting lost, being found
Swim, Little Wombat, Swim!	Fuge, Charles	making new friends, differences
Where To, Little Wombat!	Fuge, Charles	adventure, home
The Adventures of Little Wombat	multiple	(includes the first four books)
Watch Out, Little Wombat!	Fuge, Charles	imagination, monsters
Gilbert Series:
Gilbert the Great	Clarke, Jane	loss, making new friends
Gilbert in Deep	Clarke, Jane	fearless, danger, adventure
Gilbert the Hero	Clarke, Jane	baby, brother