Please note, for the links to work you need to click on the title of the book to be taken to the full post. Thanks Tarnya
"The picture book is a peculiar art form that thrives on genius, intuition, daring and a meticulous attention to its history and its various, complex components. The picture book is a picture puzzle, badly misunderstood by critics and condescended to by far too many as merely a trifle for "the kiddies." Children are routinely patronized and thus so are we who spend our creative lives entertaining them and nourishing their spirit" Maurice Sendak
Picture Books
Books that are beautifully illustrated usually for a younger audience
Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics A Child’s First Collection By Various
This book arrived in the post today. I am so delighted. The book is a very sturdy hardback. The paper is heavy. The illustrations large. This is going to be the book I will be reading to my preschoolers each night for many nights. We did have a similar collection but it is so well... »
There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake By Deborah Niland and Hazel Edwards
Another fun picture book. »
Commotion in the Ocean
We read this book over and over again until we had the poems memorised. The picture links to the board book version. »
Caps for Sale By Esphyr Slobodkina
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina ” Caps for sale, 50c a cap!” As you can guess this is an old book, you certainly can’t buy a cap for 50c and I have not seen a peddler! It was published in 1938. But it is certainly worth including in your children’s library. “This easy-to-read story about a... »
An Extraordinary Egg By Lionni Leo
Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 children’s books. He won the Caldecott Honor prize four times for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. An Extraordinary Egg is one of our favourites. The illustrations are charming, the story is humourous, imaginative and memorable. What makes it memorable for my... »
Big and Small, Room for All by Jo Ellen Bogart Illustrated by Gillian Newland
This book gives us a glimpse of the immense, wonderful universe and takes us on a journey all the way down to microscopic creatures. The book is not specifically Christian but it reminded me of Psalm 8: What is man that You are mindful of him? It is beautifully illustrated in watercolours and makes a lovely picture book to read... »
I Don’t Want a Cool Cat By Emma Dodd
The lovely rhyming text and delightful illustrations have sent us off to the library to get some of her other books including I don’t want a posh dog Auckland Libraries link here »
Busiest People Ever By Richard Scarry
I grew up with Richard Scarry. I love his illustrations and his humour. Some people do criticise the text and that Mother Cat does the dishes … I’ll admit it isn’t the best read aloud. I think these are great browsing books for kids and books that we read together a little and then... »
I Spy Little Animals
A smaller board book version of the “I Spy” series, these are a wonderful way to introduce the delight of books to small children. My daughter, 18 months old, loves them. The beauty is that they will last at least a couple of years for the three year and four year old will enjoy... »
How Much is A Million? By Steven Kellogg
I’m having trouble with trillions, a word which is increasingly appearing in the news after the credit crunch. A billion dollars seems hard to understand! A billion seconds ago it was 1959! Watch this to begin to grasp how big these numbers are. The NZ government ( at the time of this post) is... »