50 Awesome Picture Books Your Kid Will Love This Summer

by ParentCo. June 09, 2016

I have a secret; I am addicted to buying books.

Few things in life bring me more pleasure than a stack of new books on the counter of my favorite bookstore, purchased and ready to come home. The problem is, I've run out of places in my house for these stories to live. My children attempted to conquer the daunting task of organizing our endless book piles. What started out as house cleaning project, quickly turned into the three of us huddling together under the covers re-reading -- and re-living -- nearly every one of our favorite books. We clearly required organizational leadership. Assuming the role of household librarian, my daughter decided that we needed some kind of a system for our never-ending piles of books. This reading list is that system, developed and sorted by my children. Many of the recommended book lists published online are written by publishers, parents, and academic scholars. Don’t get me wrong, their recommendations are invaluable, but there is something really special about a child recommending a book. It means they've read it, identified with it, loved it, and asked for it again and again. The book has become part of who they are, and they want to share it.

Summer picture book reading list

Kid-loved, kid-tested, kid-approved.


Hard Work, Perseverance, and Courage

The Most Magnificent Thing, Ashley Spires Giraffes Can’t Dance, Giles Andrae Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon, Patty Lovell The Story of Ruby Bridges, Robert Coles How I Became a Pirate, Melinda Long The Curious Garden, Peter Brown


Innovative, Curious, and Problem Solving

What Do You Do With an Idea, Kobi Yamada Iggy Peck, Architect, Andrea Beaty Going Places, Paul A. Reynolds Rosie Revere, Engineer, Andrea Beaty If I Built a Car, Chris Van Dusen If I Built A House, Chris Van Dusen The Tree House That Jack Built, Bonnie Verburg


Humor

All of his books, Dr. Seuss The Napping House, Audrey Wood Don’t Be Silly, Mrs. Millie, Judy Cox and Joe Mathieu Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type, Doreen Cronin The Book With No Pictures, B.J. Novak Double Trouble in Walla Walla, Andrew Clements Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorist If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Lauren Numeroff If You Give a Moose a Muffin, Lauren Numeroff If You Give a Dog a Donut, Lauren Numeroff If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Lauren Numeroff The Snatchabook, by Helen Docherty Dog vs. Cat, Chris Gall Bark, George, Jules Feiffer


Inspirational, Adventurous, Life Lessons

The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn Miss Hazeltine’s Home For Shy and Fearful Cats, Alicia Potter One, Kathryn Otoshi Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, Amy Rouse Corduroy, Don Freeman Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf The Three Questions, Jon Muth The Circus Ship, Chris Van Dunes Have You Filled a Bucket Today, Carol McCloud Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken, Kate DiCamillo The Blessing Cup, Patricia Polacco Thunder Cake, Patricia Polacco The Keeping Quilt, Patricia Polacco The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce Stellaluna, Janell Cannon The Giant Carrot, Jan Peck Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, William Steig Owen, Kevin Henkes Ira Sleeps Over , Bernard Waber



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