Kit Lit: 10 Favorite Picture Books

As many of you know, I worked in the Children's Department of my local library throughout high school and college. I loved it so much my goal was to get my Master's in Library Science. Unfortunately, Master's Degrees are pretty expensive...

So in honor of the fact it seems like everyone I know is having babies (not us yet-I'll let you know if/when!), I decided to put together a list of my favorite children's picture books. Turns out, the ones I thought of off the top of my head amount to 10!

So in no particular order...


Munsch, Robert- Love You Forever

This is the book I always think of when looking back on the books I read as a kid. My parents read it to me all the time and the phrase "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be" still gives me the fuzzies. This will probably be the first book I buy when we start having kids. Plus have you SEEN all the cute stuff on etsy based on this book??

Mochizuki, Ken- Heroes

I stumbled upon this book one day at work while I was doing my shelf reading assignment (most boring thing ever-making sure all the books in my section were in author/title order). It is about a young  boy post-WWII who was picked on due to his Japanese descent. Both his father and uncle fought on the U.S.'s side in WWII. 

O'Connor, Jane- Fancy Nancy (series)

When the first of my friends had a baby girl, I bought her this book as part of her gift. It is basically about ME as a child- a little girl who wants to be as fancy as possible! It has a side benefit of including a little bit of French vocabulary!

Muñoz Ryan, Pam- Mice and Beans

This book has great flow and is super entertaining! I love the bits of Spanglish thrown in while chronicling an abuelita preparing for her granddaughter's birthday party. I also love the bright illustrations- don't lie, we all judge a book by it's cover!

Willems, Mo- The Pigeon (series)

It's by Mo Willems. That's all I need to say.

Adams, Jennifer- Baby Lit (series)

I'm not normally one for board books. I understand the concept of wanting to make sure your kid can't destroy the pages...but my opinion is that in doing so, you cut down on the actual story. But this series is the exception-board books that introduce kids to actual literature!

Silverstein, Shel- The Giving Tree

Twenty years after I first read this book, I'm still debating whether it's a feel-good book or a tearjerker. But it is truly a great story and does a good job of teaching kids a lesson.

Sendak, Maurice- Where the Wild Things Are

Doesn't every kid dream of running away? This illustrates that even for that kid, there's no place like home.

Dr. Seuss- Oh the Places You'll Go

I've heard some people give this as a present for high school graduations-which is great-but I want our kids to hear these words way before then!

Kann, Victoria- Pinkalicious

This book I should group with Fancy Nancy. I just love it.