I absolutely love children’s books that have beautiful illustrations and tell a good story and I love reading them to my kids. Here are a few of our favorites.

Imogene’s Last Stand by Candace Fleming / Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

I love history, but mostly I love how this story encourages kids, particularly girls, to stand up for what they believe in.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

Peter Brown is a go-to author for us. His illustrations alone would do it for me and his stories are just as good. This is such a heart warming tale of being yourself even if being yourself is different from everyone else. We have been through it many times.

Up the Mountain Path by Marianne Dubuc

Read it and you’ll see.

Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Suess

This is such a no-brainer, it basically needs to explanation. However, what I like about reading this book is that contains lessons for all phases in life and it is always nice to have reminders for myself.

Chirri & Chirra by Kaya Doi

There are a handful of these books in the series, but the premise is almost always the same: 2 girls go for a bike ride and proceed to live out an adventure cyclist’s wet dream. They ride through incredible landscapes and make frequent culinary stops at ridiculously eclectic cafes. These books make me want to ride more.

Farewell to Shady Glade by Bill Peet

I read this book as a child and now I read it to my kids. It is a very approachable story of the impacts of urban sprawl and deforestation and rewards the more mature reader with ridiculously potent irony.

Locomotive by Brian Floca

We have read this book cover to cover more than any other book. Everything by Brian Floca is outstanding and we own a good number of his books, but Locomotive is our favorite probably because our love of trains.