Our Favorite Picture Books

1. Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney

The art is amazing in these books and my son loves all the emotions. We have fun acting out the facial expressions and emotions when we read them.  It’s also pretty cute the way my son says “yama yama” instead of llama.  My son’s favorites are Llama Llama Red Pajama and Llama Llama Nighty Night. Dewdney just came out with a Halloween and Christmas version that should be fun to try this holiday season as well.

2. Dinosaur Vs. books by Bob Shea

The first time we read one of these books, I wasn’t thrilled. On each page, Dinosaur takes on a different nemesis like bedtime, the potty, or Santa.  My son is a big dinosaur fan so he loves these books! In every “battle,” Dinosaur roars at his opponent and usually wins.  The drawings are very colorful and cute with comic book style text on the pages. My son loves practicing his roar right along with dinosaur. Now that I can watch him “read” the pages he has memorized, I like the books a lot better. At first, I quickly became exhausted with needing to ROAR!!! loudly on every other page.

3. Anything by Sandra Boynton

Anything is not the title of the book or books. I literally mean anything she has written. Not only will your little one like her cute rhymes and pictures, you will love the hidden jokes in her pages! Unlike many children’s books, Boynton’s books will surprise you by breaking away from tradition and including unique and ironic endings.  We love Are You A Cow?, The Belly Button Book, and But Not the Hippopotamus.   The hippopotamus book makes me laugh every time; it’s so unexpected! The Belly Button Book has become one of my personal favorite children’s books as it’s responsible for my son calling his belly button a “bee bo” as they do in the book. It’s just so adorable!

If you’ve been trying to decide on what books to read with your little one or to give as a gift, any of these would be perfect.  What’s your child’s favorite book?

Written by: Sara Parise