43 Great Picture Books for 3 Year Olds

This is the third year I’ve written down all the books that my picky (or shall we say “possessing discerning literary tastes”) daughter has enjoyed. Lily is fun-loving and opinionated, especially about books. So here are the books that both my husband and I enjoyed reading to her (and her six year old brother Jackson.) Or now that Jackson can read, often he reads these books to Lily. (Here are the posts 1 Year Olds and 2 Year Olds and a simplified page of book lists for all years.)

Many, if not all, of the books on the two-year-old list will be enjoyed by three year olds. In my experience three year olds can, although don’t always, enjoy more variety of books and more words per page.

A two year old can get really obsessed with their favorite books and want them read multiple times a day for weeks on end. Three year olds do that some, especially when they are tired or sick, but especially as they head into four they can be open to more books, including longer and more complex ones.

I put a number of books at the beginning of the list that we didn’t read until Lily was three, but I have a feeling that she would have loved them at two as well.

43 Great Books for 3 Year Olds

1. Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins. (Also by Pat Hutchins , The Wind Blew, Ten Red Apples, Changes, Changes, Good-Night, Owl!. This and many other Pat Hutchins books were recommended at the end of the 1980s classic parenting book Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy by Louise Bates Ames and Frances L. Ilg. This series of books is really helpful to set your expectations for the stages and ages of kid. Three year olds can be rough, but realistic expectations and a big pile of books help.) Pat Hutchins has such a great way of drawing texture and design that is beautiful and funny with just the right words to support the text. Rosie’s walk reminds me a bit of Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann in which kids can also find very funny things happening in the pictures that the main character is unaware of. In Rosie’s Walk, Rosie the hen is unaware of being stalked by a fox who runs into mischief, sort of in the style of the coyote in the old cartoon Roadrunner behind her. And for when Lily gets older, there are a number of Pat Hutchins’ stories that have fun math problems with dividing cookies as more and more friends arrive (The Doorbell Rang) or why the clocks aren’t all the same from one room to the other in a big house (Clocks and More Clocks)

2. Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (This book was a recommendation from Honey for a Child’s Heart Updated and Expanded: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys Hunt Chapter 12: A Child’s First Books Ages 0-3 including some our of favorites: Ten, Nine Eight by Molly Bang; Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins and illustrated by Eric Gurney, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss, “More More More,” Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams). Kevin Henkes is a master of kids books. I think most of his books are more for the four and up crowd, but this one and A Good Day are perfect for younger ones. Lily wanted this one read to her non-stop for a little while.

3. Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack (Also the author of Angus Lost and The Story of Ping both a big hit with Lily). This gem of a little book is from a list from the preschool curriculum Before Five in a Row (if you want the list scroll to very bottom of their web page). The idea of the curriculum is to read children really high quality picture books every day for a week, looking at the story, the language, the illustrations, etc. each sequential day. They have lots of extension actives to do, which I personally don’t have time for, but I’m sure are great. I love just using their lists, which are available for free! On this particular list aimed at ages 2-4 are some of our very favorites that I put on Lily’s 2 year old list but we still read regularly: Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom and illustrated by Bruce Degen. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey/ Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown / Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina / The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats / Corduroy by Don Freeman)

4. Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells. Ruby and Max are bunny siblings that get into lovable mischief. This is my favorite of their stories with Ruby trying to bake Grandma a cake and Max continually ruining various ingredients, precipitating another walk back to the grocery store. (I found this book on the list at More Before Five in a Row. We also really liked All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff, Go to Sleep, Little Farm by Mary Lyn Ray, In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck and Tricia Tusa and Little Bear’s Little Boat by Eve Bunting and Nancy Carpenter from that list.)

5. Wiggle Waggle Fun: Stories and Rhymes for the Very Very Young by Margaret Mayo. This big book is similar to a mother goose collection. It was originally published in Britain with dozens of illustrators each contributing images to go along with short songs, stories, and rhymes that young kids love. Some are completely new, but many are retellings of classic folktales or funny words to classic songs. (We still love our regular Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses illustrated by Mary Engelbreit but we also often pick up another edition of mother goose from the library like My Very First Mother Goose & Here Comes Mother Goose illustrated by Rosemary Wells, Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose, The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose, Sylvia Long’s Mother Goose, Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever, Marguerite De Angeli’s Book of Nursery & Mother Goose Rhymes, or The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews. )

6. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. This book is universally loved; in my house growing up it was a bit of a proverb meaning one thing leads to another. It was a Reading Rainbow book (season 11 episode 7, and while not all Reading Rainbow books are going to be home runs for three year olds, here’s a link to the complete list of books).

7. In a Small Small Pond by Denise Fleming (Also In the Tall, Tall Grass). This book is deceptively simple but has rich language (a poem really), a frog to find on every page, and a little bit of pond ecology. (I found it in the wonderful resource Honey for a Child’s Heart Updated and Expanded: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys Hunt in chapter 12 Toddler Picture Books. Other books from that list that we enjoyed include May We Sleep Here Tonight by Tan Koide and Yasuko Koide, Color Dance by Ann Jonas, Animalia by Graeme Base, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault and illustrated by Lois Ehlert, A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke, Let’s Go Visiting by Sue Williams, and Up! Tall! High! and In, Over and On the Farm by Ethan Long)

8. Play with Me by Marie Hall Ets. A little girl wants to play with the woodland animals by her home, but they are frightened by her exuberance. (This is a book is from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library list. Other books we have especially enjoyed from that list are Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Find Fergus by Mike Boldt and Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney.)

9. Big Sarah’s Little Boots by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark. This was a random find in one of our little libraries, but quickly became a Lily favorite. Sarah’s yellow rain boots have become too small, and she tried many ways to stretch them back out. It reminds me a bit of Alfie’s Feet by Shirley Hughes, also about shopping for new boots.

10. Little Golden Book Collection: Sleepytime Tales. With a dozen classic golden book stories, our favorites are the first four The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, Baby Dear by Eloise Wilkin, The Color Kittens Margaret Wise Brown, and Richard Scarry’s Good Night Little Bear.

11.The McDuff Stories by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Susan Jeffers. On our spring break trip this year we were able to stay with my friend Julie’s parents. Like Julie, her mother has the most beautiful house and the best collection of children’s books. McDuff was upstairs in a little basket in the living room ready for her grandchildren and my kids instantly fell in love with the sweet mischievous little terrier. The illustrations are in a 1920s 1930s style and Rosemary Wells is a master of simple text that tells a story parents don’t mind reading again and again. As we were leaving their Kentucky home I bought a collection for Lily’s birthday.

12. Daniel Tiger’s 5-Minute Stories Adapted by Jason Fruchter. We love Daniel Tiger around here. And while these stories aren’t a replacement for the episodes (they are based on them), especially the songs, Lily was deeply devoted to this book. I do wish they had music for the little sung refrains that are in each story. When Jackson was three he loved Lightning McQueen’s 5-Minute Racing Stories. Most of the 5-minute books aren’t great literature, but most aren’t too painful to read either, and most are much appreciated by 3 year olds. Since we are pretty low media, and the kids mainly watch old school Mr. Rogers, Kipper, Arthur, Reading, Rainbow, and Daniel Tiger, it’s been a way to let me meet show characters from Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol without having to actually watch them, so they know what other kids on the playground as referring to. We brought this on our out east trip right after Lily turned 3 and it was a big hit.

13. Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Whole Series). If I had to recommend one set of books to buy a three year old, I would suggest Kate DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson. I have gotten them as gifts a number of times, and they are always a big hit. All six books are great, although the first four are my favorite. Starting at 2 Lily loved the little picture book A Piglet Named Mercy, which is much shorter and is a good way to introduce the characters. Kate DiCamillo is a genius.

14. The Complete Adventures of Curious George by H. A. and Margret Rey. When Lily was two she loved the shorter New Adventures of Curious George, but this year about half the time she requested original stories from our big collection. They are much longer, meandering through several only loosely related plots. Her favorite is Curious George Goes to the Hospital. If your three year old has never read any Curious George, I’d suggest starting with the New Adventures unless they have an unusually long attention span, then once they love the little monkey George, they’ll probably be more interested in his longer antics.

15. All About Alfie by Shirley Hughes. We love Alfie stories around here! If you can get your hands on a used British Edition of The Alfie Treasury it’ll have 7 of the best stories Alfie Gets in First, Alfie Gives a Hand, Alfie’s Feet, An Evening at Alfie’s, Alfie and the Birthday Surprise, Alfie Wins A Prize, and Alfie and the Big Boys. The American collection has the first four. Lily also loves the two newer Shirley Hughes stories about a stubborn 2 or 3 year old also named Lily: Bobbo Goes to School and Don’t Want to Go.

16. The Listening Walk by Paul Showers and Aliki (Like The Quiet Way Home by Bonny Becker). This book was a gift to Jackson for his 2nd birthday and has been a favorite around our house since then. A father and daughter take their little old dog for a walk and listen to all the sounds of the neighborhood. It’s quiet and lovely.

17. What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry (Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, Best Word Book Ever, Funniest Storybook Ever!, Busiest People Ever!, Best Storybook Ever, Busy, Busy World) Everything Richard Scarry is still a big hit around here. Since we are often reading books at the kitchen table while coaxing our children to finish their meals, I tend to like the Richard Scarry books that have more narratives than exploring the detailed pictures and captions, but those books are some of Lily’s favorites to look at on her own. Similar in feel, but without the animal characters is Busy Day Busy People by Tibor Gergely (published in 1973).

18. Find Fergus by Mike Boldt. We discovered this book at a friend’s house. It’s part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for a 5 year old, but Lily loved it. Fergus the bear is really bad at hiding, which makes it really fun for the kids to find him. Other books that have things to find that Lily still loves are All Along the River by Magnus Weightman, Busy Bunny Days: In the Town, On the Farm & At the Port by Britta Teckentrup , Usborne Barn Yard Tales, Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry, Where’s Waldo by Martin Handford, Animalia by Graeme Base and Adèle & Simon by Barbara McClintock.

19. Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne and illustrated by H A Ray. This sweet book by the illustrator of Curious George follows a pocket-less mother kangaroo looking for a solution to carrying her joey around. She chats with a number of different animals about how they carry their children. Fun and sweet, Lily asks for this one on repeat.

20. The Red Carpet by Rex Parkin. This is a hard book to find a copy of, otherwise I would definitely have bought it for our own collection. It has just a really great rhyming text and a fun red carpet that is escaping the hotel and bound for the docks. If you find an affordable used copy, scoop it up (or better yet, tell me, so I can scoop it up)! (This is another title we discovered from Before Five in a Row. Also this year Lily loved: The Big Green Pocketbook by Candice Ransom/ If Jesus Came to My House by Joan Gale Thomas)

21. The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone and illustrated by Michael Smollin. A classic for a reason! It’s so funny and delightful and my kids love it. Lily loved the sequel as well, but Evan and I think the first one is better.

22. Princess Sylvie by Elsa Beskow. Our library did not have a different book by Elsa Beskow available that I had found on a list, so I got Princess Sylvie instead. Lily asked to read it every day we had it checked out. Its story is both quiet and simple and exciting, and the illustrations are just charming. Dogs run away, a princess gets lost, and rides home on a bear.

23. Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. Sophie’s parents buy a squash from the farmers market with plans to cook it for dinner, but Sophie becomes a bit attached to her new best friend. Anyone who has been around a small child can relate to this turn of events. (This book is from From Read Aloud Revival’s List of Picture Books for October. Sarah McKenzie has the very best children’s book recommendations! I have found that after age four my kids love all the books she recommends on her seasonal lists; before that some books are a little long, but some become favorites. Another favorite from the October list was Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White and illustrated by Megan Lloyd)

24. Miss Suzy by Miriam Young and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. This is the sweetest old book. It has a fun story about a squirrel and some toy soldiers and is illustrated by the wonderful Arnold Lobel who made the Frog and Toad books. This is about as much chivalry and fighting that I like my toddlers to be exposed to, and driving some other squirrels out of the nest they stole is just about the right level of conflict.

25. Daisy The Doctor by Felicity Brooks and illustrated by Jo Litchfield (Part of the Jobs People Do series by the same author-illustrator team with other books about Fred the firefighter, Sam the chef, Vicky the vet, Frank the farmer, and Tessa the teacher). This was a random little library find, but like many Usborne books, it’s solid and appeals to the kids. Lily cried through her entire (100%) of her 3 year old check up last May, and then promptly came home and wanted to read any and all stories about going to the doctor’s office. By the time October rolled around she had declared she wanted to be a doctor for Halloween and when she grows up. We read Daisy the Doctor on repeat. I am guessing that other 3 year olds might not be quite as devoted to Daisy in the same way, but maybe if you read it before you go to the doctor’s office it could help…maybe…a little.

26. Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang and illustrated by Max Lang. At one point, it felt like we had run out of good new library books for Lily and I scoured the internet for 3 year old lists. Grumpy Monkey came up several times, so I checked it out. It really is very good. Monkey is grumpy; well everyone else can tell that he is, but him. It’s a great way to talk about the feeling of grumpy and the gentle way that loved ones can help when we don’t feel cheerful. Personally, I have found that teaching emotional awareness is mostly done in the hard day to day work of parenting, even though I hope that books about feelings will do that work for me! Still, some other books that Lily loved at 2 that have good feelings labeling are: Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean, In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and illustrated by Christine Roussey, and Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton. But honestly Daniel Tiger and Mr. Rogers episodes probably have been more helpful in this department.)

27. The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone ( Also The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Boy, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Little Red Hen, Henny Penny, The Three Bears, by Paul Galdone.) Jackson has a tender heart, and when he was Lily’s age any fairy tale books where main characters got eaten or almost eaten was too much for him. So imagine my surprise when we read a version of The Gingerbread Boy and Lily thought the fox gobbling up the gingerbread boy was the funniest thing. She laughed and laughed and repeat “gobbled him up.” Then we read The Three Billy Goats Gruff and she couldn’t get enough of the troll and the goats. By now Jackson at age 6 can handle the stories fine. So your mileage may vary on classic fairytales, but at some point when your kids are ready, Paul Galdone’s versions are solid. They are not too long, are big picture book-sized with a good words to illustration ratio, and the stories feel original without being overly gruesome. I grew up reading the Ladybird versions of these stories which are solid as well, although longer and in a smaller, short chapter book format.)

28. Hansel and Gretel by James Marshall (Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, Cinderella) James Marshall’s versions of these classic fairytales are funnier and more of a comic book style than Paul Galdone’s, but Lily absolutely loves these as well. Again, Hansel and Gretel is kind of a terrifying story that I didn’t even try to read to Jackson, but Lily loves it. And I remember really liking it as a kid as well: Hansel outsmarting his evil stepmother and Gretel outsmarting the evil witch and the kids are cruelly treated but they have a lot of agency and come out on top in the end. I think the more comedic version of these stories helps them seem less scary as well.

29. Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin. We grabbed this off the level three reader shelf (although honestly it’s probably one of the easier level three readers since it has very few words in it), for Jackson and he read it aloud to Lily on the stroller ride home. Brian Selznick is one of the most talented illustrators (he’s known especially for his amazing The Invention of Hugo Cabret which was a good read aloud to Jackson this year at age 6) and Baby Monkey, Private Eye has beautiful detailed illustrations that have an adorable baby monkey trying to solve crimes and also do very funny things like try to get his pants on. The kids laughed and laughed together over this book.

30. Don’t Want to Go! by Shirley Hughes (Bobbo Goes to School). We love Shirley Hughes here, and this is one of the last new toddler characters she created: Lily. And when our Lily is having an especially bad day we often quote bits of these books to each other. Anyone who has ever had a 2 or 3 year old can relate to these tales of tough days that turn out okay.

31. Dandelion by Don Freeman. From the creator of Corduroy comes another delightful tale of being yourself and belonging. Dandelion decides to become a dandy lion for a party but he over does it, and no one can recognize him. Clever and fun. We also enjoyed A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman.

32. Favorite Parables from the Bible: Stories Jesus Told by Nick Butterworth and illustrated by Mick Inkpen. Here are eight parables retold for children that include humor and heart and occasionally help even adults understand a parable in a new way. Our kids ask for these to be read more than any other Bible stories. (They like Bible stories for sure, but tend to think of them as some special category of reading that we do before bed or for home church, but these little parables they ask for all the time.) Our kids also love the 1990s British TV show Kipper by the same creative team and Animal Tales: Four Favorite Stories from the Bible which have animal narrators for the birth of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana, Zacchaeus, and Jesus calming the storm.

33. No Such Thing as Dragons by Jack Kent. This is such a fun and clever book about a little boy who wakes up to a tiny dragon in his house but his mother insists that “there is no such thing as a dragon.” The dragon seems to double in size by the hour, but mother stands firm in her insistences. It has a similar message of the importance of simply acknowledging things like in The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld. Of course Jack Kent is very funny and this one is a favorite for adults and kids alike.

34. Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola (All 8 Strega Nona books are great and many are in this collection we have, but Lily’s favorites is probably Strega Nona’s Magic Ring). When Jackson was 2 I found a copy of Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons and it wasn’t the right time for it, and so for years I thought that everyone else loved Strega Nona but it wasn’t for us. Then this year, after Lily turned 3 1/2 we tried again with a Christmas Strega Nona book at Christmas and that was such a hit that we got a big pile of Strega Nona books from the library during Epiphany and immediately everyone loved them. Partly that is because Lily is a less sensitive reader than Jackson was as a toddler, and partially because at age 6 Jackson now picks up on so much of the humor in the books and when he laughs it makes Lily laugh.

35. Bill and Pete by Tomie dePaola. (Also Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile, Bill and Pete to the Rescue) After our success with Strega Nona we decided to try out Bill and Pete. Lily asked for us to read Bill and Pete all the time, and the smile on her face when Bill is reunited with his father in the last book was huge. Jackson loved the bits about Egypt and Lily loved the physical comedy of the bad guy getting his just desserts as the end.

36. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. We had this as a board book since it’s my mother-in-law’s favorite children’s book from her own childhood and she got it for Jackson as a baby. And it’s a fine board book, but it’s so clever with its phrases that readers can enjoy a lot more when they are a bit older. When we got a big collection of Harold with two additional stories (Harold’s Fairy Tale and Harold’s ABC) both kids (now at age 3 and 6) just fell in love with Harold. Personally, I think the first one is much better than the sequels, but they are fun to get from the library and read a few times to expand the world of Harold.

37. One was Johnny (Part of the adorable tiny 1962 Nutshell Library my favorite is Chicken Soup with Rice and Lily does like the other two as well Alligators All Around: An Alphabet, Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue). Maurice Sendak has such a way to make illustrations and words work with a touch of aggression that kids just love. One was Johnny is a simple little counting book that rhymes as more things come into Johnny’s home. It’s a format that has been copied many times since (like in one of my all time favorites . Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton) but there is something about this 50+ year old classic that holds its own. Kids love to hold and look at the tiny Nutshell Library edition, although for a read-aloud, the slightly bigger 5 x 7 edition is nice for reading to more than one child, or at the kitchen table.) Again, my favorite of the collection is Chicken Soup with Rice, but Lily is very devoted to One was Johnny.

38. Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle. This is a charming little wordless picture book that is funny and sweet. Lily often loves to pour over it herself. Generally, my husband Evan has more patience to read wordless books to the kids, he just makes up his own narration and describes the pictures. Other wordless books that he and the kids love are Peter Spier’s Rain and Aaron Becker’s Journey (also Quest and Return). For other suggestions of wordless picture books check out Sarah McKenzie’s List over at Read Aloud Revival.

39. Annie and Snowball by Cynthia Rylant (also Henry and Mudge, Poppleton, and Mr. Putter & Tabby) Cynthia Rylant is one of the very best writers of early readers. We are big fans of all her works around here. Annie is the cousin of Henry and she appears a few time in his books (and he in hers). Annie could be friends with Fancy Nancy, with all her love of frills and bows, and making things beautiful and special. These are great books for Jackson to read aloud to Lily, since level 2 and 3 readers were just right for him to read and her to listen to right now. Although she likes it when I read anything by Cynthia Rylant aloud to both of them.

40. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. The four Frog and Toad books (Frog and Toad Are Friends, Frog and Toad Together, Days with Frog and Toad, and Frog and Toad All Year) are just masterpieces of illustration, simple text, and funny but insightful stories. For over 50 years, these books have been charming kids with physical humor and the earnest friendship of the slightly neurotic Toad and his slightly wiser and loyal friend Frog.

41. Little Bear Books by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (Little Bear, Father Bear Comes Home, Little Bear’s Visit, Little Bear’s Friend, & A Kiss for Little Bear). One of the very original “I Can Read” books, and according to my mother this is the series that made me fall in love with reading for myself, these books are just perfect for little kids to be read aloud and then be some of the first level one readers after a course of phonics books. Personally, this is my favorite from Maurice Sendak, just his lovely illustrations with the sweeter text of Else Holmelund Minarik. My grandma had a set of these near the bed I would sleep in at her house, and I strongly associate them with getting to spend time with her, just like Little Bear got to visit his own grandparents.

42. Big Colored Book of Beginner Books by Dr. Seuss, PD Eastman and friends. These are great early reader books, and once Jackson was done with the final set of BOB phonics readers he loved reading these himself. These days, one of Lily’s very favorite things is to have Jackson read her one of the colored reader books. (Although if she can get us to read them, she likes that as well. Honestly, I get kind of tired of many of them, but the kids are bananas about them.) They are great to take on trips because they have six stories in one hardback. (BLUE Go, Dog. Go!, Are You My Mother?, The Best Nest, Put Me In the Zoo, It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny and A Fly Went By. // AQUA The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, There’s a Wocket in My Pocket, New Tricks I Can Do, Please Try to Remember the First of Octember, and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb! // PURPLE A Fish Out of Water, I’ll Teach My Dog 100 Words, Fred and Ted Go Camping, Snow, Flap Your Wings and Big Dog . . . Little Dog. // RED Sam and the Firefly, I Want to Be Somebody New!, The Very Bad Bunny, Stop That Ball!, The Digging-est Dog, Robert the Rose Horse. // ORANGE Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now, Hooper Humperdink…Not Him!, Ten Apples Up on Top! Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo!, In a People House, The Shape of Me and Other Stuff. // Me/Yellow The Foot Book, The Eye Book, The Tooth Book, The Nose Book, The Ear Book, The Knee Book. // GREEN I Am Not Going to Get Up Today, Wacky Wednesday, Maybe You should Fly a Jet! Maybe You should be a Vet!, Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog, I Wish That I Had Duck Feet, and Great Day for Up. And while technically not one of the colored books, this would round out most of the essential short Dr. Seuss books: Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Collection (Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks).

43. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson. This is a classic that for some reason it took us a while to get to, but now my children adore Ferdinand and check it out from the library any time we see it (which is often). We recently discovered Little Egret and Toro by Robert Vavra and illustrated by John Fulton which feels a bit like a companion book, with much longer text, but still in the same style of detailed black and white drawings and the same theme of a bull being brought to the bull ring as in Ferdinand.