Children's Treasury Library

The Wonderful World of Picture Books ~

Well-composed picture books are really not only for small children - they are a symbiosis of artistic talents and delightful stories that thrill everyone!

I still love to add picture books to our various studies and read them aloud to our kids!

Here is a selection of favourites from our library:

Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails, by Verla Kay I just love this one! A delightful story told in engaging rhymes about a pioneer family moving to California- oh, and the frosty winter scene is so artistically well done!

"Mother, Father, Baby John, bouncing, jouncing, moving on... ."

Henry the Sailor Cat, by Mary Calhoun Great illustrations by Erick Ingraham!

A cat helps out in a storm ... an exciting adventure out on the water.

Yellow & Pink, by William Steig This is one important book that no child should miss! Wooden toy men wonder how they came into existence ... a classic!

How to Read a Rabbit, by Jean Fritz My children have delighted in this one many, many times - a boy wants to borrow a rabbit from an animal lending library! Jean Fritz is a prolific and well-known author and wrote this delightful story in 1959.

Will's Quill, by Don Freeman I love picture books with a historical twist and this is one of my favourites: "Many long years ago in Merrie Olde England there lived a country goose named Willoughby Waddle. While the other geese on the farm were content to spend their days nibbling on flowers and floating lazily on the lake, Willoughby was restless. He wanted to see the world, but even more, he wanted to be useful. And so early one spring morning he set out for Londontown." Where, of course, he ends up meeting Will Shakespeare.

Mary of Mile 18, by Ann Blades A Canadian Mennonite girl in BC wants a pet wolf!

Leah's Pony, by Elizabeth Friedrich Beautiful - the story, the art and above all the emotions it stirs! Set during the Great Depression, a girl decides to sacrifice her beloved horse in order to buy back her father's tractor.

Kinderdike, by Leonard Everett Fisher. He is one of my favourite illustrators - but Leonard Everett Fisher also knows how to craft a story well! This one is about the legendary flood in Holland in 1421.

Barn Dance! By Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. Exquisite illustrations by Ted Rand! I can't remember how often this books has been requested as a read-aloud by my two middle children. It is such fun! The story starts out slowly but quickly picks up the pace of the actual barn dance, all brought to life via the use of language! A wonderful warm and outstanding picture book.

Anatole, by Eve Titus, illustrated by Paul Galdone The first in a series of beloved Anatole books, the "Parisian mouse magnifique". These hilarious classic stories are timeless - "Voila! Now the Duval Factory will learn a thing or two. Mice are known everywhere as the World's Best Judges of Cheese!"