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Favorite picture books we discovered in 2016

December 30, 2016 by Meg 15 Comments

There are so many books published each year, there’s no way to read all of them. Thankfully, you don’t have to. You should, however check out these 14–our very favorite picture books we read in 2016.There are so many books published each year, you probably don't have time to read all of them, so I'm narrowing it down for you. Here are our very favorite picture books we read in 2016.

Disclaimer: This post is completely unsponsored; however, I have included affiliate links to the products mentioned. As always, feel free to shop around for the best deals. See my full disclosure here.

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”

I love this quote from C.S. Lewis. I have always loved picture books. During my years teaching middle school, I would regularly pull a picture book off my shelf and read it to my students to illustrate the use of imagery, voice, onomatopoeia, or whatever else we happened to be working on in our writing.

Picture books have the particular challenge of telling an entire story in as few words as possible, and utilizing pictures as an integral part of the storytelling process. They also have the amazing ability to convey deep philosophical ideas in a way that is accessible to even the smallest of children. What an art form!

My kids and I go to the library just about every week, hunting for new an exciting books to bring home with us. In reality, they usually want to play with the blocks while I  hunt, but they genuinely enjoy exploring a pile of new books each week that I bring home. My goal is to find books that I’m not going to hate reading over and over and over again. Because once they find a book they like, they will ask for it all. the. time.

We found some great ones this year–books that my kids love and that I am happy to read 762 times during the one week we have them from the library. Now, keep in mind, not all these books were published in 2016. That’s just when we discovered them. Many of them are brand new this year, but some are from a few years ago.

Take a peek. Have you read any of these? Are there other books you’ve discovered recently and loved? Please share!

Our Favorite Picture Books from 2016

finding-winnie

Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick

I love this book because it’s non-fiction, but it’s still a narrative. My kids (and I) loved learning about the bear who inspired everyone’s favorite silly-willy-nilly ol’ bear. It’s fascinating!

goodnight-already

Goodnight Already by Jory John

We discovered this book a few months ago, but we got it from the library again last week because–in Little Man’s words–“It’s SOOO funny!” Bear just wants to sleep, but duck keeps waking him up wanting to play. The characters are fun, the dialogue is clever, and the ending has a great little twist.

roger-is-reading-a-book

Roger is Reading a Book by Koen Van Biesen

Poor Roger. All he wants is read his book in peace and quiet. But the girl next door has all sorts of of fun–and loud–activities planned for the day. The illustrations in this book are creative, and I love the positive way that Roger solves his problem. My kids need all the help they can get with problem-solving skills.

the-cookie-fiasco

The Cookie Fiasco by Mo Willems and Dan Santat

What are four friends to do when they discover they have only three cookies to share between them? I discovered the Elephant and Piggie books earlier this year–and we love them! This book is a collaboration between Mo Willems and Dan Santat. And it’s simply fabulous. It has a great message about sharing and working together to solve problems (we really need more of that at our house). Plus, it begs to be used as a real-world math activity about fractions. Oh, the possibilities!

stuck

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

This book is just completely ridiculous. It reminds me of a scene in the old movie IQ (with Walter Mathau as Albert Einstein) where all the famous scientists start throwing things up into the tree to get their badminton birdie to fall down. Except in this book, the boy is throwing things like a semi-truck and a whale. I mean, why not? My boys belly laugh at the outlandish plot every time.

let-me-finish

Let Me Finish! by Minh Lê

Isn’t it the worst when you’re reading a book and someone spoils the ending for you? That’s what happens to our protagonist in this silly story. Every time he sits down to read, one of the animals spills the beans about what’s going to happen. His crazy attempts to find a spot to read undisturbed are only topped by the surprise ending. But I won’t tell you what it is…

schools-first-day-of-school

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex

This book is a charming twist on the classic “first day of school” story. Instead of focusing on the kids, it follows the school’s perspective on what it’s like to anticipate the first day of class. It’s a great way to talk to kids about expectations and anxieties about school.

boy-bot

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman

Boy meets robot. Boy becomes friends with robot. But what is boy to do when robot stops working? This quirky tale of friendship has a great blend of humor and sentimentality.

the-book-with-no-pictures

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

I didn’t know how my boys would respond to a book with no pictures, but I wanted to expand their view of books a bit, so I gave it a try. At first, Little Man didn’t even want to read it. No pictures? Not okay, Mom. But, once I got him to sit with me, he LOVED it. We were all sitting on the couch, giggling at the absurd words we were saying, and we read it again and again.

duncan-the-story-dragon

Duncan the Story Dragon by Amanda Driscoll

Duncan has a problem. He loves to read, but every time he gets excited about a book…well…he accidentally sets it on fire. Who will help him get to those sweet final words? You’ll have to read it to find out.

monsters-love-colors

Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin

This is a simple story, but the bright colors and the fun onomatopoeia make it a great read, especially for younger kids. It’s a great resource for talking about color mixing, as well as color identification. And once you’re done reading, you can go scribble, mix, dance, and wiggle yourselves!

chus-day

Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman has got to be one of the most versatile authors I know of. He’s written best sellers for adults (Stardust), young adults (The Graveyard Book), and now for kids as well! Chu’s Day is about a little panda who makes quite the impression with a big sneeze. A simple plot, but my kids LOVE examining all the fun details in the illustrations.

shape-shift

Shape Shift by Joyce Hesselberth

There are shapes all around us in the world. You just have to look for them. Take a few shapes, put them together and what do you see? A dancing ballerina? An elephant with a thousand balloons? What does it look like to you? This book is just begging to be used as inspiration for a fun art exploration project.

a-whale-in-the-bathtub

A Whale in the Bathtub by Kylie Westaway

It’s bath time for Bruno, but there’s a problem–a gigantic whale is hogging the tub, and he has no intention of leaving any time soon. Realistic? Absolutely not. That’s precisely why preschoolers will love it so much.

What picture books have YOU been loving lately?

There are so many books published each year, you probably don't have time to read all of them, so I'm narrowing it down for you. Here are our very favorite picture books we read in 2016.

I regularly link up here.

If you like great books (and who doesn’t?), take a peek at some of our other favorites:

12 Awesome Alphabet Books for Preschoolers

12 Alphabet Children's Books

10 Laugh-out-loud Funny Picture Books to Enjoy

10 Funny Children's Books Cover

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Filed Under: Crafts & Activities, Uncategorized Tagged With: children's books, Literacy, Preschool

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melissa

    December 30, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    We haven’t read any of these. I’m going to add this to our list of must reads!

    Reply
    • Meg

      December 30, 2016 at 12:28 pm

      I’m so glad to be able to share these with you, Melissa! I’m sure you’ll love them!

      Reply
  2. All Babied Up

    December 30, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Goodnight Already looks so cute!

    Reply
  3. Jasmine Hewitt

    December 30, 2016 at 2:10 pm

    I Need “Finding Winnie” for my son, as we did his whole nursery in Winnie The Pooh, and I’ve been a life long A.A.Milne fan

    Reply
    • Meg

      December 30, 2016 at 2:46 pm

      You’ll love it, then. I love when there is a good story behind a good story, you know?

      Reply
  4. Charissa | thenotsobusymom

    December 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    We love the library, and we haven’t read any of these yet! Thanks for the list! Oh, and I love the CS Lewis quote.

    Reply
  5. Kathy Minas

    December 30, 2016 at 5:38 pm

    What a great list! Finding Winnie is one of my favorites from this year too!

    Reply
    • Meg

      December 31, 2016 at 1:33 pm

      It’s completely charming, isn’t it. How cool would it be to have a real bear cub as a pet?

      Reply
  6. Vicki @ Babies to Bookworms

    December 30, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    Love these! I love The Book with No Pictures! I will have to look into some of these others for sure!

    Reply
  7. jehava

    December 30, 2016 at 7:30 pm

    What great ideas! I love reading to my kiddos and new suggestions!

    Reply
  8. Marla | Because I Said So Baby

    December 31, 2016 at 11:43 am

    I love “The Book with No Pictures”! I used to read that with my high school students and they loved it, too! Great list, Megan. I also need to check out “Goodnight, Already” – I think the little one would like that.

    Reply
    • Meg

      December 31, 2016 at 1:31 pm

      The voice and character development in Goodnight Already is so good. You’ll love it.

      Reply
  9. Krysten

    December 31, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    Those are all fabulous books! I am going to get a few for my little man!

    Reply

Trackbacks

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