Ten Children's Picture Books for Homeschool Families

TJ Marshall
Feb 11
3 min read

Updated: Feb 11

I'm a firm believer that you are never too old for picture books. I'm often drawn to the art in a book even more than the words. Good art can have a calming effect on my mind, and I've noticed that same effect on my children. When my five-year-old becomes extremely active (being cooped up inside on a frigid winter day) and needs to calm down a bit, I have a stack of go-to stories that I pull out for him. Often, I'll sit with him and read aloud, but it seems that just as often I find him curled up on the couch just flipping through these books on his own.

Here, I have a list of some of my favorite picture books for children (and grownups!) and why we love them.

The Red Prince. I love this one for both the story and the art! It drips of bravery, community, and courage. It is a favorite of our boys (and me!) and is read or looked at often! Something I love about this particular book is that you can almost understand the whole story from the images alone. This allows pre-readers to enjoy this book on their own, without missing much of the meaning. Obviously, it's better when read aloud, so don't skip that!
The Night Gardener. In a gray, bleak town, a boy suddenly discovers a tree shaped as an animal. Then another. And another. This book is full of beautiful pictures and a charming story to go with them.
Mrs. Rumphius I've loved this book since I was a little girl and will never not share it! The images and story are both so comforting.
The Knight Owl. This one is just plain cute!
The Butter Battle Book. So. So. Good. This is one I wish I could force everyone in the world to read. Please, please, please, read this book with your kids and talk about the story together!
The Golden Feather "What will you dream of tonight?" asks Mother. This book is so sweet and definitely speaks to the mama reading it as well as to the child listening.
Chrysanthemum This is such a cute story and was a favorite of my oldest daughter for years. I love the message of this book.
Little Blue Truck I LOVE this book*. The story, the rhymes, the beautiful art, there's nothing I don't love about this one. (*this review is for the first in the series. I have not yet read them all.)
Old Thunder and Miss Rainey. When you read this one aloud, you MUST use your best cowboy "twang"! Trust me! My kids were rolling. Whether from the story, or from my ridiculous attempt to talk like a cowboy, we may never know =)
Penguin Problems. An absolute MUST! I found this in a used bookstore a few months ago. I never bring home a children's book without reading it first, so I sat on the floor and read the whole thing. I laughed so hard I drew more than a few curious glances! =) Find it. Read it. Then message me to let me know if you have a penguin in your house. (I do! lol)