Before children are ready for chapter books, they should be introduced to picture books. Choose popular children's books that have engaging illustrations and an inviting story. The following is a short list of kids' bedtime stories and other popular children's books and classic children's books available for small children. Make sure to buy original versions and not watered down samplers.

Margaret Wise Brown

  • "Goodnight Moon"
  • "The Big Red Barn"

Eric Carle

  • "The Very Hungry Caterpiller"
  • "Pancakes, Pancakes"
  • "A House for Hermit Crab"
  • "Animals Animals" (poetry)
  • "The Tiny Seed"

Virginia Burton

  • "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel"
  • "The Little House"
  • "Katy and the Big Snow"

Jean Darby

  • "That's Me in Here"

Robert McCloskey

  • "Make Way for Ducklings"
  • "One Morning in Maine"
  • "Blueberries for Sal"

Beatrix Potter

  • "The Tale of Peter Rabbit"
    • The other 22 volumes of Miss Potter's minature books are all treasures.

Maurice Sendack

  • "Where the Wild Things Are"

Chris Van Allsburg

  • "The Polar Express"
  • "Jumanji"

Dr. Suess

  • Anything by this author is an asset to any home library.

P. D. Eastman

  • "Are You My Mother?"
  • "Go, Dog, Go!"
  • "Big Dog . . . Little Dog"

Ludwig Bemelmans

  • "Madeline"
  • "Madeline's Rescue"

Leo Politi

  • "Song of the Swallows"
  • "Juanita"

Tomie dePaolo

  • "The Art Lesson"
  • "Tom"
  • "Charlie Needs a Cloak"
  • "The Quilt Story"
  • "Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato"

Robert Munsch

  • "Love You Forever"

Peggy Parish

  • "Amelia Bedelia" (series)

A. A. Milne

  • "Winnie the Pooh
  • "The House at Pooh Corner"
  • "When We Were Very Young" (poetry)
  • "Now We Are Six" (poetry)

Robert Louis Stevenson

  • "A Garden of Verses" (poetry)