Children’s books are, by virtue of their very nature, intended for an audience much younger than myself. However, I believe that if something—anything—is going to be littering every inch of my house then I might as well enjoy that something too.
Being a writer, it should come as no surprise that my home is overflowing with children’s books. From the very early days of my pregnancy, I began hoarding all of the classics along with beautiful new books with crisp, glossy pages. My baby shower—which was actually more of a cocktail party—had some serious Dr. Seuss undertones and Tallulah’s nursery is Alice in Wonderland-inspired (Lewis Carroll…not Disney).
Needless to say, homegirl didn’t have a choice: she was going to like books. And she does! She loves them actually, and nothing gives me greater joy than cuddling up with my tiny little human and discovering these new little worlds together. But what I didn’t expect was Tallulah having her own opinions about the books she wanted to read. She loved LOUD and BRIGHT plastic books with photographs of shapes, or overly exaggerated cartoon books with buttons that squawked mercilessly. And while I actually enjoyed this book, if I had to read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie one more time, I was gonna dive out my family room window (which may not sound super intense, but our family room is a good 12 feet above street level). Needless to say, she and I weren’t vibe-ing.
Therefore, I’ve been on a quest for the last year to find beautiful children’s books that I don’t mind having strewn across my floors and that my daughter actually likes to read. It took some digging around and a bit of trial and error, but ultimately we found a wonderful collection that both she and I enjoy. Here are our 23 favorite children’s book that won’t totally destroy your coffee table aesthetic…
What are some of your favorites? Please comment below. I’m always in search of new material!
- Pool by Jihyeon Lee
- Cloth Lullaby by Amy Novesky
- Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
- What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada
- Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
- Julia, Child by Kyo Maclear
- Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color by Julia Denos
- Only One You by Linda Kranz
- Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg
- Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio
- The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski
- The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
- Flora and the Peacocks by Molly Idle
- This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary
- The Mermaid and the Shoe by K.G. Campbell
- The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes
- The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson and Julie Morstad
- Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear
- Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Lauren Snyder
- Madame Eiffel by Alice Brère-Haquet
- Little Lola by Julie Saab and David Gothard
- I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn and Julia Denos
- Tallulah’s Solo by Marilyn Singer
