Here are 100 books that Goodnight Moon fans have personally recommended if you like
Goodnight Moon.
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As a journalist, WSJ book critic, and mother of five, I‘ve been perfectly placed to witness the astounding effects of reading aloud. For decades I've been reading to my children (and to my husband, too) every night, often for a solid hour or more. Storytime has been the central civilizing joy of our family life: We’ve bonded emotionally, gone on shared imaginative adventures, and filled our heads with pictures and words. Long ago I knew something big was happening to us, and I felt sure my children were benefitting, but it wasn’t until I began digging around into the behavioral and brain science that I learned just how consequential reading aloud can be. In my book, I lay it all out.
This brilliant and surprisingly sophisticated book has a satisfying rhyming pace that breaks every other page, both visually and aurally, into a“Peek-a-Boo!” Tracing one day in the life of a baby boy in wartime London, it’s full of cues for parents to engage in questions and answers. For instance, the baby in the book goes to the park; the scene contains, inter alia, two perambulators, a double-decker bus, a picket fence, a zeppelin, a church spire, pink flowers, children fishing in a shallow pond, a policeman, boys with a toy boat, a gentleman carrying a walking stick and a rolled-up newspaper…. you get the idea.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
I continue to find hope as a constant theme in my talks and my various media appearances. Hope is so integral to being able to fight for another day. When we can plant the seed of hope and perseverance in kids from a young age, by giving the gift of books that show them the true meaning of hope and aspirations, we give them a gift that carries them well through life.
This book was originally published in 1930 and also goes back a long way in my own life as well. I have fond memories of my father reading this story to me when I was young, acting out all the parts of the story, using different voices, and more. Despite being little and unassuming, the Little Blue Engine uses hope and belief to get over the mountain. Without belief in ourselves we often can’t even begin to try, but the Little Blue Engine chose to trust in himself and it paid off - big time. We can all use a little more belief in our own abilities to create massive change in our lives.
One of the true classics in children's books is now available in a sturdy board book edition perfect for little hands! The story has been slightly abridged and features the famous illustrations from the original Hauman edition. Now toddlers can cheer on the little blue engine and that "can-do" attitude that keeps her chugging along!
As a journalist, WSJ book critic, and mother of five, I‘ve been perfectly placed to witness the astounding effects of reading aloud. For decades I've been reading to my children (and to my husband, too) every night, often for a solid hour or more. Storytime has been the central civilizing joy of our family life: We’ve bonded emotionally, gone on shared imaginative adventures, and filled our heads with pictures and words. Long ago I knew something big was happening to us, and I felt sure my children were benefitting, but it wasn’t until I began digging around into the behavioral and brain science that I learned just how consequential reading aloud can be. In my book, I lay it all out.
This book hits a kind of non-narrative sweet spot: It doesn’t tell a specific story, but every page-spread is a feast of beauty and interest and there are just enough words sprinkled here and there to encourage parents to supply their own commentary. This particular book happened to be a huge favorite in my family, but any collection that introduces great paintings and different styles of art will do the trick. I love making art part of a baby’s world from the get-go: It awakens the aesthetic senses and gives a child a sense of cultural ownership. Later, seeing a Vermeer or a Picasso, we can hope that child will feel a sparkle of recognition.
An introduction to art appreciation exposes young readers to more than one hundred works of art from a wide range of periods, cultures, and artists, and with subjects such as seasons, weather, and animals.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
As a journalist, WSJ book critic, and mother of five, I‘ve been perfectly placed to witness the astounding effects of reading aloud. For decades I've been reading to my children (and to my husband, too) every night, often for a solid hour or more. Storytime has been the central civilizing joy of our family life: We’ve bonded emotionally, gone on shared imaginative adventures, and filled our heads with pictures and words. Long ago I knew something big was happening to us, and I felt sure my children were benefitting, but it wasn’t until I began digging around into the behavioral and brain science that I learned just how consequential reading aloud can be. In my book, I lay it all out.
Try to get your hands on the original 1963 edition that made Richard Scarry‘s fortune and allowed him to move his family to Switzerland, for the skiing. It’s a fabulous book that’s crowded with scenes of purpose and industry, and with labeled pictures that bespeak the world’s exciting wideness. There are birds (the quail, pheasant, wren, bittern), buildings (a cathedral, pyramid, fort, skyscraper), flowers (clover, pansies, asters, foxgloves), and houses (the igloo, grass house, half-timbered house, chalet). Over time, subsequent editions were stripped of this eccentric specificity and of Scarry’s courtly depictions of traditional social roles (gone, for instance, are the “handsome pilot” and the “pretty stewardess”).
When his publisher first saw the sketches for this book in 1962,
he proclaimed: "Why, this is simply the best word book EVER!"
He was right: it still is!
I chose these books because they each approach big feelings with a kind of gentle honesty and expressive clarity. These classics use powerful, earnest text and heartfelt illustrations that help name, normalize, and, at times, create an adventure around feeling new, big emotions. Each of these treasured titles offers more than just a story—they give children tools for emotional resonance and resilience. They strike a delicate balance between lyrical prose, whimsical art, and emotional honesty. The Mood Swing is a charm bracelet of these different stories, woven into one. Many gave me comfort as a kid, and helped me feel supported and empowered to explore—and name—my deepest feelings.
This was my mom’s personal favorite growing up. She read it to me more times than I can count.
Munsch’s gently repetitive refrain “I’ll love you forever…” creates a soothing emotional anchor that I’ve never forgotten.
This one helps children understand that love is steady and constant, even as they grow up or face difficult moments. It lets them know it's okay to feel complicated emotions because they’re held in love the whole time. I also love how this story shows the circle of life—as kids we are cared for by our parents, until the day we end caring for them!
A young woman holds her newborn son And looks at him lovingly. Softly she sings to him: "I'll love you forever I'll like you for always As long as I'm living My baby you'll be." So begins the story that has touched the hearts of millions worldwide. Since publication in l986, Love You Forever has sold more than 15 million copies in paperback and the regular hardcover edition. AGES: 4 to 6 AUTHOR: Robert Munsch is the bestselling, widely celebrated author of more than 50 books for children. Love You Forever is his internationally bestselling book with over 30 million…
I am the author and illustrator of the baby book listed below. As a mom of a 1-year-old, I am no stranger to kids’ books. After 1 year of going through my baby’s bookshelf and finding my own personal favorites, I realized that the common theme amongst all of my favorites is that all my selects happen to rhyme. Therefore, when I set out to write my own book, it was a given that this would be a rhyming story. Since then, I have been reading and researching all of the rhyming books to create my own. After all this research, these top five books are my top picks.
The only book you need! Compiled over several short stories, you can pack just this one book with you on a trip and be set for your entire trip. It is so fun to have short stories as an option—you can read one if the baby is tired or five if the baby needs time to wind down before bedtime.
Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound. Come in...for where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins. This special edition contains 12 extra poems. You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow…
I chose these books because they each approach big feelings with a kind of gentle honesty and expressive clarity. These classics use powerful, earnest text and heartfelt illustrations that help name, normalize, and, at times, create an adventure around feeling new, big emotions. Each of these treasured titles offers more than just a story—they give children tools for emotional resonance and resilience. They strike a delicate balance between lyrical prose, whimsical art, and emotional honesty. The Mood Swing is a charm bracelet of these different stories, woven into one. Many gave me comfort as a kid, and helped me feel supported and empowered to explore—and name—my deepest feelings.
Marcus Pfister’s shimmering fish learns that true sparkle comes from sharing, not hoarding, and its foil-embellished scales bring emotional growth to life.
The Rainbow Fish was a big inspiration for The Mood Swings cover and artwork. I still remember picking this book off the library shelf as a kid!
Apart from its aesthetic, this story gives kids a visual and emotional lesson in generosity, teaching them that sharing feelings and kindness makes connections—and happiness—richer and more real. It’s an uplifting way to show how openness can soothe big emotions.
The award-winning book about a beautiful fish who finds friendship and happiness when he learns to share is now available in a board book edition for the youngest child.
I’ve spent my whole life working with children’s books. Firstly, as a listener–I was lucky enough to be read to frequently as a child. Then, as a reader. Later, I shared books as a teacher, editor, and publisher. But perhaps my favorite moments with books have been as a mother and now as an author. That’s a lot of books read, written, edited, shared, and loved! And for me, bedtime is the best time of day to share a book with a child. So, snuggle up and enjoy a favorite book with a favorite little person–they won’t be little for long!
It would be remiss of me not to include this absolute classic in my list. I’ve enjoyed the Winnie-the-Pooh stories ever since I was old enough to play with poohsticks, and now the words of A. A.
Milne inspires me in my work every day. Eeyore has always been my favorite, and the Tiddely Pom Hum was the very first piece of poetry that I learned by heart.
An award-winning production, with an all-star cast including Stephen Fry and Judi Dench, brings to life one of the best-loved children's books of all time.
Packed full of fun and adventure with Winnie-the-Pooh and all his friends in the Hundred Acre Forest. This is a wonderful dramatisation of Winnie-the-Pooh with original music. This captivating adaptation conveys all the magic and humour of AA Milne's classic stories.
The cast includes the following stars:
Pooh - Stephen Fry Piglet - Jane Horrocks Eeyore - Geoffrey Palmer Kanga (and Narrator) - Judi Dench Roo - Finty Williams Rabbit - Robert Daws Owl -…
I came into the world telling stories. From the age of four you could often find me surrounded by a little cluster of friends, amusing them with a story I was spinning on the spot. When I was nine, I began telling my sisters about a Martian who was living on Earth and who loved his comfy chairs. This Martian eventually became Alou, and it has been such a joy to share his world through my picture book Alou: The Martian Agent and its sequels. One thing I’m passionate about is sparking the potent imagination bottled up inside all our little ones and I hope my books can encourage that.
There is something so charming about these two best friends. I remember pouring over their quirky tales as a small child. I loved it so much! Arnold Lobel’s masterpiece is perfectly woven with immersive watercolor pictures and hilarious, yet simple text, that even our littlest readers can grasp. It introduces the concept of personality vividly in the differences between Frog and Toad, and all in all, is one of the best ever for capturing a young imagination.
An Essential Picture Book Classics this book contains five engaging, warm and very funny stories about Frog and Toad.
A collectable classic picture book that every child should read and own. Julia Donaldson says "I hugely admire and envy Arnold Lobel; he is my hero".
Once upon a time there were two good friends, a frog and a toad...
From writing letters to going swimming, telling stories to finding lost buttons, Frog and Toad are always there for each other - just as best friends should be.
The Frog and Toad stories from Arnold Lobel have been loved by generations.…
I am the author and illustrator of the baby book listed below. As a mom of a 1-year-old, I am no stranger to kids’ books. After 1 year of going through my baby’s bookshelf and finding my own personal favorites, I realized that the common theme amongst all of my favorites is that all my selects happen to rhyme. Therefore, when I set out to write my own book, it was a given that this would be a rhyming story. Since then, I have been reading and researching all of the rhyming books to create my own. After all this research, these top five books are my top picks.
I love the rhyming nature of this book and the fact that it is also available as a song! The emphasis on learning the ABCs is also a bonus for you and your baby. I grew up on this book, so there is a familiarity—it is amazing how quickly the words came back to me after all of these years.
