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100 Children’s Books to Read in 2016

Last year the kids and I read so many creative, fun, and amazing children’s books.  We read everything from classics, to fiction, to non-fiction, to poetry.

I love exploring new books, discovering old ones and keeping track of which books meant something to us.  Hence, that was the inspiration for me to create this blog post and share it with you.

So here’s our list of 100 books we loved reading in 2015 and think you should read this year. These are in no particular order, and while some were published in 2015, some were published earlier too.  The list contains picture books (including some wordless books), board books, alphabet books, and multicultural books.  I hope you enjoy this children’s book list—I know my kids and I did!

100 children's books to read in 2016

  1. Waiting by Kevin Henkes
  2. Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson
  3. The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts
  4. Cloudette by Tom Lichenheld
  5. Bike On, Bear! by Cynthea Liu
  6. The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
  7. Rosie Goes to Preschool by Karen Katz
  8. Ol’ Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein
  9. Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins
  10. Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar
  11. The Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Connor
  12. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
  13. Christmas Cookies: Bite Size Holiday Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
  14. The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky
  15. B is for Breakdancing by Dr. Tamara Pizzoli
  16. The Great Thanksgiving Escape by Mark Fearing
  17. The 50 States by Gabrielle Balkan
  18. Poems for the Smart, Spunky and Sensational Black Girl by Rachel Garlinghouse
  19. Leo: A Ghost Story by Marc Barnett
  20. If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder
  21. No Sleep for the Sheep! by Karen Beaumont
  22. You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown
  23. Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won
  24. The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra
  25. Where’s My T-R-U-C-K? by Karen Beaumont
  26. Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven
  27. Emi’s Coily, Curly, Cotton Candy Hair by Tina Olajide
  28. Night Time Routine by Sharee Miller
  29. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De La Pena
  30. Wait by Antoinette Portis
  31. I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn
  32. What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss
  33. Water is Water by Miranda Paul
  34. Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan
  35. A Bed for Bear by Clive McFarland
  36. Get Out of My Bath! by Nosy Crow
  37. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean
  38. The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt
  39. Tuck Me In! by Dean Hacohen
  40. The ABC Bunny by Wanda Gag
  41. Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa by Anna Dewdney
  42. Baking Day at Grandma’s by Anika Denise
  43. A B See by Elizabeth Doyle
  44. I Can Roar! by Frank Asch
  45. LOOK! by Edouard Manceau
  46. One by Kathryn Otoshi
  47. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
  48. The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
  49. Bee-Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park
  50. Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett
  51. Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae
  52. The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
  53. Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
  54. Goodnight Already! by Jory John & Benji Davies
  55. Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley
  56. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
  57. Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty
  58. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
  59. Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field
  60. I Am Invited to a Party! by Mo Willems
  61. Let’s Go for a Drive by Mo Willems
  62. Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
  63. Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Anthony
  64. You Nest Here With Me by Jane Yolen
  65. Animal ABC by Susi Martin
  66. ABCs at the Store by Rebecca Rissman
  67. The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell
  68. Where Bear? by Sophy Henn
  69. Tails by Matthew Van Fleet
  70. Alpha Block by Christopher Franceschelli
  71. New York, New York: The Big Apple from A to Z by Laura Krauss Melmed
  72. Book-O-Beards by Donald Lemke and Bob Lentz
  73. The Spiffiest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson
  74. Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera
  75. Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu by Ylleya Fields
  76. Alpha Oops!  The Day Z Went First by Alethea Kontis
  77. I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
  78. I Spy Pets by Edward Gibbs
  79. Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett
  80. Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood
  81. Alphabet Adventure by Audrey Wood
  82. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
  83. The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield-Martin
  84. Float by Daniel Miyares
  85. I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn
  86. The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski
  87. The Night World by Mordicai Gerstein
  88. Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley
  89. Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder
  90. Before There Was Mozart: The Story of Joseph Boulogne by Lesa Cline-Ransome
  91. A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins
  92. Home by Carson Ellis
  93. Max the Brave by Ed Vere
  94. ABC: A Child’s First Alphabet Book by Alison Jay
  95. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
  96. This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
  97. Night Light by Nicholas Blechman
  98. Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
  99. The Only Child by Guojing
  100. Home Alone: The Classic Illustrated Storybook by John Hughes, illustrated by Kim Smith

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.  All of the books listed are ones that my family or I have read personally and have enjoyed.

Your turn:  What other books would you add to the list?  Feel free to share in the comments.

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11 thoughts on “100 Children’s Books to Read in 2016

  1. First of all, I love the new look! Second, I’m bookmarking this. My baby girl is only two months but I’ve already started to read to her. Our first book was Goodnight Moon 🙂

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