We are all familiar with powerhouse children's books like Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, but there are many other classic picture books which all too frequently get left off "top ten" lists. However, you will not want to miss these forgotten children's books!
I wanted to choose books that you may not be familiar with, but are not so forgotten by everyone they weren't readily available either at the library or at a bookstore. That meant I had to leave my favorite Marigold and the Dragon off the list. (Sniff.) So get to the library to discover some new-to-you books!
Note: this post contains Amazon and Bookshop affiliate links. Purchases made through these links may earn commission for this blog. Bookshop supports independent booksellers.
FATHER FOX'S PENNYRHYMES by Clyde Watson, illustrated by Wendy Watson
Find it: Amazon | Your Library
Oh, how I love this collection of poems and cartoon illustrations. It was even a finalist for the National Book Award! I can still recite some of rhymes I read as a child. The book alternates between fun little nursery-rhyme style poems and illustrated comic scenes featuring foxes in amusing domestic situations. The illustrations are so wonderful that your kids will want to look at them for hours, discovering all the secret details hiding in plain sight. Absolutely marvelous. Aged 4 and up.
ANGUS AND THE DUCKS (series) by Marjorie Flack
Modern preschoolers still love this book from the 1930s. Angus is a very curious Scottie dog and one day he escapes the yard by crawling under the hedge. On the other side he discovers some very interesting ducks! Are the ducks friendly? Will Angus get to enjoy his new freedom? You'll have to read it to find out. Ages 3 and up.
MORE: 64 Preschool Picture Books You Didn't Know You Needed
JUST US WOMEN by Jeannette Caines, illustrated by Pat Cummings
Even though Just Us Women is a Reading Rainbow book still in print, I've never met another parent who has heard of it! The story follows a girl and her aunt making a road trip, just the two of them. The girl describes the joyful experience of being about to make stops and see the sights on their own schedule. They can buy all the "junk" they want at flea markets, and eat dinner at the restaurant of their choosing. The pace of the book is leisurely and it may just make your kids want to head out on the road. Ages 4 and up.
THE BACKWARD DAY by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Marc Simont
Yes, the famed author of The Carrot Seed also has this delightful story of a boy who gets out of bed one morning and decides to do everything backward. He puts on his clothes backward, goes down the stairs backward, sits at the breakfast table backward... you get the idea. Soon he has his whole family functioning backwards. Luckily, this clever boy has just the solution to get everyone forward-facing again. Ages 4 and up.
THE MAGGIE B. by Irene Haas
Like me, my mom primarily checked out books from the library, but this was one of the few precious picture books she bought. I imagine it was because the girl and her brother reminded her of me and my brother. I loved this book, with its gorgeous watercolors and the story of an imaginary, self-sufficient day on a boat out at sea. After reading this book, living on a tiny boat will seem like the most glorious experience you can possible imagine. Ages 4 and up.
THE BEST-LOVED DOLL by Rebecca Caudill, illustrated by Elliott Gilbert
As an adult reading this book I wish it had a cast of diverse girls at the doll party, but as a kid, I adored this book. Betsy goes to a party where are the girls have been invited to bring their favorite doll and win a prize in one of many "best of" categories. Betsy's doll isn't as fancy as the others. Can you guess which prize she wins? When I was about six I actually convinced my mom to let me throw a party just like the one in the book. Ages 4 and up.
MORE: Classic Picture Books with Diverse Characters
FISH FOR SUPPER by M. B. Goffstein
Find it: Amazon | Bookshop | New York Review Books
I have always been in awe of how this little book with line drawings and a non-nonsense story can be so utterly beguiling and that's why I am so delighted that Goffstein's Newbery Honor book Fish for Supper is back in print. I wish I knew where my copy was! The story is simple–a grandmother gets up at 5, goes out to the lake, catches a fish for her supper, cleans, cooks and enjoys eating the fish. The old lady's quiet enjoyment of self-reliance and dedication to her task is captivating. She is a marvel. Ages 3 and up.
TELL ME A MITZI by Lore Segal, illustrated by Harriet Pincus
Find it: Amazon | Your Library
I loved listening to my mom read me Tell Me a Mitzi! The picture book consists of three separate stories. In the first, Mitzi wants to visit grandma but since her parents are asleep, she gets her brother ready all by herself and gets them into a taxi, only to realize she doesn't know that address. The middle story will be familiar to moms everywhere who have to take care of everyone else when they are sick… until she gets sick herself. In the third story, the children and their father turn a presidential motorcade upside down over a piece of gum. Ages 5 and up.
MORE: Picture Books set in New York City
THE ELEPHANT WHO LIKED TO SMASH SMALL CARS by Jean Merrill, illustrated by Ronni Solbert
Find it: Amazon | Bookshop | New York Review Books
As the title suggests, a young elephant loves to smash small cars as they pass by. He loves to smash red, yellow, blue cars! But what happens when a car salesman won't put up with the elephant's penchant for destruction? He will need to find a way to temper his smashing enthusiasm. An unusual, but whimsical preschool book that will especially be enjoyed by kids know the pleasure of knocking down block towers and the like! Ages 3 and up.
MORE: Wacky Picture Books
THE COW WHO FELL IN THE CANAL by Phyllis Krasilovsky, illustrated by Peter Spier
Find it: Amazon | Your Library
I was quite in love with this book when I was a girl. I think it was probably the illustrations that appealed to me because upon re-reading it as an adult, I realized I hadn't remembered much about the story, but all the scenes were familiar. The story is about a cow who gets bored and sets off on a raft through city and country, causing a bit of chaos in pursuit of a particularly delicious-looking straw hat. Spier's illustrations are wonderfully detailed and evoke the Dutch landscape with its windmills, markets and canals. Ages 4 and up.
Bethany says
What a great idea for a list! I just found Mr. Grumpy's Outing the other day at a yard sale. : )
Mom and Kiddo says
I hope you love it!
Raising a Happy Child says
I have to look for some of those books - we only read 2 on this list...
Even in Australia says
How funny! My daughter just came home with The Best-Loved Doll as her reading assignment. I had never heard of it and loved it.
Mom and Kiddo says
I read it over and over when I was young. Sadly it was a library copy, so I don't have one of my own.
Fanny Harville says
I haven't heard of any of these besides The Best-Loved Doll, which I love. Some of my old favorites that seem to be a bit less well-known but are also (I think) still in print are The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright, The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, Babies by Gyo Fujukawa, The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Dubose Heyward, and Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Red Shoes by Maj Lindeman.
Mom and Kiddo says
I love all of those, too! I've never heard of Babies by Gyo Fujukawa, however.
Gail Palmer says
The Lonely Doll has spanking in it, which does not sit well with some parents.
Diane says
I had not heard of most of those books. Thanks for the great line up to look into. :O)
gargoylebruce says
We were extremely happy to discover Tikki Tikki Tembo still in print...always loved that one. Not sure I've read any of these, but the covers of Angus and the Ducks and Mr Grumpy's Outing are tweaking some recognition button in my mind. Thanks for the list! 🙂
Mom and Kiddo says
Tikki Tikki Tembo is also a great book. I remember chanting Tikki's full name all the time when I was a kid. Now my son does it.
Jaymie Shook says
Me too!
ilanawaters (@ilanawaters) says
I'm sorry I'm unable to remember any quiet, classic picture books per se. But you've certainly given me a few to add to my list, especially "The Maggie B."
Renee C. says
Oh, I have to admit that I haven't run across any of these. I can't even remember any books that my parents read to me when I was a child (other than Dr. Seuss). Then again, I was raised in a French household and I was the last of 5 kids. I doubt my parents read very much to me if at all!
With my own children, we mostly read contemporary children's books, but did read the Dr. Seuss books (NOT quiet classics) and alot of Winnie the Pooh books (also not quiet classics). If the kids weren't sleeping, I'd sneak into their room and look through their bookcases! lol
Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Mom and Kiddo says
I imagine that if I had 5 kids I would be so tired at the end of the day, it would be hard to read, too! 🙂
Jaymie Shook says
Ooh, Max and I haven't run into any of these! Thanks so much for linking this post to the Kid Lit Blog Hop to introduce me to them! I love the sound of "May I Bring a Friend".
Mom and Kiddo says
It's a great book! I hope you and Max get a chance to read it.
Melissa@Julia's Bookbag says
Fabulous! What a BEAUTIFUL list! I've read most of these except for the doll one! Off to try and find....:)
Erica MomandKiddo says
You will LOVE the doll book. LOVE it.
Catherine @ Story Snug says
I remember Mr Gumpy from when I was a child and my parents still have the book!
Interestingly some of the most viewed posts on Story Snug are classics - The Tiger Who Came To Tea, Rosie's Walk, A Pocket for Corduroy and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's lovely when parents can share their own childhood favourites with their children 🙂
Erica MomandKiddo says
I agree. We moms like to revisit our favorites. It's like being a kid again - but without the growing pains!
Alanna Hector says
Thank you for all your pages. When my kids were little, I managed to find Make Way for Ducklings and Mr Gumpy in library, but a lot of these are impossible to find now.
I am Australian (aged 46) and have still got my childhood copies of Pearl Pinkie and Sea Greenie (just read it aloud to 7 yr old daughter who lives in fairyland and is a seashell-collecting type of child, so she was enchanted), Anne of GG series, Narnia series and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. For some reason I never read The Magic Pudding (or Roald Dahl), maybe I was too girly. My 8 yr old son has already gobbled up all the Asterix and Tin Tin ever written (all from our local library, I only buy books if they're not in library) and Tove Jansson's Moomins series (except the last book - have to buy it). If you did not read the Moomins as a child, you will still love them now (start with The Great Flood, that comes before Comet in Moominland and was only translated recently)! Quiet Scandinavian melancholy in parts - which children get. It's ok to be sad sometimes, you don't always have to be bouncy and happy (as we Australians, American and Brits strive to be. Why?).
And the Wombles series! They are back in print! I bought them as they are so great. I bought all the Milly Molly Mandys too! (Mum threw those ones out).
Thank you again - I am lost in the 1910s now!
Erica MomandKiddo says
All of these are still in print here in the States, but so many other favorites aren't. So sad. I've not heard of the Wombles! They sound fun!
Lacey says
Hello. I'm searching for a book that my mom has mentioned loving as a child and I was hoping that you have come across it. Unfortunately, I do not know the title. She says that it was about a rabbit puppet and his adventures. The puppet was put on the bedpost at night. She also says that it was a Little Golden Book. I have been searching all over the web for this book an would love to find it for her. She was born in the 50's if that helps. Thank you!
Tamika says
I loved the book Just Us Women as a kid. My copy sits on the my children's book shelf. Although, I have boys they all like the story and the idea of having a day alone with their mom.
Thank you for this list. There are a couple I want to look into.
Erica says
Glad to know I'm not the only one who loves Just Us Women! Happy reading!