Top Ten Tuesday (TTT) brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

January 31: All about the visuals: Top Ten Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics or Ten Comics on My TBR or Top Ten Favorite Picture Books

This is an interesting topic for me. I typically do not read graphic novels. But, as the mother of two boys, I have plenty of favorite picture books. As a kid, you don’t always realize how great the art in your favorite book is. But as an adult, you can appreciate the beautiful pictures and how they enhance your reading experience.

We used to read a few books to my boys before bed every single night. When my youngest was about five years old, we started reading the Harry Potter books together at bedtime and our time with picture books came to an end. Eventually, by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire my reading became too slow (and I would usually read myself to sleep), so they both started reading Harry Potter on their own.

I’m feeling nostalgic now. I think we need to read a bedtime story tonight.

Top Ten Picture Books I Enjoyed Reading to my Boys.

Note: Any book quotes are purely from memory and I apologize to the author if the quote is not exact. It’s been at least five or or more years since we read any of these. 🙂

Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram. Kiss Good Night was our favorite bedtime story. This was a super sweet story to read when the boys went to bed. Sam can’t go to sleep until his mom gives him a kiss. “She bent way down and kissed him once, twice, and then twice more. ‘Again!’ cried Sam.” We read it almost every night.

Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman. We had many of the books in this series, but this one was my favorite. I loved the end. “And the Bear felt safe.”

Snuggle Puppy: A Little Love Song by Sandra Boynton. To be fair, this was my favorite Sandra Boynton book. “I love what you are, I love what you do, Fuzzy little snuggle puppy I love you!” My boys loved Barnyard Dance even more. That was a fun one. “Stomp your feet! Clap your hands! Everybody ready for a barnyard dance!”

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. Out of all the Dr. Seuss books, this is my very favorite.

Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin, Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. A fun story where the cows acquire an old typewriter and go on strike until Farmer Brown meets their demands (which include electric blankets). Betsy Lewin also illustrated the Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series by Erica Silverman. My youngest and I love this series, although they are more early chapter books than picture books. The watercolors are so pretty.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram. I’m sure most of you know this one. The baby bunny is trying to prove that he loves his mother more than she loves him. But, a mother’s love is always more. “I love you to the moon and back.”

How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague. My oldest loves dinosaurs, and this one was a favorite of his at bedtime. Before reading Kiss Good Night, of course.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. The rhyming in this book is so cute. But the illustrations are what really make it charming.

Noodle by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. Okay. Technically, this wasn’t a favorite of my boys. I don’t know what their problem was. This is a really sweet story about a dog who wishes he were a different shape, and visits different animals at the zoo to discover what the perfect shape is. (Spoiler: It’s his! He’s already the perfect shape!) Sweet story, and lovely illustrations.

The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz. Oh my gosh. The giggles from my boys when we read this story. “There was a hippopotamus. He hiccuped quite a lotomus. And every time he gotomus – HIC –  He fell upon his bottomus!” My spelling might be a little off from the author’s, but I still remember it. 😉

What about you? Do you have any favorite picture books? What graphic novels do I need to read? Sign off in the comments below, and link up to your own TTT if you’ve got one!