Picture Books for Older Readers

You may think that picture books are just for young children, but there are plenty of picture books which older children will also find equally engaging.

Children's picture books for older readers, aged five and above, tend to have more text on each page and may use more sophisticated vocabulary or a more involved story.

If your child is of this age, she may be starting to learn to read, but it is still really important that you continue to read aloud to her and have lots of fun while doing it. You can explain new words she doesn't understand and discuss some of the more complicated themes or emotions portrayed in the books. Also, at an age when your child's growing independence can make one-on-one time with her harder to find, it can be wonderful for you both to continue the routine of cuddling up and reading a book together.

To try to come up with a definitive list of the best picture books for older readers I combined over 20 highly regarded lists of children's books including winners of prestigious children's books awards, reading lists from reputable sources and bestselling books of all time. Those books mentioned on more than one list are shown below, with books at the top receiving the most mentions.

"The Polar Express" comes out top, appearing six times in the source lists. Dr Seuss appears twice, with the two oldest books in the list: "Horton Hatches the Egg" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". The most recently written book to appear is "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers", a fascinating true story of a Frenchman who strung a tightrope between the two unfinished towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 and walked, ran and danced between them for almost an hour.

1. The Polar Express

2. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

3. Horton Hatches the Egg

4. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

5. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

6. A Chair for My Mother

7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

8. John Henry

9. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

10. Lon Po Po

11. Stellaluna

12. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

13. Tar Beach

14. The Giving Tree

15. The Jolly Postman

16. The Little House

17. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

New readers may also be interested in children's chapter books, which are short novels where the story moves fast and each chapter is short enough to be read in one sitting.

If your favorite children's book is not on the list, then please do share it with us. We'd love to hear about it. Just click here and follow the instructions.

For more ideas of classic children's books, check out these lists of top children's books or winners of these children's book awards.

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