Silicon Valley International School's English teachers have some wonderful recommendations for their top 10 picture books for kids. These books can serve as great holiday gifts, or great anytime gifts!
The Frog and Toad books were my favorite for so long after I had become a proficient reader, and one of the first picture books I made sure I had when I found out I was expecting my first child. An enduring friendship of seeming opposites, the characters bring me back to the basics - a slower pace where they are willing to wait days for a letter to arrive on a back of a snail, or spend ages in a swimming hole, and touch our true emotions in an accessible way.
I'm dating myself here, but George and Martha were all the rage when I was a child. The two hippos have a beautiful relationship that they navigate in simple prose that nevertheless hits home. From sunburns, to learning French, to eating pea soup, the pair are truly endearing and always elicit chuckles.
A little girl chooses a butternut squash at the farmer's market and adopts it as her baby. Sophie's parents are certainly more lenient than I (my 4 year-old's zucchini baby became lasagna the same day). She cares for the squash until it becomes too soft, but she finds a solution. This is another book with myriad messages embedded throughout and is amusing for both parents and children alike.
A magical bedtime journey of a little boy, appealing to princess and dragon lovers alike, with a nautical theme throughout. Beautiful illustrations, lyrical prose, and a lovely message.
As with most of these books, I love more than just one by the author. Oliver Jeffers is an artist and a writer, and his books feel at once like poetry, philosophy, an independent film, and a gallery opening, but also spot on stories and messages that resonate and amuse children and adults alike. This Moose Belongs to Me is silly and poignant, ridiculous and serious all at the same time. A boy befriends a moose, and believes he owns him.
Anything by Patricia Polacco is a wonderful read. Thunder Cake is the story of a little girl who visits her grandmother’s farm and overcomes her fear of thunder by gathering ingredients to make a cake and counting the space between the lightning and thunder. Rich in illustrations as well as messages, this book even includes a recipe for a delicious chocolate cake that we make on a regular basis.
My mother actually gave me this book when I returned from traveling after college. It is a story of two adorable pig friends who love each other dearly, despite one being a world traveler and the other a homebody. Each page takes you to a different part of the world and then home again to Woodcock Pocket (which looks like where I grew up), and the pigs keep in touch through postcards. There is so much feeling in the illustrations.
*In 2020, the International School of the Peninsula (ISTP) formally changed its name to Silicon Valley International School (INTL) to better reflect its bilingual programs, location, and international values.