Picture books are my favorite kind of book. It combines art and language -- two of my favorite things.

This section will continue to grow as I add books to it, so look for more as time goes on.

One Grain of Rice
By Demi

When a selfish Sultan hoards all the rice in a village, a mathematically-minded young girl comes up with a clever plan to trick him out of his storehouses -- one grain at a time. Clever and gorgeously illustrated, with a clear chart at the end to lay out the mathematical concept the folktale explains.

Math Curse
By Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by Lane Smith

I've been reading this one to my kids since they were very small, simply skipping over the parts that were a little too complicated.

The book, like many of the Scieszka/Smith collaborations, is a little complex, and needs some patience to read aloud, but it's fun -- and if you like math, it's a blast. If you don't love math, it's still fun. And the answers are all on the back.

Melisande

By E. Nesbit
Illustrated by P.J. Lynch

This book is out of print, but if you find yourself a copy, pick it up.

It's a great original fairy tale.

When the king and queen have a daughter, they decide to skip the christening party -- after all, there's usually one fairy who's insulted and curses the baby. Why make trouble and insult someone?

Unless they all are insulted. Which is exactly what happens.

The bottom line: the princess is cursed with baldness. Upon her eighteenth birthday, the king gives her a leftover wish, and her hair is restored, with mixed -- and totally unexpected -- results. E. Nesbit absolutely NEVER lets you down, and P.J. Lynch delivers sumptuous watercolors in this edition.

The Memory Coat

By Elvira Woodruff
Illustrated Michael Dooling

Rachel and Grisha are cousins in a shtetl in Russia when the Cossacks come; Grisha is an orphan whose only memory of his mother is the tattered coat she made for him before she died.

What happens when the two best friends flee with their family to America is a heart-stopping moment. My children love this story.

The Maiden on the Moor

By Marilyn Singer
Illustrated by Troy Howell

You can always count on Singer for a great story.

Here, two brothers find a mysterious maiden asleep on the moor. One, poor but caring and lonely, takes her in and gives her shelter.

The ending will give children food for thought for a long time.

More picture books --->