These books are like Mary Poppins: "Practically perfect in every way." (This is, of course, not a comprehensive list. That would be impossible!)

• 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter
• 7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar and Ross MacDonald
• A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
• A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
• A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano and Lane Smith
• A Kite for Moon by Jane Yolen, Heidi EY Stemple and Matt Phelan
• A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers and Jonathan Nelson
• A Map into the World by Kao Kalia Yang and Seo Kim
• A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
• A New School Year by Sally Derby and Mika Song
• A Tree for Emmy by Mary Ann Rodman and Tatjana Mai-Wyss
• A Violin for Elva by Mary Lyn Ray and Tricia Tusa
• After the Fall by Dan Santat
• Agnes Caws by Candace Fleming and Giselle Potter
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz
• All From a Walnut by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Felicita Sala
• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee
• Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
• Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua
• Apple and Magnolia by Laura Gehl and Patricia Metola
• Baby's Firsts by Nancy Raines Day and Michael Emberley
• Be a Friend by Salina Yoon
• Because by Mo Willems and Amber Ren
• Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome
• Big and Small and In-Between by Carter Higgins and Daniel Miyares
• Blue on Blue by Dianne White and Beth Krommes
• Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley
• Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi and Ghris Grimly
• Brand-New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson and Ariel Landy
• Brown Baby Lullabye by Tameka Fryer Brown and AG Ford
• Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler and Laura Huliska-Beith
• Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak
• Christmas Mousling by Dori Chaconas and Susan Kathleen Hartung
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
• Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk
• Dandy by Ame Dyckman and Charles Santoso
• Dim Sum Palace by X. Fang
• Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez
• Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis
• Enough Is ... by Jessica Whipple and Nicole Wong
• Escargot by Dashka Slater and Sydney Hanson
• Estelle Takes a Bath by Jill Esbaum and Mary Newell DePalma
• Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away by Meg Medina and Sonia Sanchez
• Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall
• Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez and Elisa Chavarri
• George Washington's Cows by David Small
• Gittel's Journey by Leslea Newman and Amy June Bates
• God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant and Marla Frazee
• Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio and LeUyen Pham
• Green on Green by Dianne White and Felicita Sala
• How Many Seeds In a Pumpkin by Margaret McNamara and G. Brian Karas
• Hum and Swish by Matt Myers
• I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo! by Jill Esbaum and Gus Gordon
• I Am The Storm by Jane Yolen, Heidi EY Stemple, Kristen Howdeshell and Kevin Howdeshell
• I Saw An Ant on the Railroad Track by Joshua Prince and Macky Pamintuan
• If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall
• If You Want to See a Whale by Julie Fogliano and Erin Stead
• Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming and Nancy Carpenter
• In a Jar by Deborah Marcero
• In Every Life by Marla Frazee
• Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt
• Ish by Peter Reynolds
• Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
• Layla's Happiness by Mariahadessa Ekere Talle and Ashleigh Corrin
• Leo the Magnificat by Ann M. Martin and Emily Arnold McCully
• Life by Cynthia Rylant and Brendan Wenzel
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Little Libraries, Big Heroes by Miranda Paul and John Parra
• Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace
• Looking for Easter by Dori Chaconas and Margie Moore
• Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and Daniel Egneus
• Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports by Phil Bildner and Brett Helquist
• Michael Rosen's Sad Book by Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake
• Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Alicia Potter and Birgitta Sif
• Miss Mary Reporting by Sue Macy and C.F. Payne
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer and Scott Magoon
• Moth by Isabel Thomas and Daniel Egneus
• Mr. Watson's Chickens by Jarrett Dapier and Andrea Tsurumi
• My Best Friend by Mary Ann Rodman and E.B. Lewis
• My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano and Jillian Tamaki
• My Grandfather’s Coat by Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock
• My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith and Julie Flett
• Niko Draws a Feeling by Bob Raczka and Simone Shin
• Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin and Ebony Glenn
• Odd Velvet by Mary Whitcomb and Tara Calahan King
• Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden and Renata Liwska
• Owen by Kevin Henkes
• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
• Patchwork by Matt de la Pena and Corinna Luyken
• Piece by Piece: Ernestine's Gift for President Roosevelt by Lupe Ruiz-Flores and Anna Lopez Real
• Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Peter Reynolds
• Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
• Preaching to the Chickens by Jabari Asim and E.B. Lewis
• Prudence Wants a Pet by Cathleen Daly and Stephen Michael King
• Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and David Litchfield
• Ready to Fly by Lea Lyon, A. LaFaye and Jessica Gibson
• R-E-S-P-E-C-T by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison
• Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
• Saturdays Are For Stella by Candy Wellins and Charlie Eve Ryan
• Shrinking Violet by Kari Best and Giselle Potter
• Stand Straight, Ella Kate by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
• Star Bright: A Christmas Story by Alison McGhee and Peter Reynolds
• Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee
• Stay by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
• Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry and Juana Martinez-Neal
• Talking Like the Rain compiled by X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy and Jane Dyer
• Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin and Maribel Lechuga
• Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson and Matt Faulkner
• That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown and Nikkolas Smith
• The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall
• The Bear and the Moon by Matthew Burgess and Catia Chen
• The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris and Brad Sneed
• The Brilliant Ms. Bangle by Cara Devins and K-Fai Steele
• The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington and Shelley Jackson
• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski and P.J. Lynch
• The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham
• The Dot by Peter Reynolds
• The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco
• The Kitten Story: A Mostly True Tale by Emily Jenkins and Brittany Cicchese
• The Last Stand by Antwan Eady and Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey
• The Library by Sarah Stewart and David Small
• The Lion's Bed by Diane Redfield Massie
• The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise and Lucy Ruth Cummins
• The New Girl … And Me by Jacqui Robbins and Matt Phelan
• The Next President by Kate Messner and Adam Rex
• The Notebook Keeper by Stephen Briseno and Magdalena Mora
• The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho and Jess X. Snow
• The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Oge Mora
• The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet
• The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood and Renata Liwska
• The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
• The Rough Patch by Brian Lies
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer and Ekua Holmes
• The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley and Kate Berube
• The Tenth Good Thing about Barney by Judith Viorst and Erik Blegvad
• The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyken
• The World's Best Class Plant by Liz Garton Scanlon, Audrey Vernick and Lynnor Bontiago
• There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi and Laurel Molk
• This is Not a Valentine by Carter Higgins and Lucy Ruth Cummins
• This Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton
• This Small Blue Dot by Zero Sworder
• This Way, Charlie by Caron Levis and Charles Santoso
• Tiger in My Soup by Kashmira Sheth and Jeffrey Ebbeler
• Truman by Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins
• Tummy Girl by Roseanne Thong and Sam Williams
• Two of a Kind by Jacqui Robbins and Matt Phelan
• Two Speckled Eggs by Jennifer K. Mann
• Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen and Lucia Soto
• Waiting Out the Storm by JoAnn Early Macken and Susan Graber
• Wanda’s Roses by Pat Brisson and Maryann Cocca-Leffler
• Watercress by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin
• What Do You Do With a Voice Like That? by Chris Barton and Ekua Holmes
• What If by Samantha Berger and Mike Curato
• What Mary Jo Shared by Janice May Udry and Eleanor Mill
• What Mary Jo Wanted by Janice May Udry and Eleanor Mill
• When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie Deenihan and Lorraine Rocha
• Where'd My Jo Go? by Jill Esbaum and Scott Brundage
• We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
• Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull and David Diaz
• Wombat Divine by Mem Fox and Kerry Argent
• Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw and Eugene Yelchin
• Wuddles by Lita Judge
• You Are My Cupcake by Joyce Wan
• Zayde Comes to Live by Sheri Sinykin and Kristina Swarner
• Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio and Scott Campbell

Need a baby shower gift?

Here's a blog post I wrote about my favorite books to give as gifts.

Want picture book suggestions from e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and me?

Here's a list we created for "What's On Your Bookshelf," the recent virtual children's literature conference sponsored by Connecticut's Norfolk Public Library.