April 20, 2026

Vintage Picture Books Worth Rediscovering

These books were written decades before most of us were born. All of them belong on your shelf.

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These are the books featured in this post — tap any cover to find it on Amazon.

Cover of A Tree is Nice

A Tree is Nice

by Janice May Udry

Trees are beautiful. They fill up the sky. If you have a tree, you can climb up its trunk, roll in its leaves, or hang a swing from one of its limbs. Cows and babies can nap in the shade of a tree. Birds can make nests in the branches. A tree is good to have around. A tree is nice.

Cover of Blueberries for Sal

Blueberries for Sal

by Robert McCloskey

Little Sal and Little Bear both lose their mothers while eating blueberries and almost end up with the other's mother.

Cover of Corduroy

Corduroy

by Don Freeman

A picture book classic! One of School Library Journal’s "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time (2012) One of the National Education Association’s "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." Don Freeman's classic character, Corduroy, is even more popular today then he was when he first came on the scene in 1968. This story of a small teddy bear waiting on a department store shelf for a child’s friendship has appealed to young readers generation after generation.

Cover of Each Peach Pear Plum

Each Peach Pear Plum

by Janet Ahlberg

A British treasure from 1978 — every page hides a fairy tale character and rewards close looking.

Cover of Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent

Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent

by Bill Peet

Cyrus, a shy and friendly serpent, finally realizes his ambition by heroically helping some voyagers through a storm and foiling some dastardly pirates.

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