Lots of great ideas on this blog:

http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/books-for-kids

I love this thread (NP here) -- thanks, all!

Diary of a wimpy kid
Calvin and Hobbes

Moonshot - the story of Apollo 11. A wonderful, lyrical, easy to read story.

I love books without words, where the kids have to make up the story. David Weisner has some wonderful ones. Also: Journey, The Chicken Thief, and the Mamoko books.

Patricia Polacco has a lot of fabulous picture books with a historical fiction twist. I love so many of them. One of my favorites is Pink and Say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Oh yes, we love Andrew Henry's Meadow! There are so many amazing picture books out there. I think too many kids/parents give up on picture books as soon as their kids can read chapter books, and as a result lose out on so much great literature. There are plenty of picture books contain complex ideas and vocabulary that is far beyond some early chapter books (like Magic tree house and the like).

This is so true. A book like City Dog, Country Frog is visually beautiful and conveys a lovely and hard to explain concept with few words.

I'm also just a sucker for good illustrations.

Anonymous wrote:OP, your son is on the right track. Early elementary school teachers highly recommend reading picture books for as long as possible. They're rich imagery and vocabulary do more to stimulate imagination and an interest in reading than chapter books.

Recent picture books my little ones especially loved:

Chris can Dusen
- If I Built a Car
- If I Built a House
- Randy Riley's Really Big Hit

Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

Zen Shorts by Jon Muth

Ooh! I had totally forgotten about the Chris van Dusen books. Great stories, and the illustrations are gorgeous!

OP, your son is on the right track. Early elementary school teachers highly recommend reading picture books for as long as possible. They're rich imagery and vocabulary do more to stimulate imagination and an interest in reading than chapter books.

Recent picture books my little ones especially loved:

Chris can Dusen
- If I Built a Car
- If I Built a House
- Randy Riley's Really Big Hit

Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

Zen Shorts by Jon Muth

Anonymous wrote:"Andrew Henry's Meadow" and the other one by that author. She only wrote two or three and they are brilliant!

"The Seven Silly Eaters."

Oh yes, we love Andrew Henry's Meadow! There are so many amazing picture books out there. I think too many kids/parents give up on picture books as soon as their kids can read chapter books, and as a result lose out on so much great literature. There are plenty of picture books contain complex ideas and vocabulary that is far beyond some early chapter books (like Magic tree house and the like).

DD recommended Falling For Rapunzel, which is a super silly take on the original.

That led us to this list of "Fractured Fairy Tales," which include some hilarious ones. She especially recommends That is Not a Good Idea, Interrupting Chicken, and Stinky Cheese Man.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/72267.Fractured_Fairy_Tales_for_Children#209586

The Brain Pickings website is a great resource. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter (comes out on Sundays), or just go on the site and search for "Children's Books". It's where we've found some of the more interesting and even thrilling picture books.

http://www.brainpickings.org/?s=children%27s+books

Also, try different lists and categories on Goodreads to inspire your son to think outside the box a bit. For example, picture books about math. We've enjoyed a bunch of these:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/71503.Children_s_Picture_Books_on_Mathematics#13633558

Speaking of thinking outside the box, the library is definitely the best place to do that. We tend to have 20+ books out at a time, and they're a mix of books that DCs have picked and books that I've picked. Great way to experiment with different things and to let them experience the joy of discovering a great read (and the low stakes of picking a "dud" that you can just return the following week.)

"Andrew Henry's Meadow" and the other one by that author. She only wrote two or three and they are brilliant!

"The Seven Silly Eaters."

OP here. Thanks so much for all of these suggestions. We've added a lot of great books to our list. Keep them coming if you have any more!

Tim Egan's books are all great:

http://www.amazon.com/Tim-Egan/e/B001IR1D5K/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Same for Oliver Jeffers:

http://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Jeffers/e/B001ILOBQE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1435439999&sr=1-2-ent

And Adam Rubin:

http://www.amazon.com/Adam-Rubin/e/B001JSHJCE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1435439715&sr=1-1

and all four of the new picture books reviewed here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/books/review/sara-pennypackers-meet-the-dullards-and-more.html?_r=0

DD also liked Sophie's Squash, The Most Magnificent Thing, The Right Word, and The Boy Who Loved Math.