Just a *Few* of My Favourite Picture Books

I am going to link up with Lindsey from The Teacher Wife for must have picture books. I have narrowed it down to my top 5...

I have a {slight} problem with buying picture books. I love them and can't seem to get enough of them. Love. them. Oh well...I think I am in good company :)
Here are a few of my favourites...

Max Lucado is amazing. I read this book to my kids when they were little and my middle daughter still reads it to herself (she's 14). A truly heartwarming story with a great message. It has definite religious undertones, which meant that I couldn't read it at school :(   BUT I thoroughly enjoyed it with my own little family.

 Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is a great story. It has a powerful message and the kids can relate to it. This one is a definite favourite of my class. Lilly is an engaging, enthusiastic character who makes a mistake and then must face the consequences of her actions. She loves her teacher, Mr Slinger, but gets in trouble for disrupting the class. When Mr Slinger takes away her possessions for the day, Lilly tries to "get even."

Love.

Another Kevin Henkes book. Chrysanthemum is an excellent cross-curricular book as it lends itself well to math (graphing) activities. It also has a powerful message and is a great read aloud for the beginning of the year. In a nutshell, it's about a girl who is teased about her name because it's different. Chrysanthemum teaches the other characters a lot about being brave and standing up for oneself. A wonderful story!

Okay. Had to include this one. Honestly, I never read this book until this year when I was inspired by all the bloggers who had a Dr Seuss themed week during Read Across America. My kids LOVED it. It was their favourite read aloud and one that they could make lots of connections to. At the end of the school year, I still had kids coming up and telling me that certain things reminded them of the Lorax. Awesome.

This was my favourite, favourite, favourite book when I was growing up. It got this for my birthday when I turned 5 and read it so many times over the years that it fell apart. It doesn't have a powerful message, but it is fun and engaging. I love the pictures...there is a subplot happening in the illustrations. The story is about a man who is very proud of his new top hat and searches EVERYWHERE for it when he loses it. He ends up with a new friend and his hat.

What are your favourites?

***************My GIVEAWAY ends at midnight tonight...****************