First published in 1982.īut Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra BoyntonĪ sweet, short rhyming tale of a shy hippoptamus who looks on as the animals play and is delighted when they welcome him into their fun. This classic bedtime story is just right for winding down the day as a joyful, silly group of animals scrub in the tub, brush and brush their teeth, and finally rock and rock and rock to sleep. This bestselling classic features a brave princess who rescues a very snooty and rather ungrateful prince! First published in 1981.Ĭan the zoo help one find the perfect pet? It’s certainly not a monkey, a lion, or even an elephant! A wonderful lift-the-flap book for toddlers and preschoolers.

With a snoring Mrs Bear, an excitable Baby Bear and a house full of tapping and dripping and ticking, peace is hard to come by – will Mr Bear ever get a decent night’s sleep? First published in 1980.Ī witty, rhyming picture book about Mr Magnolia who has a full and happy life except for one serious omission – a boot! How on earth can Mr Magnolia splash in the puddles with everyone else? First published in 1980. This frightfully funny Halloween classic tells the story of three skeletons – a big skeleton, a little skeleton and a dog skeleton – who venture out one night to find someone to scare, only to discover that everyone is in bed! Whatever will they do now? First published in 1980.Ī fabulous lift-the-flap adventure for toddlers, Spot the Dog has long been a much loved classic.

Why is everyone staring at Mrs Honey’s marvellous hat? First published in 1980. Want to go further back? For books published prior to the 1980s, check out our list of 50 Classic Picture Books and 20 Classic Chapter Books to Read Aloud With 5-8 Year Olds.ĥ5+ Best Children’s Books From the 80s and 90sĪs with all of the lists in our Best Books for Kids collection, each title in this list links to an Amazon and/or Book Depository page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find more information and reviews for titles you might not be personally familiar with. Who can even believe that some of these classic picture books are forty years old! The list includes many award winning titles, beloved and respected authors and books that have been read over and over again by subsequent generations of children from the same family – I loved sharing many of these with my own children.

As a long time picture book fan, I must admit that many of my all-time favourites even today were published in the 1980s-1990s! Which inspired me to put together this fabulous list of over fifty of the Best Children’s Books from the 80s and 90s.

Review the jungle book 1994