The Best Picture Books about Birthdays
Giving picture books as a birthday present is a time-honored tradition in many households, and for multiple good reasons. Books bring a lot of joy to kids, and they encourage reading and storytelling at the same time. And quite often there’s a good deal of nostalgia attached to a book that’s given as a gift as well. If you give a child a wonderful book they don’t have, there’s a good chance they’ll remember the gift forever.
Now, of course, there are no rules for what kind of books to give on birthdays. On Christmas we often open several new Christmas books, and on Halloween we typically do the same - but for birthdays all bets are typically off. It’s simply hard to go wrong with a good book of any genre. But if you’re looking to celebrate the occasion with something particularly birthday-ey, we’ve gathered up our definitive list of the best picture books about birthdays just for you.
So if you’re on the hunt for good birthday gift, and you’re looking to really stick to the theme, this is the list for you. And if you’re a teacher, it’s also a nice tradition to read any of these fantastic books on days that your students have birthdays. Luckily they’re all entertaining enough to bring joy to any personal classroom or home library at any time of year as well.
These are also fantastic books to read with your kids on their birthday, or leading up to the big day as well. So reserve a handful of them at your local library the next time their birthday month rolls around and prepare in style. Many of them do a great job at capturing the excitement and the anticipation of that special day, and it can be just as much fun hyping up their big day the same way we do other major holidays.
There’s a healthy mix of classics and new releases on this particular list - some of my own childhood favorites as well as new favorites of my two children. And, as always, simply being on this list suggests that these are some of our favorite picture books of all time. A lot of care goes into our picks, and we only recommend books that our family loves. So hopefully it will help you find some new birthday favorites!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. Clicking on these links will lead you to view the books’ listings on websites like Amazon or IndieBound.
13. Happy Birthday to You!
Written and Illustrated by Dr. Seuss
You know what you’re getting with classic Dr. Seuss. It’s wacky, it’s long, it’s full of creative nonsense rhymes, and it’s so off-the-wall it’s hard to believe someone actually imagined it. With Happy Birthday to You!, I’d argue we might have found Dr. Seuss’ most off-the-wall book of them all.
In some ways I think that Dr. Seuss’ books don’t pack the same punch when there isn’t a heartfelt allegory behind it like with The Lorax or The Butter Battle Book. And the Great Birthday Bird is never going to be as famous or beloved as the Cat in the Hat. But it’s impossible to deny his creativity, and Happy Birthday to You! has it in spades.
Kids will love the nonsense rhymes just as much as ever while the Great Birthday Bird talks about all of his zany birthday plans. And don’t underestimate how monumentally important the illustrations are for the Dr. Seuss experience. His worlds are unrivaled in imagination.
12. Bernice Gets Carried Away
Written and Illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison
The highlight of this book for me is the illustrations. The detail is remarkable - and simultaneously hard to explain. It’s almost like photo-realistic cartoons, if that’s even a thing. What this leads to is incredibly expressive faces and eyes on these woodland creatures, and it truly is very beautiful.
The story itself centers around Bernice not having a great day. Everything at this birthday party seems to be going wrong for her, and it’s all feeling a bit unfair. The way things are going she just knows that she’s going to be the only one who doesn’t get a balloon, so she rushes to the front and grabs all of them - but she’s so small that they carry her away. There are some great lessons about feelings and kindness to be found in the book, and it’s such a pleasure to look at.
11. Carl’s Birthday
Written and Illustrated by Alexandra Day
I’m a big fan of Alexandra Day - with a big soft spot for Good Dog, Carl and the illustrations in The Teddy Bear’s Picnic. And the classic wordless picture Good Dog, Carl was so successful it led to a several spin-offs as well. What you end up with is more of the same Carl and baby escapades that you had in the original, and that’s a good thing.
In Carl’s Birthday, Carl and the baby are supposed to be next door while their mom is secretly preparing for his birthday party. But they sneak back into the house and get into trouble and eat some food and check out the presents - and run back over to the other house before they’re caught. The fun of these books is that they are wordless, and the shenanigans they get into are much like the classic The Snowman. And it’s fun to ask your little ones to help narrate and figure out what these two troublemakers are up to.
10. Happy Birthday, Moon
Written and Illustrated by Frank Asch
Moonbear is just adorable. And this particular adventure is very sweet. It has a classic mix-up storyline and an elegant charm to the whole plot that brings to my mind classics like Frog and Toad. I just love the way the plot develops in this story, with Bear wanting to get a birthday present for the moon, and convincing himself that they have this entire give and take together.
In actuality, Bear is only hearing everything he says echoed back to him when he talks to the moon. But the dialogue is written so well that it could certainly seem that the moon was talking back. It’s truly a very sweet story, and kids definitely laugh a lot about the misunderstandings in the book. And it’s really hard not to love this thoughtful little guy.
9. The Birthday
Written and Illustrated by Hans Fischer
This is a beautiful classic picture book from Switzerland in 1947 that was very recently republished, and it’s very much worth looking up if you haven’t read it before. You simply don’t get illustrations like this anymore. And you definitely don’t get dogs accidentally cutting themselves a little bit with an axe anymore. But that’s what makes it so remarkably charming.
In some ways the drawings come across as remarkably detailed sketches, and it adds a lot of character to the book. And it makes it feel very quirky too. I love the story about the farm animals wanting to do something special for their owner on her birthday, and I particularly love the thoughtful ideas they come up with. They create a little bit of chaos but ultimately it’s a very heartwarming book - and did I mention how charming the whole thing is?
8. Birthday Monsters!
Written and Illustrated by Sandra Boynton
Who doesn’t love Sandra Boynton’s books? If you haven’t read at least 20 of these board books to your babies by now I don’t know what you’ve been doing with your time. And if you’re familiar with her books you know what you’re in for. You’re going to see some of your favorite familiar monsters and animals characters, and you’re going to get some rhyming that your kids are going to absolutely love.
All of these Sandra Boynton books really grew on me a lot over the years. There’s a lot to be said for memorizing stories and our kids have heard these books so many times they can recite them while we’re reading. This time around, the story features birthday monsters that come in and bring a bit too much energy to the party, but by the end I’m sure you can imagine things turn out pretty well.
7. I Got You a Present!
Written by Mike Erskine-Kellie & Susan McLennan and Illustrated by Cale Atkinson
I Got You a Present! is a new release from first time picture book authors Mike Erskine-Kellie and Susan McLennan, and it’s illustrated by one of our very favorite illustrators - Cale Atkinson. It was recently featured on Dad’s Bookshelf, because it has really gotten our kids laughing a lot. This duck is funny.
What I like about this book is that the main character has a perfect combination of thoughtfulness and selfishness. And the selfishness side reminds me a lot of Daffy Duck. In this book, the main character is telling a string of increasingly improbable stories explaining why he didn’t bring a birthday present to the party. I can definitely see Daffy going through the trouble of making up elaborate stories to save face.
Of course I could be interpreting the whole thing wrong. Perhaps the duck truly did have a rocket ship in hand, but then he gave it so some friendly martians on his way to the party. But even if you believe the duck’s wild stories, it’s still fun either way. And I particularly like the celebration of storytelling that he arrives at by the end of the book.
6. Let’s Have a Dog Party!
Written and Illustrated by Mikela Prevost
I like Let’s Have a Dog Party! a lot, because it’s an excellent lesson in empathy. In fact, I once wrote a featured article about using this great book to teach empathy to kids. It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for lessons in kindness and empathy, and when they’re wrapped in with a good story and beautiful book pictures, it’s hard not to love the result.
Frank the dog is having a birthday party, and Kate throws him a huge party with lots of singing and dancing and games and loud noises. Frank, however, likes quiet naps on his favorite rug. It takes a little while for Kate to figure out that this party for Frank isn’t really for Frank. It’s a very sad and sweet moment when she finds Frank hiding in the closet, and it’s easy to see how exposure to this book will help kids think about others’ feelings.
5. Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish
Written by Beth Ferry and Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Books that are organized around lists or rules tend to have a really enjoyable structure, and our kids tend to really love them. Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish is no different, and it’s incredible how they fleshed out something as simple as the birthday wish and built an entire mythos around it.
The rules of the birthday wish are quite clever, and often very funny. And the humor comes from the way that the rules are fleshed out - the many funny asides along the way. What you end up with is kind of the ultimate birthday book - like a birthday handbook. And the illustrations are soft and colorful and very endearing. There’s no doubt this is going to be a favorite birthday book for a very long time.
Make sure to check out our featured article for a much closer look at this fun book.
4. Eeyore Has a Birthday
Written by A. A. Milne and Illustrated by E. H. Shepard
This is one of those classics where you are going to have many versions to choose from. Eeyore Has a Birthday is one of the many famous scenes from Winnie the Pooh that is often printed in a stand-alone version. You can find versions that are unabridged or significantly abridged - and some with more pictures than others. Personally I prefer the unabridged version, because this is by far my favorite section of the Winnie the Pooh books.
Eeyore has always been my favorite character, and there’s no better example of how hilarious he is than when he’s talking to Pooh about everyone forgetting his birthday. The dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny, and I’m always shocked when I read it again. Winnie the Pooh continuously proves to be one of the funniest books ever written, and this particular section is a big reason why.
3. Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
Written by Charlotte Zolotow and Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present is a Caldecott Honor book from 1962, and it features a powerhouse pairing of Charlotte Zolotow and Maurice Sendak. It’s a simple concept - a girl asking for help choosing a present for her mom - but one that’s still surrounded in mystery and full of character.
Of course the illustrations by Maurice Sendak are masterful, and they’ll all look beautiful hanging on the wall. And their beauty and detail also provide the book with a powerful sense of place. Mr. Rabbit is certainly quite the mysterious creature, and it’s worth wondering why the little girl was seeking his help.
The book also features very well-crafted repetition, and it’s structured in a way to really keep the attention of children and build up a little bit of expectation in the dialogue. And I think Mr. Rabbit is hilarious too. His suggestions can be very funny and will definitely get kids laughing out loud.
2. When’s My Birthday?
Written by Julie Fogliano and Illustrated by Christian Robinson
Julie Fogliano has masterfully captured the anticipation that children feel leading up to their birthday, and the illustrations of Christian Robinson, which never cease to amaze me, make this picture book a true birthday classic. This is an absolutely beautiful book that perfectly encapsulates the excitement of an impending birthday - that many of us forget feeling.
When I read When’s My Birthday?, it’s hard not read it in the voice of our daughter. She talks about her birthday all year long - including what activities there are going to be and who she is going to invite (everybody). And I particularly like the exclusion of capital letters in the book, because it feels like a long, excited run-on sentence pouring from a child’s mouth.
1. A Birthday for Frances
Written by Russell Hoban and Illustrated by Lillian Hoban
If Frances fits into a genre, there’s a good chance she’s going to top the list. It’s no secret how big of a fan I am of Russell Hoban’s Frances books. I just have to sit back and marvel at the genius of the dialogue in these books, and A Birthday for Frances is no different. Hoban perfectly captures the combination of orneriness and kindness that so many kids have, and presents it to us in the most heartwarming and hilarious package.
Frances’ sister Gloria is having a birthday this time around, and Frances isn’t sure if she’s going to get her a present. She’s feeling a bit jealous that it isn’t her birthday, and she’s still a little mad that Gloria hid her shovel and pail last year. As always, brilliantly composed rhymes from Frances are a big part of the comedy here. And I just have to stand up and applaud how masterful and hilarious the dialogue is in this and all Frances books.
Do you have any big birthdays coming up? Have you read any of our favorite birthday picture books yet? Do you have a favorite that isn’t on our list? Let us know in the comments!
