5 Picture Books We Wish We Could Live In (Or at Least Visit)

Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd
Goodnight Moon gave me one of the most satisfying and visceral reading experiences I can remember. Even though it’s been years since I have personally opened this book, I can still recall the first line, “In the great green room, there was a telephone, and a red balloon…” and see Clement Hurd’s simple yet perfectly drawn green, yellow, and red room as though I am there myself. Curl up by the fire near the two little kittens and the toy house, have a spoonful of mush, and get cozy.

The Berenstain Bears: When I Grow Up By Mike Berenstain 
I think it must have been after reading my first Berenstain Bears book, that I became obsessed with getting my own treehouse. I would draw elaborate architectural plans on the backs of envelopes and paper restaurant placemats, but sadly, the closest I came was the pages of one of these delightful books. So if you can’t have your own castle in the trees, the one inhabited by these adorable bears “down a sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country” would be the most fun one to visit.

Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans
Okay, so I wouldn’t want to end up in a French hospital getting my appendix out like our brave, “Pooh-pooh”-ing protagonist Madeline, but being a kid in “an old house in Paris that was covered in vines” sounds fabulous! Who wouldn’t want to visit the City of Lights? And with these darling illustrations, your little one can almost pretend to be one of the “twelve little children in two straight lines.” Grab a pain au chocolat and dig in to this classic book.

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
For any kid who has ever been sent to bed without dinner, this book inspired many daydreams of traveling by boat to the land where the Wild Things are. How much fun would it be to let your inner Max run wild amid these crazy creatures, where he or she could swing from trees and vines, and “let the wild rumpus start!” And, best of all, still make it home in time for a hot supper.

Eloise, by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight
As a kid who grew up counting down the days when I could move to NYC, living like Eloise in the Plaza Hotel has always been my ultimate fantasy. And clearly I am not alone in this delicious daydream, as the hotel itself is now a bit of a shrine to this beloved children’s book. I highly recommend reading it, and then turning fiction into reality by having high tea at this iconic hotel on your next visit to the Big Apple. But, as our spunky protagonist would insist, just don’t be boring, darling.
What picture book settings would you love to visit?