11 Perfect Picture Books for Your May Birthday Kid

A Birthday for Bear, by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton
Not all kids look forward to celebrating their birthday with a big party, lots of guests, and plenty of fuss. Bear, who is the birthday boy in this easy reader, is a kindred spirit to those sensitive souls who’d never want an alarming surprise on their birthday. Instead, Bear prefers to spend the day cleaning his house thoroughly. But Bear’s dear friend Mouse doesn’t want to let Bear’s birthday pass without celebrating, so he arrives at the door with a card, a balloon, and a present. No matter how ingenious Mouse’s disguise, Bear turns him down each time. But as Mouse well knows, even the biggest party pooper can’t resist a delicious, homemade birthday cake!

Guinea Pig Party, by Holly Surplice
You know how you’re not supposed to let the pigeon drive the bus? Well, you’d be wise not to let the guinea pigs run your birthday party, as Holly Surplice’s funny counting book illustrates. While these guinea pigs suffer mishaps with pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, balloons, and party food, kids can count backwards from ten as each rodent exits the party—and then reappears when the birthday pig makes his wish.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
Michael Rosen, who served as the United Kingdom’s Children’s Laureate for two years, was born on May 7, 1946. He started his career producing children’s literacy shows for the BBC, and then began writing books for kids. His most famous is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, a tale perfect for a read-aloud about a father who leads his four children out to look for a bear, forging ahead through all sorts of challenging circumstances. And then when they actually find a bear, they must retrace their steps and rush back home.

If You Plant a Seed, by Kadir Nelson
Multi-talented, Los Angeles-based artist Kadir Nelson celebrates his 44th birthday on May 15. He’s won three NAACP Image Awards for his books, two Caldecott Honors, and even illustrated the cover art for Drake’s 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same. Nelson is best known for his artwork, but this picture book proves he’s a wonderful writer too. In this story, a rabbit and a mouse plant seeds together, and then eat the veggies that result. When hungry birds ask them to share, Nelson offers two different scenarios—greed that results in a garden-spoiling food fight, or generosity that allows the garden to flourish.

Piggy Bunny, by Rachel Vail and Jeremy Tankard
Jeremy Tankard, an illustrator known for the bold black outlines of the brightly-colored animals he draws in books such as Grumpy Bird, celebrates his birthday on May 21. Piggy Bunny is the perfect book for kids who feel misunderstood—and maybe didn’t get exactly what they wanted for their birthday! Liam the pig looks like all the other piglets, but in heart he knows he’s destined to become the Easter Bunny. Although Liam persists in choking down salad as a good rabbit should, his family tries to talk him out of his aspirations, until his wise grandma finally figures out how to make his dreams come true.

Days with Frog and Toad, by Arnold Lobel
Arnold Lobel, the author of the beloved Frog and Toad series, was born May 22, 1933. Celebrate your May birthday kid’s special day by reading the story “The Hat” in Days with Frog and Toad. In it, Frog gives Toad a hat for his birthday. Toad is delighted and determined to wear it. The only problem is the hat is so big, it falls down over his eyes and he trips over everything. Frog goes to some creative lengths to make his birthday present a success. “The Hat” is a good it’s-the-thought-that-counts parable to read after you kid receives a too-large, gaudy sweater from an aunt.

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, by Leo Lionni
Classic children’s book author Leo Lionni was born May 6, 1910. This story, illustrated in Lionni’s characteristic cut-paper collages, tells the story of Alexander, an unwelcome house mouse, who strikes up a friendship with Willy, a child’s wind-up toy mouse. While at first it seems that Willy is the lucky one—”cuddled and loved”—when the child’s birthday comes around, Willy is thrown out in favor of new toys. Read this story to your May birthday kid if you want them to contemplate cleaning out the toy box. Maybe with the help of a purple pebble and a magical lizard, those toys you de-clutter can become real.

The Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard
Margaret Wise Brown, of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny fame, was born May 23, 1910. In The Important Book, she contemplates the qualities of ordinary objects, including spoons, apples, and grass, and decides what’s the most important detail about each. “The important thing about rain is that it is wet,” she asserts. She writes “the most important thing about an apple is that it is round,” but is that really the most important quality—or is it that you can eat it? You and your birthday kid will have fun reading this on their most important day, and debating whether she chose the right quality to declare the most important.

Marisol McDonald and the Clash Bash, by Monica Brown and Sara Palacios
Does your birthday kid have trouble picking what birthday theme they’d like? This book shows that maybe they don’t have to settle on one choice. Its dynamic biracial protagonist loves to wear clothes that don’t match, pour orange juice on her cereal, and play with her dog named Kitty. For her birthday, all she wants is a visit from her grandmother who lives in Peru. That’s a complicated proposition, but Mami can make sure that she can have the birthday party she wants—a princess, soccer, unicorn, pirate party all mixed together.

When’s My Birthday?, by Julie Fogliano and Christian Robinson
Maybe your May birthday kid absolutely CAN’T WAIT ANY LONGER for her birthday! This is the book for her. Its protagonist asks repeatedly, “When’s my birthday? Where’s my birthday? How many days until my birthday?” Christian Robinson’s delightful collage and paint illustrations convey the energy of a child who is excited by her upcoming birthday and the joy when it arrives at last and she can celebrate with friends under a big green tree.

Flower Garden, by Eve Bunting
If April showers brought May flowers where you live, you might be planning a party in the garden for your birthday kid. But if you live in an urban apartment, this story shows how a little girl can still plant her own garden. “Garden in a window box/High above the street,” Eve Bunting writes, “Where butterflies can stop and rest/and ladybugs can meet.” The girl intends the window box as a birthday surprise for her mother—and it looks like a surefire hit.