Sarah Mackenzie, author and founder of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, says that we should read a picture book every day as kids grow up, even when they’re teenagers!

If this sounds odd to you, listen to the podcast to learn how big kids, bigger kids, and adults benefit from picture books.

Read-alouds are unanimously a favorite part of our homeschool days. When I heard Mackenzie’s challenge to continue reading picture books, I almost felt like we were taking a little step backwards. After reading Johnny Tremain and The Witch of Blackbird Pond, was I really going to sit my little scholars down to read picture books? *Note: Our youngest is not quite 5, so we definitely hadn’t stopped reading picture books, but with the bigger kids, we were definitely spending more time with chapter books than say, Curious George.

So for the past few months, we’ve still read chapter books and more advanced texts, but we’ve also been reading illustrated children’s books….and my kids love it! The moral of the stories is learned in one short reading session, and it connects us as a family in less time than it takes to read a chapter of a long book. There really isn’t a downside.

We’ve read so many beautiful children’s books lately, and recently we left the library with a stack of ocean related books with amazing illustrations. Since we enjoyed them so much, here’s the list for you to enjoy with your family, too!

Following Papa’s Song by Gianna Marino has such lovely illustrations and emphasizes a father’s love and protection.

Turtle Bay by Saviour Pirotta and Nilesh Mistry teaches readers not to assume that a person is weird, even if he does sweep the beach with a broom. Eventually the village children see that he’s making the beach safe for sea turtles to lay their eggs – this is a wonderful tale to bridge a generational gap.

Always Remember by Cece Meng and Jago has incredibly beautiful illustrations and inspires readers to create a lifetime of good works. *My personal favorite in this list*

Water Beds, Sleeping in the Ocean, by Gail Langer Karwoski and Connie McLennan is a sweet bedtime story with wonderful illustrations that shows kids how various sea creatures sleep.

Trapped! A Whale’s Rescue by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor tells a true rescue story with heart-stirring paintings.

Comment below to share illustrated books that your family loves!