These are books that my young kids, and crucially, I, like. They are beautiful and great. Either funny or wise or strange or contain a unique little world or all of the above, and they are well-crafted and made for kids. By made for kids I mean the creators understand and respect children, and have taken something they care about and shared it in a personal way. As opposed to say making some trite formulaic junk about the power of friendship or recycling or going to sleep because they think kids are morons, or mindlessly button mashing the What Kids Like™ keypad (magic/farts/dinosaurs/dogs/unicorns/princesses/secret powers/goo/yelling/etc), or making a lovingly designed wistful book for joyless self-involved grownups in the guise of a kids book.

First tier
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel
Umbra by Jordan Speer
Burglar Bill by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall and Barbara Cooney
Lily and Friends by Kevin Henkes
George and Martha by James Marshall
Little Mouse Helps Out by Riika Jantti

Second tier
Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak (but not the sequels)
The Rainbow Goblins by Ul de Rico
Pancakes for Findus by Sven Nordquist
Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse by George Mendoza and Doris Susan Smith
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle von Olfers
The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem
The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard
Zoom by Istvan Banyai