It’s picture day at school, but the day is anything but perfect in Picture Day Perfection, written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Santat.

This funny picture book, complete with vibrant images and hilarious “outtake photos” walks us through the narrator’s experience of picture day at his school. Despite his best intentions for a “perfect picture day” his plans are thwarted by everything from bedhead to a maple syrup incident to a paint splatter mess during art class!

Of course, the final picture perfectly captures what the narrator went through that day, complete with “my perfectly tangled hair, my perfectly rumpled shirt, my perfectly sticky face, my perfectly composed scowl, that boring background…” which he tops off with an unexpected smile. What does his mom say? “best picture ever.” Little M loves that part!

We are such big fans of Diesen’s Pout-Pout Fish books, they are bedtime favorites – if you haven’t read them yet, please do and let us know how you like them! Picture Day Perfection is a great choice for any little ones who enjoy having their picture taken!

Photos courtesy of Abrams Books for Young Readers.