Author
Paul Galdone
3 books here

Anatole and the Cat
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 380L · 1957
A gentle, distinctly French fable about an unlikely friendship; Galdone's watercolors are warm and the conflict—while real—resolves with genuine tenderness.

The Gingerbread Boy
Picture book · ages 3–8 · 320L · 1975
Galdone's illustrations are the real draw — expressive and dynamic — but the ending (the fox eats the gingerbread boy) is genuinely dark for the very young, so calibrate to your kid's tolerance for consequences.
Anatole
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 530L · 1990
A gentle, earnest fable about a mouse who turns himself into a force for good; Galdone's warm watercolors carry the slight repetition, and kids get a real problem-solution arc.