18 Picture Books With Twist Endings Kids Won’t See Coming

by Janssen Bradshaw

Is there anything better than a twist ending?

We’ve all had that moment where the last seconds of a movie takes us completely by surprise (The Sixth Sense, I’m looking at you!) or a book where at the last possible moment, the person you thought was good turns out to be the villain, or vice versa.

And picture books don’t want to be left out of the fun either!

We’ve collected some of our favorite books with twist endings to surprise and delight both you and your children.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2023.