31 Days, 31 Lists: 2018 Nonfiction Picture Books
At last! It’s finally time to list the last Top Five lists of the year. This is the first of the biggies, my friends. These are the picture book nonfiction titles that truly stole my heart in 2018. The cream of the crop. The apples of my eye. The metaphors in my aphorisms.
Please bear in mind that you will see a bit of duplication on this list from the previous ones. While the other lists have broken my reading list down into different categories, these are the books that, all told, I truly believe no library (or, on occasion, bookstore) should be without. So what I shall do is summarize those that haven’t shown up on other lists. For the rest, I’ll link to the lists where you can find their different definitions.
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2018 Nonfiction Picture Books
All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem With Stuff by Meghan McCarthy
As seen on the list: American History
Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace, ill. Bryan Collier
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs by Kate Messner, ill. Matthew Forsythe
As seen on the lists: Unique Biographies & Science & Nature Books
The Diamond and the Boy: The Creation of Diamonds & the Life of H. Tracy Hall by Hannah Holt, ill. Jay Fleck
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak, ill. Julian Frost, photographs by Linnea Rundgren
As seen on the lists: Fabulous Photography & Fictionalized Nonfiction & Science & Nature Books
Drawn from Nature by Helen Ahpornsiri
As seen on the lists CaldeNotts & Science & Nature Books
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
Technically it now occurs to me that this book should have appeared on the Unique Biographies list yesterday. And yet, this isn’t really a biography. It is, if anything, an autobiographical tale. You won’t find a timeline or anything. Instead. Yuyi tells the tale of her arrival in America and what followed with a deep and abiding sense of respect for literature, libraries, and librarians. The book can’t be categorized or slotted into a little box like so many of the other books on the list today. This is what makes it unique. This is what makes it stand out. And this is what will make it memorable for years to come.
Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty, ill. David Lutchfield
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
Everything & Everywhere: A Fact-Filled Adventure for Curious Globe Trotters by Marc Martin
Clutter. I’m not usually a fan. If the design of any individual page in a children’s book looks too cluttered to me, I start backing up slowly, surreptitiously glancing towards the exits. I think it took a good ten pages for Martin’s book here to win me over. Each two-page spread is a different location on Earth. I saw that and immediately flipped to NYC. I lived there for eleven years so I wanted to see how this fellow made it look. Doggone spread blew me away, it was so visually stimulating, accurate, and gorgeous. And just like that *snap!* I was hooked. Kids will be too, at least the expository nonfiction types.
Eye Spy: Wild Ways Animals See the World by Guillaume Duprat
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
The Eye That Never Sleeps: How Detective Pinkerton Saved President Lincoln by Marissa Moss, ill. Jeremy Holmes
As seen on the lists: American History & Unique Biographies
The Girl With a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague by Julia Finley Mosca, ill. Daniel Rieley
As seen on the lists Math Books for Kids & Unique Biographies
Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Kinew, ill. Joe Morse
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Hey-Ho, to Mars We’ll Go! by Susan Lendroth, ill. Bob Kolar
As seen on the lists: Picture Book Readalouds & Rhyming Picture Books & Fictionalized Nonfiction & Science & Nature Books
The Honeybee by Kirsten Hall, ill. Isabelle Arsenault
As seen on the lists: Rhyming Picture Books & Science & Nature Books
Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin, ill. James Rey Sanchez
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles by Patricia Valdez, ill. Felicita Sala
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out for Women’s Rights by Kate Hannigan, ill. Alison Jay
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Look at the Weather by Britta Teckentrup, translated by Shelley Tanaka
As seen on the lists: CaldeNotts & Science & Nature Books
Lovely Beasts: The Surprising Truth by Kate Gardner, ill. Heidi Smith
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, ill. Júlia Sardà
As seen on the lists: CaldeNotts & Unique Biographies
The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel
As seen on the lists: Oddest Books of the Year
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
As seen on the list: Books with a Message
Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakeable Mathematician Sophie Germain by Cheryl Bardoe, ill. Barbara McClintock
As seen on the lists: Math Books for Kids & Unique Biographies
Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock, ill. Katherine Roy
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone, ill. Steven Salerno
As seen on the lists: Math Books for Kids & American History
Paul Writes (A Letter) by Chris Raschka
As seen on the list: Books with a Message
Picturing America: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art by Hudson Talbott
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Red Sky at Night by Elly MacKay
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art by Barb Rosenstock, ill. Claire A. Nivola
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Snails Are Just My Speed! by Kevin McCloskey
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
Sports Are Fantastic Fun! by Ole Könnecke
Imagine a book that combines the energy and attitude of a Richard Scarry creation with an odd, European love of sports. That’s what you get in this kooky but wildly enthusiastic celebration of physical games. Part of what I love so much about the book is, in fact, the European nature of the games featured. And mostly this isn’t a problem, except in one instance. American baseball is not included at all. Aside from that, the book’s a pip, and considering the lack of sports-related children’s book titles every year, I think it’s a necessary purchase for any library out there.
Stinkiest! 20 Smelly Animals by Steve Jenkins
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story by Marc Tyler Nobleman, ill. Melissa Iwai
Arg! I’m kicking myself. This book, by all rights, should have been included in the American History list round-up. As it stands, it’s one of the most interesting titles of the year. Are you aware that the American mainland was bombed by a Japanese plane during WWII? Nobleman covers a fascinating history of the man that performed the bombing (where no one was hurt), his subsequent feelings, and the American people that reached out to him and befriended him long after the war. It’s a tale of forgiveness, and not just about forgiving your enemy, but also when it comes to forgiving yourself. Beautifully illustrated, and beautifully told.
This Is the Nest That Robin Built by Denise Fleming
As seen on the lists: Picture Book Readalouds & Rhyming Picture Books & Science & Nature Books
Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall’s Life and Art by Barb Rosenstock, ill. Mary Grandpré
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow by Jan Thornhill
As see on the list: Science & Nature Books
The Truth About Bears by Maxwell Eaton III
As seen on the lists: Older Funny Books & Science & Nature Books
The Truth About Dolphins by Maxwell Eaton III
As seen on the lists: Older Funny Books & Science & Nature Books
The Truth About Elephants by Maxwell Eaton III
As seen on the lists: Older Funny Books & Science & Nature Books
The Truth About Hippos by Maxwell Eaton III
As seen on the lists: Older Funny Books & Science & Nature Books
Warbler Wave by April Pulley Sayre with Jeff Sayre
As seen on the lists: Fabulous Photography & Science & Nature Books
Water Land: Land and Water Forms Around the World by Christy Hale
As seen on the list: Science & Nature Books
When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael Mahin, ill. Jose Ramirez
As seen on the list: Unique Biographies
Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!
December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups
December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations
December 3 – Wordless Picture Books
December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds
December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books
December 6 – Alphabet Books
December 7 – Funny Picture Books
December 8 – CaldeNotts
December 9 – Picture Book Reprints
December 10 – Math Books for Kids
December 11 – Bilingual Books
December 12 – Translated Picture Books
December 13 – Books with a Message
December 14 – Fabulous Photography
December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales
December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year
December 17 – Poetry Books
December 18 – Easy Books
December 19 – Early Chapter Books
December 20 – Comics for Kids
December 21 – Older Funny Books
December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction
December 23 – American History
December 24 – Science & Nature Books
December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books
December 26 – Unique Biographies
December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books
December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books
December 29 – Fiction Reprints
December 30 – Middle Grade Novels
December 31 – Picture Books
Filed under: 31 Days 31 Lists, Best Books of 2018
About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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In spite of the fact that Thirty Minutes Over Oregon has beautiful illustrations and an engaging text, I had serious problems with it as history. Although no one was hurt in the attempted bombing, that does not alter the fact that fascist militarists in Japan inflicted horrendous atrocities throughout Asia and in the West. Only two years later, several people, including children, were killed in Oregon by a successful Japanese balloon incendiary device. Why is this story more heartwarming because of the random circumstance of the bomber’s failure to kill anyone?
I am also troubled by the fact that, as tragic events recede into the past, it becomes more tempting to use them as a facile lesson in forgiveness. This book has many examples of promoting reconciliation at the expense of the truth.
The book also normalizes ritual suicide by failing to place it in an accurate historical context, or maybe simply because the author was hesitant to condemn any aspect of Japanese culture, even one so destructive.
https://imaginaryelevators.blog/2018/11/19/flying-over-the-truth-a-sadly-misleading-story-of-world-war-ii/