MORE 'PICTURE-BOOKS' POSTS
A book that manages that impossible task of combining child friendliness (a kid will want to reread it) with good writing (an ADULT will want to reread it – never a given), and beautiful art.
If you think the process of creation is sometimes painful and collaborative and ultimately fun, this book is the first that I’ve ever seen to express that idea. You want to get to yes? Then you gotta slog through no.
Deft poetic language pairs with the resonant watercolors of Sydney Smith to create a book that is more than a memoir and more than conveying a message. This is pain, turned into art, and written for young children. Incomparable.
There are plenty of inspiring picture books out there for kids. Few understand their purpose as perfectly as this book does.
What if he asked people to rank not their top ten picture books of all time, but their ten favorite picture books of the last decade? That's right. Just the books published between the years of 2010-19. The results have been tabulated and now they are in.
I honestly think there’s a value in teaching kids the fact that the more you learn, the more you will realize just how much you do not know. That there’s always room for more knowledge. And Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy is a gorgeously wrought, simply written, smart story that does the work of engaging and informing kids alongside their ill-informed parents.
No series of rote facts, Overground Railroad puts you in the shoes of the ordinary people that had to leave everything and everyone they knew in search of a better life. Historical events like The Great Migration are vague. This book hands young readers not just specifics. It hands them people they can get to know and care about.
Taking a common hand rhyme and turning it into a story with a satisfying plot would be a difficult challenge for anyone but for Ms. Carmen Agra Deedy's Rita & Ralph's Rotten Day it’s a breeze. A marvelous addition to any storytime roster, no matter where you are.
Kids will love this book. Yeah, it’s a visual/literary masterpiece of picture book art and writing but that means bupkiss if you hand it to a kid, or read it aloud to a group, and they’re bored to tears. Precisely because Fogliano knows how to talk on a kid’s level, precisely because Tamaki has made her art so visually appealing.
Picture books are such a delight to read and discover. This year, I saw so many wonderful ones. As a result, this list is going to strike you as a tad on the longish side. Still and all, I honestly believe that every book listed here deserves its day in the sun.