What one person might consider “odd” could easily be another’s cup of tea. It’s important, then, to clarify that I don’t see “odd” as a bad thing at all. It’s healthy for a kid to see a book written for their age level that’s outside the norm and dares to get a little bit freaky.Here then, are the 2018 titles that dared to be strange in some way. May they inspire others in the future!
Interestingly, 2018 turned out to be a very strong year for folktales, fairy tales, and religious stories. Why? Well, look closely and you’ll see that this is nothing so much as a gathering of small publishers. It’s like I always say. The more the big guys consolidate, the more cracks and fissures remain for the little folks to sneak through. Here then are the titles published in 2018 that really stood out and shone:
Every year I try to keep an eye out for any children’s book that gives ample attention to photographs in some way. Thanks to advances in technology and printing, it’s never been easier to make books with photographic images. Yet despite this, few come out. Today’s list is a small one, but I’m grateful that each and every single one of these books exists.
The earliest American picture books had only one goal: To provide some form of moral instruction. These days books with clear messages are exceedingly common. The ones that do it well? Much rarer. Here are the 2018 titles that knew what they were doing this year.
They come and they go into our bookstores and libraries and out again without a whisper of awards or significant praise. Yet the true mark of whether or not you are opening up your child to the world is to show them books made internationally. Today we celebrate translations. Even the weird ones. I take that back. ESPECIALLY the weird ones!
Whether a book contains two languages on the page, was published simultaneously in another language, or was published in a new language in a subsequent year, it’s time to give bilingual books their due. Whenever possible I try to credit the translators, but it can be tricky sometimes. In any case, here are some truly beautiful and inventive books.
“It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream.” Kate and Betsy discuss a new Hanukkah classic. On that involves a lot of screaming, and a protagonist that (you guessed it) gets eaten.
From shapes to biographies of mathematicians to novels unafraid to incorporate math into the plot (no mean feat, pardon the pun), here are the stand out mathy titles of 2018.
What convinces a publisher to bring a picture book back into print? It could be a popular creator, a timely title, librarian/bookseller love, or a combination of all these factors. One thing’s for certain. 2018 yielded a fabulous crop of oldies but goodies.
Definition: A “Calde-nott” is an illustrated book for children that is, for one reason or another, ineligible for consideration as a true Caldecott Award contender. Today we pay tribute to the beautiful books from beyond our borders.
This might be my favorite picture book list of the 31 Days, 31 Books countdown. How could it not be? Get ready for titles that’ll have the small fry howling in the aisles.
Every year we see alphabet books that inform, instruct, and entertain. For today’s list, these are the 2018 titles that really took the ball and ran with it.
Oh, Dr. Seuss, what hath thou wrought? Up and coming children’s authors everywhere should be taught one very important lesson before they set fingers to keyboards: Rhyming is a privilege. Not a right. And, quite frankly, not everyone is good at it. There is no pain quite like the pain a librarian feels when they […]
Until today the lists that I’ve produced this month haven’t been all that subjective. No one can argue that a pop-up is a pop-up or a board book a board book. A book has no words? Then it’s wordless. Pretty cut and dried. Readalouds are a different kettle of fish altogether. What works for me […]
Its use is universal but its respect, nil. Consider the multiple uses of the wordless picture book and its capabilities. How else can you make all children love reading, regardless of their comfort with words? Wordless picture books are pooh-poohed in the same way as comic books. Sequential art is considered, by some, a lower […]
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