Keep Children’s Literature Weird. There. There’s your rallying cry for the day. Now Travis Jonker has been nice and consistent on this front, producing his lists of The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books every year since 2012. You’re bound to see some overlap with this list, but I’ve a couple of my own particular favorites […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Fifteen: 2017 Fairy Tales / Folktales
December 15, 2017 by
Ah! One of my favorite lists. Not a long one, to be sure, but beloved. As I’m sure you’ve heard me say far too many times, in the history of children’s librarianship there was once a plethora of folktales and fairytales published every single year. Some of them were great, some them were hugely problematic, […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Fourteen – 2017 Fabulous Photography
December 14, 2017 by
Well, folks, I’m sick. Sick as a dog. Sick as a dog on a log in a bog (I think I’ve been writing up picture books too long). Fortunately, and by complete coincidence, today’s post is going to be an easy one. Folks that know me well are aware that there was a time when, […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Thirteen – 2017 Picture Books With a Message
December 13, 2017 by
Let’s have some fun defining our terms. What exactly do I mean when I say “books with a message”? Basically, I’m talking about books that wear their hearts on their sleeves. We all know that in their earliest form, when people were initially coming up with the idea of making literature for children, the primary […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Twelve – 2017 Translated Picture Books
December 12, 2017 by
Initially I think I was going to call this list “2017 Imports” but that was a bit on the vague side. And was I really going to include all the Australian, British, Irish, Canadian, etc. books I admired this year? Seems a bit much. No, let’s instead offer an homage to the delightful translations of […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Eleven – 2017 Bilingual Children’s Books
December 11, 2017 by
I wish I had kept better statistics over the course of my children’s librarian career. Maybe if I had I could give you a sense of whether or not the number of bilingual children’s books published in 2017 was higher or lower than normal. As it currently stands, I’m just pleased to see these books […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Ten – 2017 Math Picture Books
December 10, 2017 by
It’s almost unfair that I’m not including math for older readers on today’s list, but for that I think you’ll be best suited turning to the awesome Mathical Awards, given out each year. The Mathical Book Prize (given by a committee of math teachers, working mathematicians, and the occasional librarian like me) celebrates math in […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Nine – 2017 Picture Book Reprints
December 9, 2017 by
Reprints! I may as well call this the zombie list for all that they’re celebrated, but celebrated they should be. I am always truly delighted when a picture book rises from the out-of-print dead to engage and delight young readers once more. Steadily throughout the year I’ve kept track of some of the brighter stars […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Eight – 2017 CaldeNotts
December 8, 2017 by
They can’t win a darn thing, and that’s the truth. Sorta. Each year picture books are considered and assessed by the Caldecott committee to determine which titles are the “most distinguished” contributions to the field of children’s literature. And every year truly beautiful contenders will fall by the wayside, winning nothing. Why? Because when the […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Seven – 2017 Funny Picture Books
December 7, 2017 by
And now, what could arguably be considered our most subjective of lists. As I like to say when I’m on the road with Funny Girl, humor really changes from person to person. What makes me laugh isn’t necessarily going to be what makes you laugh and vice versa. Still, I have this thing about honoring […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Six – 2017 Alphabet Books
December 6, 2017 by
There’s always one. One sneaky little abecedarian delight that manages to elude my notice when I type up this list. This year it was almost The Little Red Cat, but I managed to remember it just in time. Still . . . I don’t trust myself. Someone’s not here. Can you figure out who it […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Five – 2017 Rhyming Picture Books
December 5, 2017 by
This year something struck me about the rhyming picture book crop that usually eludes my notice. I think it’s easy to assume that because a book rhymes, it’s automatically funny. But some of the books on today’s list, like The Road Home or even The Pomegranate Witch, dare to be touching. This begs the question […]
31 Days, 31 Lists: Day Three – 2017 Wordless Picture Books
December 3, 2017 by
You know what’s funny? Last year I fully intended to do a wordless picture book list, but wasn’t able to find enough books. This year I was going to do nursery rhymes, and then found a complete and utter lack of them. But wordless? Not a problem! Wordless appears to be back, to the point […]
HIC! by Anushka Ravishankar, ill. Christiane Pieper
November 24, 2017 by
HIC! By Anushka Ravishankar Illustrated by Christiane Pieper Tara Books $18.00 ISBN: 9789383145645 Ages 4-7 On shelves now Ladies and gentlemen I ask you, and I ask you truly, can you think of a more international childhood experience than the hiccups? Here we have an unwanted occurrence that comes to every nation in the world. […]
101 Great Books for Kids 2017 (Evanston Public Library Edition)
November 22, 2017 by
This week the “Best of” lists just started hopping out of the woodwork like fleas. On the one hand you have Kirkus, slowly releasing their lists in dribs and drabs, and on the other you have NYPL simultaneously dropping its YA and JUV lists with a great big thunk. I hear that even Chicago Public […]
Recent Comments