Picture This! Best Picture Books of the Year

Week of January 1, 2012: An Interview with Maria Modugno

Friday, January 6—Picture This! Best Picture Books of the Year

Again this year friends and readers of Picture This! have submitted their favorite picture books of the past year. I’ll admit a few titles on the list are from 2010, but I decided to include them since some of the titles were released late in the year and most award-winning books from 2011 were actually published in 2010. The list includes fiction, non-fiction, interactive books, poetry, and more.

As you read through the list, look for favorite authors and illustrators, look for names that recur time and time again, and look for the publishers of your favorite picture books. Then use the list of books as a reading list for the new year. I’ve gifted myself with a few of the titles and have enjoyed every minute of reading them. I hope you’ll find some new favorites, too!

Picture This! Best Picture Books of 2011

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

By Phillip C. Stead

Illustrated by Erin Stead

© 2010, Roaring Brook Press

Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade

Written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

© 2011, Houghton Mifflin

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake

By Michael Kaplan

Illustrated by Stephane Jorisch

© 2011, Dutton

Blackout

Written and illustrated by John Rocco

© 2011, Disney/Hyperion

The Boss Baby

Written and illustrated by Marla Frazee

© 2010, Beach Lane Books

Cloudette

Written and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

© 2011, Henry Holt and Co.

Dave the Potter

By Laban Carrick Hill

Illustrated by Bryan Collier

© 2010, Little, Brown Books

Dino-Basketball

By Lisa Wheeler

Illustrated by Barry Gott

© 2011, Lerner Publishing Group

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow?

By Susan Shea

Illustrated by Tom Slaughter

© 2011, Blue Apple Books

E-mergency

Written and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld  with Ezra Fields-Meyer

© 2011, Chronicle Books

Earth to Clunk

By Pam Smallcomb

Illustrated by Joe Berger

© 2011, Dial

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems

By Kristine O’Connell George

Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

© 2011, Clarion Books

The Friendship Wish

Written and illustrated by Elisa Kleven

© 2011, Penguin

Gift of the Magpie

Written and illustrated by Janeen Mason

© 2011, Pelican Publishing

Goldie and the Three Hares

By Margie Palatini

Illustrated by Jack E. Davis

© 2011, Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

By Sherry Duskey Rinker

Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

© 2011, Chronicle Books

Grandpa Green

Written and illustrated by Lane Smith

© 2011, Roaring Brook Press

Hogg, Hogg, & Hog

Written and illustrated by Margie Palatini

© 2011, Simon & Schuster

Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator

Written and illustrated by Mo Willems

© 2011, HarperCollins

I Want My Hat Back

Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen

© 2011, Candlewick

I Am the Book

Compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Yayo

© 2011, Holiday House

I’m Here

Written and illustrated by Peter Reynolds

© 2011, Atheneum

LMNO Peas

Written and illustrated by Keith Baker

© 2010, Beach Lane Books

Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea: A Fairly Fabricated Story of a Pair of Pants

By Tony Johnston

Illustrated by Stacy Innerst

© 2011, Harcourt

Light Up the Night

By Jean Reidy

Illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

© 2011, Disney/Hyperion

The Little Bitty Bakery

By Leslie Muir

Illustrated by Betsy Lewin

© 2011, Disney/Hyperion

Me . . . Jane

Written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell

© 2011, Little, Brown Books

Mostly Monsterly

By Tammi Sauer

Illustrated by Scott Magoon

© 2011, Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster

Mr. Duck Means Business

By Tammi Sauer

Illustrated by Jeff Mack

© 2011, Simon & Schuster

My Name Is Elizabeth

By Annika Dunklee

Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

© 2011, Kids Can Press

Never Forgotten

By Patricia C. McKissack

Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillion

© 2011, Random House

Neville

By Norton Juster

Illustrated by G. Brian Karas

© 2011, Random House

Over and Under the Snow

By Kate Messner

Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

© 2011, Chronicle Books

Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

Illustrated by Salley Mavor

© 2010, Houghton Mifflin

Press Here

Written and illustrated by Herve Tullet

© 2011, Chronicle Books

Prudence Wants a Pet

By Cathleen Daly

Illustrated by Stephen Michael King

© 2011, Roaring Brook

The Quiet Book

By Deborah Underwood

Illustrated by Renata Liwska

© 2010, Houghton MIfflin

Samantha on a Roll

By Linda Ashman

Illustrated by Christine Davenier

© 2011, FSG/Ferguson

Scrawny Cat

By Phyllis Root

Illustrated by Alison Friend

© 2011, Candlewick Press

Shark vs. Train

Written by Chris Barton

Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

© 2010, Little, Brown Books

Small Saul

Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

© 2011, Kids Can

Spinster Goose: Twisted Rhymes for Naughty Children

By Lisa Wheeler

Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

© 2011, Atheneum

Stars

By Mary Lyn Ray

Illustrated by Marla Frazee

© 2011, Beach Lane Books

Stuck

Written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

© 2011, Philomel Books

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

By Joyce Sidman

Illustrated by Beth Krommes

© 2011, Houghton Mifflin

Talk, Oscar, Please

By Karen Kaufman Orloff

Illustrated by Tim Bowers

© 2011, Sterling Publishing

This Plus That: Life’s Little Equations

By Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Illustrated by Jen Corace

© 2011, HarperCollins

We’re In a Book

Written and illustrated by Mo Willems

© 2010, Disney/Hyperion

When a Dragon Moves In

By Jodi Moore

Illustrated by Howard McWilliam

© 2011, Flashlight/IPG

Zombie in Love

By Keli DiPucchio

Illustrated by Scott Campbell

© 2011, Atheneum