Friday, January 6, 2012

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

6 comments:

Stacy S. Jensen said...

Some I've heard and read. Others will be added to my library list. I'm interested to see the Zombie in Love book.

tammi sauer said...

Great list, Rob!

(And thanks for including Mostly Monsterly and Mr. Duck Means Business.) :)

Jennifer R said...

My favorites are on your list and now I have more to add to my to-read list. Thanks!

Rob Sanders said...

My apologies for spelling Kelly DiPucchio's first name incorrectly in the list. (Thanks to Lisa Wheeler for the correction.)

Karen Kaufman Orloff said...

Rob -- Thanks so much for including my book, "Talk, Oscar, Please!" on your list. I'm humbled... :)

Rob Sanders said...

You're welcome, Karen!