I recently shared my list of the best 2020 books, including young adult, fiction, and nonfiction. Now I have to share my 10 favorite picture books from last year!
It was hard to get new releases for most of 2020, since every library but our tiny local one shut down for months. I’m hoping this list will help you find books you missed that are worth checking out!
Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel and Paola Escobar. I gushed about this on Instagram a few weeks ago when I finally got a copy of it from our library. Then I immediately bought it. It’s the true story of a trash collector in Colombia who rescued books from the curb and started a library for kids. I get chills even thinking about it. SUCH a great book about the importance of learning.
The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents by Kate Messner and Adam Rex. Since 2020 was an election year, I was looking for books I could read with my kids to help them understand our government. This one was SO good and packed full of facts. It tells lots of facts about former presidents and then connects them to future presidents. For example, it explains how many future presidents were alive when George Washington was president and connects all the presidents who were related to each other. The illustrations are great and help make this book even more interesting. I would actually recommend this to adults who want to brush up on history and don’t want a dry presidential biography. I learned so much.
A Girl Like You by Frank Murphy, Carla Murphy, and Kayla Harren. Remember when I cried reading the same author’s A Boy Like You when it came out in 2019? This one geared for girls is just as good. It’s empowering and teaches them to be brave and smart and not to apologize for everything (something I still do). I think what I love best about this, though, is the illustrations. They’re so inclusive and diverse, and one of the girls even has vitiligo. I have never seen that in a children’s book before. Go buy this one.
Sugar in Milk by Thrity Umrigar and Khoa Le. I love folk tales because of the culture and the lessons woven in, and this Persian story is just beautiful. It’s the story of a young immigrant girl feeling alone in America. Her aunt tells the tale of a king who refused to allow immigrants into his kingdom, holding a glass of milk to signify that the country was full. The immigrant leader then dissolved sugar in milk to show that new people add sweetness. I’m making the story sound trite, but the illustrations are stunning, and the overall message about diversity and kindness is wonderful.
The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney. This retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s original not only has gorgeous illustrations but a girl-power message about never giving up your voice. I love the African characters and the lack of romance (there’s no prince to fall in love with in this story). This is a fairy tale I’d be proud to have on my shelf. As I’m writing this, I’m realizing I probably need to buy a copy of this, too.
No Reading Aloud: The WORST Read-Aloud Book Ever by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter. If you love wordplay and puns, this is the book for you. It’s called “the worst read-aloud book ever” for a reason. Each page has sentences that sound the same when read aloud but have different meanings. “The hero had super vision” and “The hero had supervision” is just one example (in the second sentence, the “hero” is a sandwich). The illustrations make the differences clear. I laughed so hard reading this one with my kids and also learned several new words I’d never even heard before. Younger kids will not appreciate it, but I think it’s perfect for the 6-and-older crowd.
Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray and Zachariah OHora. This is the strangest concept for a bedtime book, and yet I loved it so much. It has a perfect rhyme scheme, and you learn about vegetables as they get tucked into the soil for the night. Zachariah OHora’s illustrations are colorful and cute, and the whole effect is soothing. My son just saw a picture of this book and asked if we could get it again from the library. Clearly they loved it as much as I did.
If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackall. One of my very favorite illustrators, Sophie Blackall always turns out gorgeous books. This one is both beautifully illustrated and written. She explains what happens if you come to earth, how you’ll meet lots of different people and may not get along with everyone. The book is full of diversity and lots of life lessons. It’s similar to Oliver Jeffers’ book Here We Are (though I liked this one better). This would be a great baby gift or really a good gift for any child (or teacher or grown-up).
Why Do We Cry? by Fran Pintadera and Ana Sender. I’ve mentioned probably a hundred times how much I adore picture books that teach kids to express feelings. I love how this one literally explains the different reasons people cry. It’s written in such a poetic way that helps you understand and empathize, and the lush illustrations complement the text so well. Teachers, this would be especially good to read in your classrooms.
Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Bigelow-Thompkins and Luisa Uribe. I don’t know what it’s like to have a unique name people always mispronounce. I do know how frustrating it is to have people misspell it. This book is a great reminder about how important and meaningful names are and a gentle way to help people try harder to pronounce them. The illustrations are joyful, and there’s even a pronunciation guide to ensure you can say the names in the book correctly.
I seriously love putting these lists together because I remember all the wonderful books we read over the year! Did I miss any of your favorites?
