Enduring Children's Classics, and the Illustrators we love
Negative Cat
By Sophie Blackall
I love this book so much that I can’t even tell you how much I love this book.
It is funny, clever, very on point when it comes to cat behavior, and oh, so, meaningful!
Sophie Blackall first won me over with Hello Lighthouse. This book is very different but just as beautiful, with great cat humor!
Published August 31, 2021 by Nancy Paulsen Books
Check out Negative Cat on Amazon
It Fell from
the Sky
By The Fan Brothers
Terry Fan and Eric Fan
One of my favorite movies of all time is this movie called The Gods Must Be Crazy, where a pilot flying over an area of Africa tosses an empty coke bottle out of the window which is then found by a San Bushman and ultimately changes their peaceful community, as members one by one begin to claim the object as their own.
This book, although with differences of course, is that movie in a nutshell, only with many more insects.
ILOVEITSOMUCH!!!! And oh my goodness….I love the Fan Brother’s artwork. It just blows me away. I am a BIG FAN (of the Fan Brothers hee hee…ahem) and will probably go on buying their books until I die or they die whichever comes first.
Published September 28, 2021 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Check out It Fell From The Sky on Amazon
The Rock
From the Sky
By Jon Klassen
This book was recommended to me by my buddy Ericka who said it was her favorite picture book this year in terms of content, and I TOTALLY get it…I love how the author tries to trick you into thinking this is the most boring book ever and then suddenly BOOM! hits you with it! The characters and story are subtle and so funny – the more you read it the funnier it becomes. It is a longer picture book, somewhat thick (for a picture book) and split into five parts. I think the illustrations are so cool!
Published April 13, 2021 by Candlewick Press
Check out The Rock From The Sky on Amazon
Watercress
By Andrea Wang
Illustrated by Jason Chin
Ooh ooh ooh this is another Ericka recommendation which means it’s going to be good!
It’s better than good. It’s powerful.
This one might be the heaviest book on this list in terms of content. It works as a picture book for younger kids, but I just can’t help but wish more pre-teens and teenagers read picture books, and would read this one. An amazing life lesson about owning your roots and not being ashamed of who you are and where you come from.
Published March 30, 2021 by Neal Porter Books
Check out Watercress on Amazon
Twas the
Night Before
Christmas
By Clement C. Moore
Illustrated by P.J. Lynch
I recently covered this illustrator in my study of the various illustrators of A Christmas Carol, so when I discovered his version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas I was over the moon! In Carol, I had described his artwork as being concerned with time – a misty, peering back into the past, and it is the same here. Mesmerizing, gorgeous images pair with Clement C. Moore’s well-known poem so, so beautifully – this might be my favorite version ever!
Published November 2, 2021 by Candlewick Press
Check out Twas the Night Before Christmas on Amazon
The
Nutcracker
By Jan Brett
I know this book is everywhere right now and so you have probably already seen it for yourself, but being a fan of classics I just had to list it.
Jan Brett has this amazing style full of color and delight and detail and her version of The Nutcracker is both cozy and invigorating. If you don’t already have a version of The Nutcracker, consider this one. It’s a beauty!
Published November 16, 2021 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Check out Jan Brett’s The Nutcracker on Amazon
Wishes
By Muon Thi Van
Illustrated by Victo Ngai
This book is beyond beautiful, both in its prose as well as illustration. I love how it’s written from the perspective of inanimate objects in the girl’s life, as if somehow it helps in the dealing with of change. Another “heavier” one, but……incandescent.
Published May 4, 2021 by Orchard Books
Check out Wishes on Amazon
Survivor Tree
By Marcie Colleen
Illustrated by Aaron Becker
This is my son’s favorite book. He is determined that it will win this year’s Caldecott Medal! Beautifully written, gorgeously illustrated.
Published August 31, 2021 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Check out Survivor Tree on Amazon
Books by
Horseback
By Emma Carlson Berne
Illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati
I love this book not only for it’s illumination of the brave librarians who delivered books to vulnerable communities in Appalachia during the Great Depression, but also for the relationship between the librarian and her horse. It’s wonderful.
Published May 4, 2021 by Little Bee Books
Check out Books by Horseback on Amazon
Dear
Librarian
By Lydia M. Sigwarth
Illustrated by Romina Galotta
This wonderful book touched me on a personal level, as, just like the author, I had a similar experience in my youth, finding sanctuary in libraries and reading. The illustrations are colorful and comforting, and the story is gently honest. I love it!
Published June 1, 2021 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Check out Dear Librarian on Amazon
Aaron Slater,
Illustrator
By Andrea Beaty
Illustrated by David Roberts
My son loves this line of picture books about a class of students, all with particular talents! I also love this particular story – about a boy with dyslexia finding his own way to express himself.
David Roberts is one of my favorite illustrators with his “art deco” like style.
Published November 2, 2021 by Harry N. Abrams
Check out Aaron Slater, Illustrator on Amazon
The Little
Wooden Robot
and
the Log
Princess
By Tom Gaulo
And yet another amazing recommendation from M.B.E. (my buddy Ericka) – I loved this sweet, unique fairytale about siblings on an adventure. There is nothing in the world like it!
Published August 24, 2021 by Neal Porter Books
Check out The Little Wooden Robot and The Log Princess on Amazon
Blast Off
By Linda C. Cain and Susan Rosenbaum
Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
This is an older book that has been masterfully re-designed by the New York Review Children’s Collection, and the story, along with the illustrations by the great Leo and Diane Dillon, are well deserving of the remake.
Blast Off is about a girl who has the courage and imagination to follow her dream of jetting off into space.
The writing is phenomenal – I could ACTUALLY feel my stomach lurch as feelings, and the experience of being in space, was described.
Leo and Diane Dillon are one of the greatest illustration teams of our time. I went to an exhibit once of their work at the Eric Carle Center in Massachusetts and was absolutely blown away because every piece seemed so different. You might recognize their style from the popular book Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears.
Published September 21, 2021 by New York Review Children’s Collection
Check out Blast Off on Amazon
Also, if you haven’t yet explored the New York Review Children’s Collection, they have so many wonderful titles – many of which are older books that have been given new life with their tidy, well-crafted design.
Milo Imagines the World
By Matt de la Pena
Illustrated by Christian Robinson
Recounts the story of two siblings travelling to visit an incarcerated family member. On the way, young Milo, imagines. I love how the illustrations change styles to differentiate between Milo’s imaginings and reality.
Published February 2, 2021 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Check out Milo Imagines the World on Amazon
Outside, Inside
By LeUyen Pham
This book really affected me. In a good way. Tells the story of the world in 2020, from a child’s perspective. The illustrations are all carefully chosen, and everything has meaning. Do read the Author’s Note. I love it.
Published January 5, 2021 by Roaring Brook Press
Check out Outside, Inside on Amazon
When I See Red
By Britta Teckentrup
For Hanukkah this year, my Mom gave me Britta Teckentrup’s poetry anthology Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright, that I had been salivating over for some time, and it is such a gorgeously illustrated volume! Thanks Mom! I love you!
In her new book, When I See Red, Teckentrup explores the course anger takes as it is first felt, and follows it through as it slowly subsides. It is an honest look at the emotion, with a truth not universally acknowledged…that anger is a valid emotion that is necessary for emotional well-being, and can/should be embraced with as much importance as any other feeling.
Published September 7, 2021 by Prestel Junior
Check out When I See Red on Amazon
Amazon doesnt have sample pages for this one. To see inside, visit here.
The Goonies
Adapted by Brooke Vitale
Illustrated by Teo Skaffa
Ok so now we get into the nostalgia. I just CANNOT ignore this one! Goonies is my favorite 80’s movie ever! It even beats out The Labyrinth, The Neverending Story and The Princess Bride which are VERY close! Goonies never say die!
This is the first illustrated storybook version of The Goonies in more than 30 years! I like it because it allowed me to share the movie with my son, without him having to watch the movie (I feel he is not yet old enough).
Published September 21, 2021 by Insight Kids
Check out The Goonies on Amazon
Star Wars
the High
Republic
The Great
Jedi Rescue
Written by Cavan Scott
Illustrated by Petur Antonsson
Another “just had to” mention. Why? Because this is an extraordinary time. New characters and new adventures from a previous era, called The High Republic, for a new generation of Star Wars fans.
The writing is exciting! A team of Jedi working together to prevent disaster. It’s all about teamwork
This book, to my knowledge, is the first in what I imagine and predict, will be a long line of books geared toward younglings, in the new Star Wars era.
I bought it on a whim for my Star Wars loving son but had little hopes at the time of it making an impression on him since it was missing the characters he was familiar with. I couldn’t have been more wrong! We have read it so many times it’s now rather battered up!
Published January 5, 2021 by Disney Lucasfilm Press
Check out The Great Jedi Rescue on Amazon