We’re missing Lisa Von Drasek’s annual lists of Books To Give Kids You Don’t Know Very Well (she is on hiatus as our EarlyWord Kids Correspondent while she serves on the 2017 Caldecott Award Selection Committee).

As a substitute, Lisa suggests Minh Le’s thoughtful selections and annotations in the Huffington Post‘s Best Picture Books of 2015.

Le’s top pick is Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, ill. by Christian Robinson (Penguin/Putnam YR), which he praises for its “generosity of spirit …Through de la Peña’s deft narrative and Robinson’s timeless illustrations, Last Stop on Market Street invites readers to train their imaginative powers on the real world in order to see more deeply and with greater compassion.”

Listed as the “Best Surprise” of the year is In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van, ill. April Chu (Creston, dist. by Perseus). Says Le, “At first glance, In a Village by the Sea appears to be a straightforward story about family, but Van’s clever nesting doll narrative and Chu’s playful illustration sprinkle the story with a healthy dusting of magic and surprise.”

Le writes on his blog that this has been a “stellar year for picture books.” We’re hoping next year proves the same, offering Lisa and the entire Caldecott committee many more to choose from.

We have added the titles from this list to our updated downloadable spreadsheet compiling the 2015 Childrens and YA Best Books.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2015 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Best Books 2015, Childrens and YA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.