Behold. The book that started it all:

This is my own personal copy. It represents, to me, the long storied tradition of librarians looking down their noses at comics. A tendency that continues to this day, actually. And it all began with this book.

You see, back in the 1950s, mainstream comics were often gross, disturbing, violent, sexist, hugely racist, and any other number of awful things. Not all of them were, but if you ever get your hands on some early 50s horror comics you’ll see some pretty awful stuff. Enter the psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, M.D.  He wasn’t a fan of comics and was pretty darn convinced that they had zippo redeeming qualities. In this book he said flat out that comics “are an invitation to illiteracy”, “suggest criminal or sexually abnormal ideas”, and “suggest forms a delinquent impulse may take and supply details of technique.” And because of him, and specifically this book, the Comics Code Authority was started, which rated comics across the board.

Why am I telling you this? Because the long shadow of Wertham’s work continues to this day. Librarians, I can attest, ate this book up with a spoon. So much so, that when it finally came time to add comics to the libraries, the name “comics” was so dirtied that we had to come up with one that made the books sound proper. “Graphic novels”. It’s good because it has the word “novels” in there, eh? Trouble is, there’s nothing wrong with plain old “comics”. And so the pendulum swings back.

This year, ALA established the first Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT). Long gone are the days when we would pooh-pooh anything with a panel or a little sequential art. And so, in celebration of their status, I cast aside the “graphic novel” moniker. Long live, comics! Long live, panels! And long live speech balloons! May we all read Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics and be a little wiser as a result.

And now, the list:

2018 Comics for Kids

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

I can actually pinpoint the moment I fell in love with this book. When young Vera goes to a friend’s birthday party and sees that all the girls are into American Girl dolls, she feels out of place. And what is the name of the doll that the birthday girl owns? Complicity. See, right there I knew I was in love. This fictionalized memoir shows sleepaway camp as everything I always feared it would be as a child. The best part? The triumphant ending where the kids are assured that they’ll never have to go back. WOOHOO!

Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell

Due to its sequential nature and separate storylines, I’ve encountered adults that question whether or not kids actually like this book. Yeah, kids don’t like it. THEY LOVE IT! And why not? Each child has a different fantasyworld they want to belong to. And while Sell’s neighborhood of like-minded kids isn’t without the occasional bully, everyone in the end is welcome here. Inclusive, funny, exciting, and thought-provoking, I could read this book over and over again and never get bored. Kids feel the same way. There’s always something new to discover.

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova

I am baffled. Flummoxed. Mildly perturbed. But I think I’m figuring out the answer. My question for you today is why this book and, indeed, ALL books by Svetlana Chmakova aren’t better known. Awkward, Brave, and now Crush are like these bite-sized bits of bitty brilliance all wrapped up in narratives of Middle School. So why aren’t they as famous as, say, Real Friends by Shannon Hale or the aforementioned Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol? I think it’s because they are, as I just said, middle school books. And of all the books written for youth, middle school titles fall into the cracks the most. Neither fish nor fowl, YA librarians consider them too young and children’s librarians too old. I like to include them on my lists because, honestly, they don’t have homes and there’s nothing in them that’s inappropriate for kids, aside from the lightest of light romance. This latest book would pair particularly well with Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish. Both involve boys that hit their growth spurts long before their peers and shows how they use that to instill order in the school. The difference, of course, being that in this book Jorge doesn’t use it for personal game. He is now officially my favorite character in Chmakova’s series. You can’t not like the guy.

Gamayun Tales: The King of Birds by Alexander Utkin

Slavic folktales and comics were clearly born to be together. I’ve already mentioned this book on the Fairy tales / Folk tales / Religious tales list, so I won’t beat you over the head with it much more. Still, if you haven’t read it you’re missing out. Honestly, if I’d been thinking clearly, I would have put it on my Calde-nott list too. Deep, rich, lovely luscious colors on every page.

Hermes: Tales of the Trickster by George O’Connor

George O’Connor took the look and feel of superhero comics and applied that to the ultimate in Greek superhero tales – The Olympian Gods! Over the years he has steadily been producing high-quality encapsulations of each god or goddess, and the end is almost near. Just two more to go, by my count. Hermes is a fan-favorite, so it may feel like he got off easy with this one, but look at how effortlessly he weaves in Aesop (who is not pictured as white, which was gratifying), Pan, Argus, and (of course) Hermes’ own origin story. And yes. You do get one good look at his eyes in this book.

Lafayette! by Nathan Hale

I attended my first NCTE Conference this year, and what an eye-opening experience it was! Librarians, I come bearing tidings of a great conference that we never get to see. So many speakers! So many books! And, at one point, I saw that Nathan Hale would be there signing his latest entry in the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series. I skipped over, and immediately encountered the Longest Line in the World. All teachers. All bearing about 8 copies of Nathan’s books apiece. It was enormously gratifying to see that at long last people are recognizing these books for what they really are: History done right. Lafayette returns the series back to the American Revolution and you’ll get some Alexander Hamilton cameos in there. Even better, it provides the history that the Hamilton musical got, uh, creative with, let’s say. A rousing, wonderful new entry, worthy of its predecessors.

Lowriders: Blast From the Past by Cathy Camper, ill. Raúl the Third

I swear, with every new book in this series I like it more and more. This year Camper decided to pen a prequel to her Lowriders books. How did our three friends meet up with one another? How did they join to become the supergroup we all know and love? Raúl the Third breaks out the Bic pens to bring this Latinx-infused world to brilliant life. It’s not strictly bilingual, but there’s still a lot of Spanish in the text, and it’s presented in such a way that poor schmucks like myself (the people that took French in high school) can read it aloud to their kids with confidence.

Macanudo 4: Olga Rules! by Liniers, translated by Mara Faye Lethem

Translated from the Spanish, these Argentinian comic strips were best described by my co-worker as a combination of Far Side and Mutts. They have a funny little feel to them, that’s for sure. A gentleness that’s curbed slightly by the surreal nature of the work. I read them to my kids and afterwards my 7-year-old made the strangest little fourth-wall busting comic strips about a man in a top hat. If that sounds like something you’d like to inspire in your own kids, then by all means take a look.

Mega Robo Bros by Neill Cameron

The most underrated comic book of the year. I’m not even joking. To be fair, it works against itself. The title does not inspire wonder in the average adult purchaser/gatekeeper. Looking at the cover, you’d probably think it was some lame action comic filled with mediocre jokes and so-so art. Instead, it’s a complex futuristic (or is it an alternative timeline?) London. This is diverse multi-cultural London. One where two robot brothers (one older and put upon, the other VERY much a little brother) have to fight evil when they’re not fighting amongst themselves. The jokes are honestly very good, the art beautiful, and I love that the head of what appears to be M15 is wearing a hijab. The sole problem with the book is that it looks shrunken. I wonder if in the original version the pages were much larger. Here they feel squished and smooshed. A pity since the entire endeavor has me howling for a sequel and stat.

Mr. Wolf’s Class by Aron Nels Steinke

And speaking of characters wearing hijabs, I think this is the first time I’ve seen one in a middle grade graphic novel where she was an animal. The writing advice they always give out is “write what you know”. Aron Nels Steinke knows teaching. Apparently he knows it VERY well, because this feels like a real classroom to its core. By the end of the day you feel for Mr. Wolf. This guy has his work cut out for him. Fortunately it looks like a sequel is on the horizon. Let’s see if he pulls a Viola Swamp on us or not.

Monster Mayhem by Christopher Eliopoulos

I did like Eliopoulos’s previous entry in this series, Cosmic Commandos, but for me there was something about the book that just didn’t quite tie up at the end. It was definitely fun, but it wasn’t until I read the next book in the series, Monster Mayhem, that I realized that it had the ending Commandos lacked. A girl with a genius for robotics and a passion for kaiju movies, rejects all potential friends before they have a chance to reject her. So when a huge monster comes out of the sea to be her friend, things take a turn for the wacky and, oddly enough, the heartfelt as well. Boy, I really liked this book. Can’t wait to see what Mr. Eliopoulos has up his sleeve next.

My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun

Well, hat tip to both the New York Public Library 2018 list of Best Books for Kids. Without their sharp-eyed spotting I might have missed this amazing collection of four stories involving a girl and her grandfather in contemporary Beijing. Set in a hutong, the girl (Yu-er) dreams of swimming lessons and painting. She’s differently abled, with a leg that slows her down, but her grandfather (with whom she lives) is a sweetheart and a joy. Jun’s watercolors are just gorgeous and while some of the stories work a little better than others, as a whole the book is strong, with just a hint of magical realism along the way.

Petals by Gustavo Borges, colors by Cris Peter

I only have two comics in picture book formats on the list today. This one is a wordless book, telling the story of a friendly crow that helps out some fellow woodland creatures in the dead of winter. It’s affecting in the same way a silent film might be, and I was much taken with the visual narrative. We have a lot of days left before it’s spring again. May as well cuddle up and read this book while we wait for the springtime to bloom.

Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths by Graham Annable

In spite of the fact that (a) the sloths in this book move at a pretty quick clip and (b) there are no girls, I’m still Team Peter & Ernesto. Much of the credit goes to Annable’s artistic style, which makes exquisite use of eyes and eyebrows to convey thoughts, feelings, and personalities.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

By gum, if this doesn’t get some kind of a Caldecott nod this year I’ll be mighty disappointed. I’ve been recommending this book left, right, and central and not a soul that has gotten it has regretted the choice. There aren’t that many books you can hand to a 12-year-old and know without a shadow of a doubt that they’ll read it cover to cover. This is one of the few. If I had to list my Top Five children’s books of the year, this would be on that list.

Sanity & Tallulah by Molly Brooks

STEM! In! Space! Sanity is on the left. She’s the heroine of this book. Her sidekick is Tallulah, on the right. Together, they genetically modify space pets and generally save an entire space station. How do they do it? With science! Tons and tons of very realistic sounding science. Pairs oh-so beautiful with that great book The Secret Science Alliance. I’ve been waiting for years to have a book I can recommend alongside that one. Now, at last, my dreams have been answered.

Sci-Fu, Book One: Kick It Off by Yehudi Mercado

1980s Brooklyn in space. Lotta space books out this year. Maybe it’s because 2018 was the year we all desperately wished we could launch ourselves into the stratosphere away from this place. Mercado pens a killer story here, putting together robots, kung-fu, and the skills that come with dj-ing. A black boy as a hero of a comic book? That happens once in a blue moon. Grab this blue moon and read it up.

Tiger Vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri

I think I should be given extra points for not beginning this description with the words to “Eye of the Tiger”, by the way. I shudder to think how close I came to not seeing this book this year. Occasionally First Second will produce a graphic novel picture book, and I always want to love them. It’s not always possible, but this year they knocked it out of the park. A young tiger and the monster under her bed do battle against a nightmare that is bigger and tougher than they ever could have imagined. It’s sweet and beautiful with just a hint of scary. In other words, perfect bedtime reading.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

That’s an exaggeration. No one has written that book yet (YET!). But that speech I give is pretty much verbatim.

The fact of the matter is that while Easy Books are hard to write, Early Chapter Books are hard to categorize. They’re also ideal bedtime books for older children, which means that with the European imports you get a lot of experimentation. American early chapter books are pretty much just written to please. Publishers particularly like it when they can be part of a series, and authors are always encouraged to think bigger and to never settle for a standalone. There are a couple series titles on today’s list, but for the most part it’s a celebration of the standalones.

Here is my collection of those books that are older than Easy but not yet novels, written with 6-9 year-olds in mind.

 2018 Early Chapter Books

Anna and Johanna: A Children’s Book Inspired by Jan Vermeer by Géraldine Elschner, ill. Florence Kœnig, translated by Paul Kelly

17th-century Holland! What could be better? Grab your wooden shoes and your tulips, folks as you read this tale of a milkmaid and a wealthy daughter that are fast friends. Inspired by two Vermeer paintings (The Lacemaker and The Milkmaid) the book makes zippo attempts to replicate the master’s style. Instead, it puts you right smack dab in the time period, and teaches you a bit about a famous painter along the way.

Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure by Torben Kuhlmann, translated by David Henry Wilson

Straight from Germany, this is actually the third in a series of sorts that began with Lindbergh and continued through Armstrong. Edison is, if possible, even more ambitious than the first two, setting up a great grand story that involves submersibles (submersibles were hot in 2018), inventions, and a great grand mystery. I once said that Kuhlmann’s style is like a steampunk Beatrix Potter. I’ll stand by that.

Good Night, Sleep Tight: Eleven-and-a-half Good Night Stories with Fox and Rabbit by Kristina Andres, translated by Sally-Ann Spencer

Again with the Germans! This time it’s precisely what it advertises. Eleven-and-a-half small bedtime tales involving two good friends. There’s a pseudo-villain in there, and some mild misunderstandings, but on the whole it’s just sweet and gentle. Good beddy-bye fodder for sleepytime kids.

Houndsley and Catina and Cousin Wagster by James Howe, ill. Marie-Louise Gay

I never quite know where to put the Houndsley and Catina books. They look like Easy Books, but their storylines are just ever-so-barely in the early chapter book territory. Now this is hardly the first book in Howe’s series, but there was such a lag between books that I was flooded with this great sense of relief when I heard there was a new one in the works. More Houndsley! More Catina! That can never be a bad thing and, indeed, this book lives up to expectations.

It’s Not Easy Being Mimi by Linda Davick

Frothy. It’s a good word, isn’t it? Since I buy the adult books at my library I often encounter book reviews for adult titles that describe them as “frothy”. These are usually romances, but why should a word be so limiting? Frothy is the perfect way to describe books like Davick’s, after all. In this early chapter book you have this mildly surreal situation where a bunch of kids all live in the same apartment building (named “The Periwinkle Tower”, naturally). You’ve a nice diverse cast and some mild drama. Just perfect for those new readers who want some real chapter books under their belt.

Mac B. Kid Spy: Mac Undercover by Mac Barnett, ill. Mike Lowery

So glad I finally sat down and read this book. By my count, any book set in 1989 where a normal kid is called in by the Queen of England to defeat KGB spies and, quite possibly, try to cheer up the President of France is already my cup of tea. Kids love their funny books and Barnett and Lowery work in perfect synch here. Honestly, I’m eternally grateful to whatever editor it was over at Scholastic that realized that the two would be a good match. I’ve always like Lowery, but with this book he really gets to let go and be out-and-out funny. There’s stuff for old-timers (read: Children of the 80s) to enjoy, and plenty for the kids too. Deserving of its fame.

Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi, ill. Hatem Aly

It’s nice when you get a book that knows how to sell itself. Just look at Hatem Aly’s art here. Dude knows what he’s doing, and what he’s doing is sucking you into reading Ms. Faruqi’s tales of Yasmin and her family. I don’t need to tell you that contemporary Muslim-American stories aren’t exactly commonplace quite yet. This book marks a peppy, colorful, thoroughly enjoyable step in the right direction. More of this, please!

Megabat by Anna Humphrey, ill. Kass Reich

A fruitbat bonds with a shy boy and then proceeds to obsess over Star Wars. Parsing one early chapter book from the next is slow going. A lot of the time the books simply don’t distinguish themselves from the pack. Much of what makes this little darling stand out is the bat himself. The cover of this book advertises “MEGA personality” which, I have to admit, is dead on. You can’t help but love this guy and his speech inflections. Good villain too, come to think of it.

Mummies at the Museum by Wong Herbert Yee

I have this huge appreciation for Wong Herbert Yee. He’s one of those quiet author/illustrators that don’t draw a lot of attention to themselves. Instead, he just creates these fantastic books on the down low, and if you just happen to notice then count yourself lucky. This new series marks a bit of a departure for Mr. Yee. In the past he’s done books that were slower and sweeter (the whole Mouse & Mole series, for example). Here, he speeds everything up and gives voice to a hamster and a gerbil with this graphic novel/early chapter book hybrid. Kirkus said this contains “rodent high jinks”. Yup. That’s the long and short of it.

Murray the Race Horse by Gavin Puckett, ill. Tor Freeman

A rhyming British import in early chapter book form? Yeah, no. No no. How can that be any good at all? Dunno, dudes, but it actually is. But don’t let that blurb on the cover saying it won the “Greenhouse Funny Prize” lead you astray. Apparently that’s just a prize given out by an agency somewhere. The real draw here is the storyline and pictures. In this book, Murray is a failure as a racehorse. That is, until he realizes that he is built for speed only when running backwards. The rhymes actually work too, once you get into it. You wouldn’t want it to be a full-length rhyming novel or anything, but for these short chapters it’s no problem at all.

The Rabbit and the Shadow by Mélanie Rutten, translated by Sarah Ardizzone

Ah, the French. This book just baffled my committee this year, I will not lie. First off, it’s huge. Towering at a whopping 11 X 8.5 inches, it’s bigger than most of the picture books in your room. It certainly resembles a picture book as well, were it not for how much text it has inside. Text heck, read it! The themes at work here are deep and strange and sad. It’s about parenthood and letting go and how necessary and wrenching natural separations can be. Plus there’s a warrior in this book that turns out to be a bold little girl, so that’s a nice plus as well. Beautiful and odd.

Stories of the Night by Kitty Crowther

Americans don’t know Kitty Crowther. Their loss. Winner of the 2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, there’s a great interview with her that you should read over at French Picture Books in English. Generally speaking she doesn’t get translated in the States very often. This year, this book was an exception and I rather loved it. These are bedtime stories within a bedtime story format, and somehow Crowther takes bright pink and makes it feel warm and sleepifying in the context of the tales. There’s a very classic feel to her art and writing. Worth discovering.

They Didn’t Teach THIS In Worm School! One Worm’s Tale of Survival by Simone Lia

I’m actually a bit baffled as to how this book flew under the radar this year. It came out way back in February and is funny funny funny. I actually had someone ask me for recommendations recently and when I mentioned this they got quite excited. Seems the granddaughter they were hoping to buy books for is really into worms. A perfect fit!

The Unicorn Rescue Society: Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot by Adam Gidwitz and Joseph Bruchac, ill. Hatem Aly

Because you can never have too much Hatem Aly.

It’s a little odd to mention the third book in a series, particularly when numbers one and two came out in the same year. Yet with this particular book, Adam Gidwitz is doing something very interesting. When I heard him speak at the SLJ Summit in Brooklyn this past fall, he discussed this series. In it, the main characters go about trying to aid and rescue various mythical creatures. The easy thing would be to stick with European critters, but Gidwitz decided that if he was going to do a series for younger readers then he needed to bring in experts. I like very much that Joseph Bruchac (the Abenaki author and poet) gets co-writing credit on this book. In this story you get a thorough history of the Muckleshoot to say nothing of the backmatter. Gidwitz intends to continue working with co-authors for these books since, as he knows from firsthand teaching experience, kids at this age are crazy about the series. If you want give them animals and magic, cool, but slipping in a little learning never hurt anyone.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

Phew!

I’m going to level with you. This was my favorite episode in a long time.

Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your preferred method of podcast selection.

Show Notes:

– Check out the School Library Journal wikipedia page if you want to see what I look like with legs.

– Please note that as Kate rightly pointed out, the Grinch is not wearing shoes. So much for that theory about why he’s a jerk. And be the deciding vote on where his hands are: are those fat pockets or fur pockets?

– He has a dog but he has no pants. “Santa. Wears. Pants!” And look at all that fabric at his feet. He could easily have made pants for this.

– Considering how advanced Cindy Lou Who is when it comes to her vocabulary, I really do think Whos age faster than humans. Now watch as she does the twist! This is the image that freaked Kate out. Very Exorcist-ish.

– Kate’s tattoo everyone! The first pissed off mouse. I’m only barely seeing the bandana Kate is seeing, though.

– The image of Max pulling the sleigh. Why are there bananas hanging over the Grinch’s head? Why is the broken rope tied together? But that’s some kinda Grinch butt. “He does SO many squats.” And how did Kate miss the head sticking out of the sack? But that ain’t no Gootch. Because as you can see . . .

– Now the critter has tucked its head back in.

– Compare the next two spreads. Kate was right. Look at them. Seuss didn’t re-draw these Whos. They’re almost line for line the same. Except . . . look closer. We didn’t notice at the time, but there is one adult male Who dead smack in the center who suddenly appears in the second spread. Where did HE come from?

– This book appeared at #61 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll.

– Matt Tavares, the artist, pointed out that this book does not have the color green inside the book. This is true, but check out the cover the Brits put on it:

Weeeeeeeeird.

– Ask and the universe will provide. Here is Zero Mostel reading The Grinch.

– And heck. While we’re on the subject, here’s Walter Matthau reading The Grinch.

– Halloween is Grinch Night! I still harbor a weird affection for this. Partly because Hans Conried (who starred in the live action Seuss film The 10,000 Fingers of Dr. T) did the Grinch’s voice.

– This is the happiest Max ever looks in this book. No one ever notices this.

– I asked if anyone could think of an unreliable narrator picture book. Hat tip to Sarah who remembered The Bear Ate Your Sandwich. Brilliant suggestion.

–

As for the other easy books, I think you’ve heard me say before that in many ways they’re the most difficult titles to write. They are most perfect when they are most simple. And they are most simple, when they limit their text complexity. Can you make complex characters and  plots with such small words? You can. These did.

We begin.

2018 Easy Books

Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin

Here is the deal. Of all the books that could show up on a Best Of list, this is the one that sparked the most attention in 2018 (with the possible exception of that Gantos book that wasn’t – but that was slated for ’19 anyway). Part of my job as a children’s literature blogger is to inform. And what I have found this year is that a LOT of people did not hear about the objections that were raised about Baby Monkey. And, even more importantly, some of those people unaware of the discussion were publishers. If we are going to have discussions then we need to be informed and you need to know why people are not happy with monkeys in children’s literature. The problem with the internet is that a lot of the time it can feel like you’re running into a conversation midway through. So here, as much as I can, is a timeline. In 2017 blogger and academic librarian Edi Campbell wrote a post called Voices that called into question the use of anthropomorphized apes in children’s literature. Her point was that there is a longstanding history in America of people equating black people with apes and monkeys. As a result, books featuring anthropomorphized simians are potentially harmful. She wrote, “Publishers have to be able to trust marginalized people when we say ‘this is wrong’. Yet, when do we really know whether an image is being used to exoticize human diversity (and reinforces age old stereotypes) or simply to express creativity?” Later, Edi wrote the posts On Negroes, Apes and Monkeys, OutOut Damn Monkeys, Monkey Business, and a review of Baby Monkey. Edi is not alone in her criticisms, she’s just done the most research on the topic. So to include this book on any list at all is to understand that it does not exist in a vacuum. And when you hear people talking about objections to monkeys in children’s books, these are the reasons why, and this is one of the books at the center of the discussions.

Bright Owl Books – Cubs in a Tub, Hop Frog, Princess Pig, Rat Attack, Wet Hen by Molly Coxe

Now under normal circumstances I would limit all easy books on today’s list to titles originally published in 2018. And yes, technically, this easy book series appeared already on the picture book reprints list. But you know what? This series is just so doggone good I have to mention it again. I have to! My hands are tied! Because please, if you can name a series that goes through letter sounds with as much aplomb and doggone fun as these books do, name it. Can you think of one? Does it also involve hand felted models and a wallop of humor? I tell you, man. There’s nothing to compare.

Fox Is Late by Corey R. Tabor

Feeling a little bad here. Apparently Mr. Tabor’s been writing these Fox books since 2016, and I just came late to the party. The guy’s got this keen feel for the easy book style. It’s hard to pack a surprising story in as few/as simple words as these, but the man has it down.

Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor

Takes the old “be yourself” motto and gives it context and just a hint of kookiness. Plus, how can you resist a fox covered in tiger stripes? It even manages to have a twist at the end. In an easy book! Imagine!

The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham

I would cross deserts of fire and molten lead to see anything LeUyen Pham has worked on. This book, however, I should warn you, is very itchy. It’s also an interesting experiment in the power of suggestion. If I tell you something is true (like, say, that dinos don’t scratch) what do you lose in believing me? What do you gain? Is that too deep for an easy book? What can I tell you, man. They bring out the social scientist in me.

Kick It, Mo! by David A. Adler, ill. Sam Ricks

Love those Mo books! Two reasons for that. 1) Each Mo book is a sports book. And I don’t care what age level you’re talking about – sports books for kids are rarities. 2) Mo is black. And a boy. Now go and find me ANY easy book series about a black boy. I can name one other off the top of my head: The Little Bill books by Bill Cosby. You see the problem? More like this, please!

King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Hillestad Butler, ill. Nancy Meyers

Good old, King & Kayla. I was besotted with these mini-mysteries when they debuted last year, so this year I have to deal with the fact that there was only one in 2018. That’s okay. I have it on good authority that more are in the works. Butler is no stranger to the doggie mind-set, so these books are just that much more charming as a result. A true winner.

Min Makes a Machine by Emily Arnold McCully

Stop. Stop right there. I see you with your STEM-girl lists full of well-intentioned books. I am a true believer in getting girls into science and math, but you gotta be smart about it, man. The best kind of book of this ilk shows a girl solving a problem in a clever way. THAT is how you make STEM look appealing. Appeal to their sense of cleverness. For example, there is Min. Min has a problem (she needs to move water) and she comes up with a crazy smart solution using engineering . . . in an easy book! This is part of Holiday House’s I Like to Read series, and it is far and away my favorite of theirs of the year. Go, Min, go!

The Missing Donut by Judith Henderson, ill. T.L. McBeth

This is part of a new series called “Big Words, Small Stories”. Basically they’re Easy Books in a picture book format (just to make things weird) with one long vocabulary word each. The books reiterate the words in various ways, in little separate stories. Then, at the end, they’re all brought together into one big story. Neat, right? Plus, there are donuts. Nom nom nom.

My Toothbrush Is Missing by Jan Thomas

Oh, Jan Thomas. Never stop making your books. It was a delight to me when I realized that a lot of Jan’s backlist picture book titles were finding new life in easy book formats. But, even better, she’s writing original easy books. Remember the combination that makes an easy book a true winner for me? Smart writing and humor. No cheating on the text complexity, and an honestly gripping story. It’s not something everyone is good at, but Jan Thomas is. Very good. At. It.

The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

Woohoo! Who says easy books can’t be beautiful to boot? Sergio’s watercolors and wry sense of humor bring to life this interesting series between a fox and a chick. It’s gotten a lot of praise. I just hope it gets a Geisel along the way as well.

Poof! A Bot! by David Milgrim

I can’t help it. I’m kooky for the Zip books that Milgrim conjures up. It all goes back to my belief that writing a good easy book is hard, and writing a funny easy book is even harder. And sure, I can commend the fact that in the back of this book you’ll find comprehension and even math questions there. But the real reason I want your kids to read this on their own? There are robots throwing pies at aliens here! And it’s hilarious when they do! What’s not to love about that?

See Zip Zap by David Milgrim

More Zip.

More zapping.

Zapping Zips = zowie!

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

2018 Poetry Books

Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham & Charles Waters, ill. Sean Qualls & Selina Alko

Four people get together and create one book. If that seems excessive, I assure you that the end product is worth it. In Latham/Waters/Qualls/Alko’s book, two classmates are paired together in spite of their reluctance. Both harbor prejudices about one another and yet they’re able to become friends after confronting some hard issues. Parents want picture books that help them give voice to tough topics. This book does just that, and all within the context of a story told with poems. You’ll read it and then feel immediately that you need to read it again.

Crawly School for Bugs: Poems to Drive You Buggy by David L. Harrison, ill. Julie Bayless

I like a lot of different types of books, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for those that upset my expectations. A book full of bugs-at-school poems? Haven’t we all read that kind of thing before? Indeed, the cover looked so overly familiar I’d half convinced myself I’d already read it, long before I’d even picked it up. So what a relief it was to crack it open and discover that Harrison and Bayless have eschewed the same, old, worn bug poems of the past. The poetry in this book is funny and fast. Witty and with a bit of a story here and there. In the field of poetry, it’s hard to get any attention for a collection of poems that can make you laugh, but for those kids hung up on Shel Silverstein, this might not be the worst recommendation to hand to over.

Every Month Is a New Year by Marilyn Singer, ill. Susan L. Roth

The old nonfiction/poetry hybrid! In this book, celebrations for new years are listed and explained with the aid of verse. All told there are 16 celebrations from over 14 countries on display here. You’ve got your secular. You’ve got your religious. You also have five pages of background information about each celebration, a glossary of terms used in the verse, and a list of the author’s sources in the back. Not too shabby, and a keen teaching tool as well.

Have You Heard About Lady Bird? Poems About Our First Ladies by Marilyn Singer, ill. Nancy Carpenter

Let’s say this book dropped on your desk and you could look at any First Lady in American history. Which one would you choose? Admit it. You’d go straight to the current one, wouldn’t you? You’d want to see just precisely how Singer and Carpenter tackled her. It’s an understandable instinct, and I don’t blame you a jot. It’s exactly what happened with me when I read Singer’s previous book Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents back in 2013,only in that case it was Richard Nixon. I seem to have put two Marilyn Singer books together on today’s list, but since I’m listing them alphabetically by title, that’s just a quirk. Both are deserving, particularly this one. After all, it’s not like every First Lady we ever had was a gas. Some were dull as dishwater, and Singer does a grand job with those lesser known few.

Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle, ill. Amy Schimler-Safford

As someone whose desk looks over the nests of peregrine falcons on my library’s roof every year, I’ve acquired a keen love of urban wildlife. This poetry book is big and blue and may not immediately strike you as the most thrilling title in your collection. That’s kind of what I love about children’s poetry collections, though. Looks can be deceiving. Inside, the poems seem to understand that when it comes to nature in the city, sometimes the small things, the things only kids would notice, are the most important. “Moss in sidewalk cracks / sends up delicate shoots / for shoes to / tread on / break off / carry away.”

I Am Loved: A Poetry Collection by Nikki Giovanni, ill. Ashley Bryan

Apparently Nikki Giovanni and Ashley Bryan first collaborated in 1996 with the book The Sun Is So Quiet. I missed that book entirely but this one, consisting of eleven poems and Mr. Bryan’s art, I caught with no difficulty. More than one reviewer of this book compared Ashley’s art in it to “stained glass” which I think is a nice thought. It makes me remember how Mr. Bryan likes to create sea glass window panels for fun, shown here:

Gorgeous.

In the Past by David Elliott, ill. Matthew Trueman

Man, the poetry in this book was good. I wasn’t able to get all the works of poetry I loved in 2018 onto my library’s 101 Great Books for Kids list this time around, but this book didn’t have any difficulty. Every person who read it loved its wit and intelligence. Here’s a good example of that:

“The bad news: Like a centipede. Eight feet long. Or more. / The good news: Arthropleura was an herbivore.”

And who can resist a book that commemorates the extinction of the T.rex with this: “even kings / are vanquished / when stars fall / from the sky.”

A must have.

The Lost Words: A Spell Book by Robert Macfarlane, ill. Jackie Morris

Think of it this way. Every single year more and more words enter the English language. What’s the Oxford Junior Dictionary to do in the face of such an onslaught? It shouldn’t surprise us that words get excised from that collection each and every year, but it does, doesn’t it? So what are you going to do about it? If you’re anything like Macfarlane and Morris, you take forty of those words (like acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow) and turn them into acrostic poems. Morris adds to this by mixing the words up and adding wordless two-page spreads that portray the essence of the subject matter. Don’t expect this book to slot neatly onto your shelf, though. Clocking in at 15 inches by 11 inches, it’s a big book that’s worth every centimeter.

Rain by Anders Holmer

You know, I’m still perfecting the art of making these lists. As a result, I mess up on a pretty regular basis. Not things that you would necessarily notice, but in ways that cause me to grind my teeth (but then I tell you about it so . . . that’s cool). In this case, this year I somehow managed to louse up my Translations list. Lots of great titles somehow didn’t make it on, like this book from Sweden. I know it doesn’t look like much from the cover, but this was the very last book to get cut from my library’s 2018 best books list. The first time I read it to myself, I was blown away. It’s written in haikus. Haikus so good that they remind you why the form was ever praised in the first place. Here’s one: “Beneath ashes are/ seeds for a new forest that/ might burn someday too.” The poems and art display rain from all over the world. Do not miss this one. I’m serious.

A Round of Robins by Katie Hesterman, ill. Sergio Ruzzier

I suspect that were it not for Mr. Ruzzier’s other book out this year (Fox & Chick) this one might be getting more attention. Following a family of robins, this book pairs beautifully with 2018’s other robin book This Is the Nest That Robin Built by Denise Fleming. Nonfiction for young ages and poetry to boot? Now that’s a winning combination.

Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms by Robert Paul Weston, ill. Misa Saburi

The tanka poem doesn’t get the same amount of attention as the haiku, but it’s well worth knowing about. In this story, a young girl leaves Japan and her beloved grandmother when she moves to America. The transition is hard, and harder still is what happens after Obaachan grows ill. Sakura visits her one last time and is then overwhelmed with grief. A tricky storyline for the young, but Weston manages to give it a comforting ending that refuses to get too sweet or treacly. The poems that tell the tale do so easily.  A verse picture book.

Seeing Into Tomorrow, haiku by Richard Wright, photography by Nina Crews

What can I say of it that I haven’t said before? One of my favorites of the year. That can never be overstated. A wonderful mix of poetry from the past and photography from today. A new use of photos by Ms. Crews. A great selection of haikus. It’s got it all. The whole package. Enjoy!

Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year, selected by Fiona Waters, ill. Frann Preston-Gannon

I had a very good idea this year. After I received a copy of Sing a Song of Seasons I decided that as part of my morning routine with the kids I’d read them the poem of the day. And this seemed so doable too! I mean, I read them at least one picture book after breakfast anyway. How much harder would it be just to read a poem? Well, readers, I failed, but it’s not the fault of this book. Turns out, new routines can be hard to maintain. So I’m keeping this thick thick, gorgeous title on my coffee table in the hopes that I’ll be able to use it again someday. When it comes to poem-a-day books, they don’t get much more luscious than this.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy by Tony Medina, ill. Floyd Cooper, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Skip Hill, Tiffany McKnight, Robert Liu-Trujillo, Keith Mallett, Shawn K. Alexander, Kesha Bruce, Brianna McCarthy, R. Gregory Christie, Ekua Holmes, Javaka Steptoe, and Chandra Cox

Recently at my library we had Cozbi Cabrera come in to speak about her picture book My Hair Is a Garden. She did a killer PowerPoint as well, and mentioned that she had art in this book too. I’d completely forgotten about that! Fortunately, I was already in love with this title long since. Tony Medina wrote the poems but his thirteen artists give each one of them a different spin. I loved the mix of familiar names (Floyd Cooper, Javaka Steptoe, R. Gregory Christie) mixed in with artists I don’t know as well yet. Yet. Yet.

Vivid: Poems & Notes About Color by Julie Paschkis

You can count on Ms. Paschkis for color. So can you count on her poetry as well? You can, and this book ended up being one of the most fun of the year. You get the poems, sure, but you get some facts too, like that when it comes to purple, “it took about 243,000 snails to make one ounce of dye” long ago.

A perfect way to round off today’s lists.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

Travis Jonker at 100 Scope Notes, always the gentleman, has a much better term for these types of books. He calls them “The Astonishingly Unconventional“. Not “odd” or “weirdo” or anything so judgemental. Just a calm, acknowledgement that the norm is not always what’s best for a book for children.

Here then, are the 2018 titles that dared to be strange in some way. May they inspire others in the future!

Oddest Children’s Books of 2018

A Bubble by Geneviève Castrée

Is it for children? Is it for adults? A mother posthumously publishes a book written from her young daughter’s p.o.v. about her terminally ill parent. This may well be the book version for kids of the “You May Want to Marry My Husband” New York Times article that Amy Kraus Rosenthal wrote before she died.

The Day We Lost Pet by Chuck Young, ill. Aniela Sobieski

A good strange children’s book makes you want to return to it over and over again. Sometimes, because with each subsequent reading you get something out of it. Sometimes, because you didn’t quite get it the first time. Sometimes both. Chalk this one up in the “both” field.

The Forest by Riccardo Bozzi, ill. Violeta Lopíz & Valerio Vidali, translated from Italian by Debbie Bibo

Okay. Now we’re getting ridiculous. How many times has this book shown up on one of my lists? Three times? Four? Sorry, guys. I hate repetition as much as you do but the fact of the matter is that it is everything I’ve already said and more. Translated, check. As Caldecott-worthy as it is ineligible, check. And original? You bet it is.

Hiznobyuti by Claude Ponti, translated by Alyson Waters

If any book on today’s list typifies what an “oddball” book truly is in its heart, it’s the latest (in America) from Ponti. You pick it up and read it and then in your most American accent you look at it and say, “You ain’t from around these here parts.” No, it ain’t. And it’s highly highly unlikely that it could have gotten published here originally. Thank goodness for the publishers that take chances on translations. Where would books like this one be without them?

I Hate Everyone by Naomi Danis, ill. Cinta Arribas

Already made a nice appearance on the funny picture books list, but please make no mistake when I tell you that it’s a strange little buggy. First off, using the word “Hate” not just in the title but repeatedly in the text is normally considered a real no-no by publishers. Some parents, after all, avoid the word like the plague. Its got guts, this book. To those nervous parents, I should report that I’ve read this to my own kids multiple times and neither the seven nor the four-year-old have ever used the word once. So it doesn’t have some magical properties that will turn your children rude. Phew!

Impossible Inventions: Ideas That Shouldn’t Work by Matgorzata Mycielska, ill. Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizielińska

A co-worker of mine went gaga for this book and his sheet enthusiasm for it just happened to pull me along. I believe it’s Polish in origin, and it contains a slew of crazed and crazy inventions. Alas, there’s no backmatter, so good luck reading up on some of these. Still, about the time you get to the invention of a pad you stick in your underwear to stop the smell of farts, you’re pretty much hooked.

The King of Nothing by Guridi, translated by Saul Endor

Another book that I’m not entirely certain I “got” on a first read. The New York Review of Books said that this was “a playful book of first philosophy and fundamental psychology for kids.” All I know is that it’s what I imagine would happen to Harold from Harold and the Purple Crayon if he grew up and spent too much time on his own. A title that looks long and deep into the definitions of “nothing” and “something”.

The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel

I’ve rarely been so proud of my library’s 101 Great Books for Kids list committee than this year when, in a fit of defiance, they decided one and all to include this Gravel book on the 2018 list. The title says it all. Elise Gravel likes to collect mushrooms, so she has drawn them all here with some identifications. The more you read, the more you want to find some mushrooms of your own. Who knew mycology would define fun in 2018?

My Little Small by Ulf Stark, ill. Linda Bondestam, translated by Annie Prime

Yeah, if anyone else can figure this one out, please let me know. I’m going to try to read it backwards. Perhaps it’s in code. I like it, don’t get me wrong, but what the heckety heck?

Samurai Scarecrow: A Very Ninja Halloween by Rubin Pingk

Just your average Halloween/samurai/haunted scarecrow storyline. Geez o’ petes, between this and Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, 2018 was not a good year if scarecrows haunt your nightmares. I think I’ve read this book to my kids long after Halloween came and went, so it stands up any time of year. But boy, it’s like nothing else out there, that’s for sure.

Square by Mac Barnett, ill. Jon Klassen

To compare any author/illustrator to Maurice Sendak is a terrible notion, but hear me out for just one second here. One of the things you couldn’t help but like about Sendak was his willingness to take risks and to have those risks pay off for him. Barnett and Klassen as a duo tread very much in the great man’s footsteps. Consistently, they produce books that are weird in the purest sense of the term. These books aren’t like anything else out there, and they sell. They sell well. Love ’em or hate ’em, you always want to see what these guys have coming out next.

The Take-It Take-It Lady by Kveta Pacovska

I’m sorry. Did the cover give it away?

We Are All Me by Jordan Crane

I kind of want to set this book to music, but I haven’t found the right pairing yet. If you can find a tune that would work with the words here, please let me know. It kind of deserves to be sung.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

Interestingly, 2018 turned out to be a very strong year for these books. Why? Well, look closely and you’ll see that this is nothing so much as a gathering of small publishers. It’s like I always say, the more the big guys consolidate, the more cracks and fissures appear for the little folks to sneak through.

Here then are the titles published in 2018 that really stood out and shone:

2018 Fairy Tales, Folktales and Religious Tales

And There Was Evening and There Was Morning by Harriet Cohen Helfand, ill. Ellen Kahan Zager

Marjorie Ingall over at Tablet Magazine was responsible for alerting me to this little number. When she posted The Best Jewish Children’s Books of 2018, she said it was her oddball choice of the year. In this book you’ve got the biblical story of creation, where every star and tree and fruit and animal is composed of the Hebrew letters that make up its name. Marjorie says that “if your kid isn’t bilingual or doesn’t go to Jewish day school, the puzzles will probably be too frustrating,” but since I don’t know my mayim from my kochav I can say that, for those of us without understanding, it’s beautiful to the eye and a way of telling the creation myth we’ve never seen before. A new take.

The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America by Jaime Hernandez, F. Isabel Campoy & Alma Flor Ada

Look familiar? This book made a nice little appearance on my Bilingual Books for Kids list. I’m over the moon for it, so let’s pick it apart a little. You have three different folktales inside. Each one has been heavily informed by F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada, who have added this crazy amount of additional backmatter at the end. As for the stories, they’re not the usual suspects. Sure, I knew the classic Perez y Martina tale already, but this one has a much happier ending than I’m used to. The titular story about the Dragon Slayer is a wonderful tale to kick everything off. Want a poor girl saving her prince boyfriend with her wits, while slicing off a couple dragon heads along the way? So much fun, you’ll wonder why they don’t turn folktales into comics more often.

Fiesta Femenina: Celebrating Women of Mexican Folklore, retold by Mary-Joan Gerson, ill. Maya Christina Gonzalez 

We’re strong on the folktales from Spanish speaking countries this year! This collection is particularly interesting because it’s such a mix. Some of these stories are from different tribes in the area. Some are from the Spanish conquerors and Christians. At one point there’s an Aztec tale called “Malintzin of the Mountain,” which focuses squarely on the woman who helped Cortés conquer her own people. Why? Background is given and we get a fuller picture, not just a story. I’ve never seen a book quite like this one. Effectively obliterates the idea of there being a single kind of Mexican folktale.

The Frog Prince by The Brothers Grimm, ill. Sybille Schenker

Sometimes you just want to give a gift that’ll impress someone. Sybille Schenker’s books live to impress. As I’ve been booktalking my favorite titles of the year, this is the one I return to over and again. If I had to choose a book of 2018 with a design that drops jaws, it would be this one. Kirkus described it better than I ever could when they said it had, “finely rendered cut-paper figures with gold and silver highlights on sheets of clear acetate or plain expanses of creamy white and rich green paper for illustrations.” They called it lavish. It is. It’s also deeply strange. Schenker has no interest in modernizing the original Grimm tale, so you’ll find that the princess never gets her comeuppance. Plus there’s that whole weird element with the servant who has the gold bands about his chest. Oh, you didn’t remember that part? Time to read the book.

Gamayun Tales: The King of Birds by Alexander Utkin

The first comic in a series (possibly a trilogy), Slavic tales are retold here. In them, a war between the beasts and the birds extends to the human realm when a man heals a bird and sets out for his reward. The art is a limited color palette but the primary colors at work are the unusual combination of blue and gold. I’ve read this story multiple times to my kids and the number one question they have afterwards is when the sequel is coming out. Smart kids.

Giants, Trolls, Witches, Beasts: Ten Tales from the Deep Dark Woods by Craig Phillips

Another series of comics, another book I’ve read multiple times to my children. It’s an interesting mix of tales that you might be familiar with (Peach Boy from Japan or Baba Yaga) and some that you’ve never seen before. The one where a girl must trick a carriage full of demons out of marrying her to a devil groom is pretty great. Phillips’ human characters do sometimes look very similar to one another, which can be confusing if you hop around from story to story the way we do. But it’s a great way to get lovers of comics into folktales as well.

Hermes: Tales of the Trickster by George O’Connor

Thanks to Fable Comics, my children were already well and truly familiar with Hermes and all his snarky comments. And thanks to Mordecai Gerstein’s I Am Pan, my kids knew about his son as well (while I kept thinking about Jitterbug Perfume, but that’s a story for another day). This is the latest in the Olympans series, and a nice lighthearted companion to Apollo (which I found almost too dark at times). O’Connor is such a pro by this point that you can’t help but gaze in awe at the ways in which he ties so many Hermes and Pan stories together. Can’t wait for the next!

The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier, ill. Sonia Sánchez

That old Little Red Hen story gets adapted into a fun format that makes a lot of sense, and gives a shot in the arm to the whole STEM-girl genre. The problem with Little Red Hen adaptations, as I see it, is that all too often the hen forgives the lazy animals way too easily. Maier takes a different approach. In this book a young girls wants to make a fort. Will the boys help her? Not a chance. The people who do are the grown-ups in her life, and we get multiple images of her mother or grandmother operating tools to get the job done. Are the boys allowed to play in the fort when it’s finished? Not until they contribute their own construction programs in some way. As is right.

Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship: Stories from India by Chitra Soundar, ill. Uma Krishnaswamy

And here you may see me straining against the tenuous strands of what truly constitutes a “folktale”. There was a time not so long ago when we librarians could afford to be choosy. Original folktales (folktales that haven’t been handed down for generations but have been created recently) would not have found a place on such a list as this one. But the downside of these stringent requirements is that you miss out on such delightful tales as these. In these stories from India, a prince and his best friend outwit, outthink, and generally run rings around a bunch of different problems. For example, a man sells another man a well then claims he never sold him the water inside. How do you solve that? I’ve a kid who likes it very much when a book shows someone being clever. If you know a similar kid then these short stories (which are rather perfectly designed for bedtime) are for you.

Meet Me at the Well: The Girls and Women of the Bible by Jane Yolen and Barbara Diamond Goldin, ill. Vali Mintzi

Rarely do I find a book on this list quite as useful as this. If you haven’t grown up knowing who Miriam or Judith was, you miss out on a lot of cultural references. You know all the strong girls / strong women books that came out this year? Well this should be listed alongside them since a lot of the women in these stories would qualify for that title. Each story is accompanied by a poem that gives a little more insight into the woman’s mind, and it makes for a handy reference, as well as good bedtime fodder.

Mrs. Noah’s Pockets by Jackie Morris, ill. James Mayhew

In every given year you usually get one Noah’s Ark picture book. I think there’s a law about it somewhere. So each year I go through them and try to find the ones that are the best. This year I sorted through the stack and decided that this was the book I wanted to praise the highest. While Noah wants to limit the number of animals in the new world, Mrs. Noah sews herself some mighty deep pockets. And when they dock, she releases a world of extraordinary things. Beautifully rendered (just look at those colors!) with a lot to say about exclusion too.

Myth Match: A Fantastical Flipbook of Extraordinary Beasts by Good Wives and Warriors

I’ll tell you right now, this is a flip book. The greatest flip book known to man, woman, or child. Around this time of the year I pay very very close attention to the Best Of lists coming out of libraries. Specifically, the two I pay the most attention to are Chicago Public Library’s (which is invariably impressive) and New York Public Library’s (where I used to work). NYPL is particularly useful when it comes to this list. Few other places pay adequate attention to folktales and the like, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that they were talking up a book I’d never seen before. By some miracle my library’s consortium had a copy so I nabbed that thing so fast it would’ve made your head spin. What I found inside was incredible. Basically, it’s mythical creatures from all around the globe. You combine them in different ways and can make them even more fantastical in the process. Or, you can be like my children, and attempt to make the most horrific creature possible. Either way, it’s pretty amazing.

Never Satisfied: The Story of the Stonecutter by Dave Horowitz

I say this for so many books, but I wish, I wish, I wish I’d had time this year to review this one. First off, if there were a prize for “best backstory”, Horowitz would walk away with the gold, uncontested. In this book he discusses how he stopped making children’s books and became an EMT. Yeah. You read that right. When he wrote that I suddenly realized that it was true. I hadn’t been seeing his books in the last few years. And while he was an EMT something happened that made him think of this old tale. It’s beautifully told, so funny, and his art is a perfect complement to the storytelling. The sole problem with it? I keep singing songs from Hamilton when I read the title. I figure it’s a small price to pay.

Noodleheads Find Something Fishy by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton, and Mitch Weiss, ill. Tedd Arnold

The third Noodleheads story so far, and they’re going strong! Based on classic noodlehead folktales (hence the heavily Endnoted words of Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss) these books are funny AND really good Geisel contenders. Easy books created out of folktales? You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first.

The Origin of Day and Night by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt, ill. Lenny Lishchenko

Inhabit Media, Inc. is the only publisher out there, that I’m aware of, that specializes in Inuit tales, stories, and books. I went through all their books this year and this was the one that I loved the best. The art, as you can see, is deeply evocative and engaging. The story, which explains where we got night and day, deftly told. Truly beautiful.

Ramayana: An Illustrated Retelling by Arshia Sattar, ill. Sonali Zohra

The epic Hindu poem, the Ramayana, is almost too big to encompass in the pages of a children’s book, but credit Sattar and Zohra for trying. This is probably the thickest chapter book on today’s list, and the art only appears occasionally. But when it does appear, it makes its presence known in impressive two-page spreads. Arshia Sattar is actually a Ramayana scholar, but the text feels as though it was written with kids in mind by an expert. A necessary purchase.

Speaking to an Elephant and Other Tales from the Kadars retold by Manish Chandi and Madhuri Ramesh, ill. Matthew Frame

I can’t describe this any better than the publisher (Tara Books) did here: “This collection of unusual folklore features the world of the Kadars, a small indigenous community in south India. Originally narrated to the authors by Kadar elders, these stories recall ways of living in forest habitats that hold important lessons for all those interested in regrowing our forests.” Read enough folktales and over time you notice patterns. Some of these stories feel familiar. Others are completely new to the senses. Mix them up together, and you get an exciting book with seriously striking art.

The Take-It Take-It Lady by Kveta Pacovska

And speaking of books that upset your expectations, here’s a curiosity. Essentially, what we have here is the story of Goldilocks. Not that you’d recognize her in her current form. As the Take It-Take It Woman, the older lady goes about just taking anything that isn’t nailed down. When she sees an empty cottage in the woods, she just walks on in. You might consider pairing this with a less inventive Goldilocks tale for a comparison storytime. Just be warned that if you intend to read this book aloud, a little practice might be warranted.

The Tiger Prince by Chen Jiang Hong, translated by Alyson Waters

Oh shoot. How the heck did I forget to add this book to my Translations List of 2018? Well, that’s on me, but at least we get to celebrate it here. Now about twelve years ago I encountered a different book by Chen Jiang Hong called The Magic Horse of Han Gan. It was incredible. The depth of the colors was something I’d never encountered before. I eagerly waited for more from this talented artist, but since I believe they live in France, translations were slow in coming. This book? Worth the wait. This Chinese folktale tells the story of a child raised by a tiger, bridging the divide between humanity and nature. It’s incredible. Just look at that cover.

Who Will Bell the Cat? by Patricia C. McKissack, ill. Christopher Cyr

The late great Patricia McKissack was the power behind this particular interpretation of the classic story. Though there isn’t any blood, I should tell you that some of my library colleagues were put off by the fact that the cat in this book acts like . . . well . . a cat. And mice, as I’m sure you know, don’t fare well when cats are about. McKissack stretches the book out a little, which makes sense, and Cyr’s art really gets the reader’s attention. I nominate this to be the best evil cat in a children’s book of 2018. Who’s with me?

Wild Swans retold by Xanthe Gresham Knight, ill. Charlotte Gastaut

So lovely! And without all that pesky faux-infanticide and stuff. This is a retelling of the classic Six Swans fairytale, collected by the Grimm Brothers. If you’ve half a mind to read the original, I recommend the 2014 version illustrated by Gerda Raidt. This is a little longer than that tale, appearing as a small novelette. The illustrations don’t quite reach the levels of lushness found in The Frog Prince this year, but there is a bit of gold foil at work here as well, so look for that. A gentler retelling, Knight makes the book enjoyable for ages old and young, without sacrificing the elements that made the original so memorable.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religion

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

2018 Fabulous Photography Books for Kids

Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak, ill. Julian Frost, photographs by Linnea Rundgren

Ah! I’m so glad I finally get to start talking about this book! The premise is mildly brilliant. Basically it’s Herve Tullet’s Press Here meets Dan Krall’s Sick Simon. Since germs are too small to see, let’s use a scanning electron microscope to show what fabric, teeth, and even a belly button looks like up close. The reader “picks up” the germ characters in each scene and moves them from place to place, but the impact would be so much less without those photographs. It’s a use of them that I’ve never really seen before. This is one of my favorite nonfiction books to booktalk this year, and it’s great with the youngest of kids.

Seeing Into Tomorrow, haiku by Richard Wright, photography by Nina Crews

Hopefully by now everyone has gotten a chance to see this book. In many ways Nina Crews is the doyenne of photographed picture book fiction. With this title she has found a perfect writing partner in Richard Wright. He created all these haikus years ago, so Nina brings each and every one of them to life with the aid of nature and her black boys subjects. Her photography has never been better and her curation of the poems is sublime. If any book of photography had a crack at a Caldecott this year (please see the Calling Caldecott post on this book, if you get a chance) it would be this one.

Sleep Train by Jonathan London, ill. Lauren Eldridge

That old debate: Should I include or not include models when I make up my photography list? I’m not terribly consistent on this point. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I do not. But most of the time I do, because I’m a sucker for a well modeled scene and this book contains loads of them. I love the lighting, the set-ups, and the sense of movement throughout. Photography is far more than realistic people in realistic settings. This book proves that.

Thank You, Earth by April Pulley Sayre

Of all the photographers on this list, Sayre is one of the hardest workers. I think there’s a naturally tendency to take beautiful images for granted. Ever since National Geographic got into the children’s book game, we’ve been seeing all kinds books sporting killer shots of nature. What’s ironic is that it’s actually pretty rare to find someone like Sayre. She knows the children’s book world well and is adept with a camera to boot. The book is a celebration of Earth through a lens. A testament to the true advantages of capturing natural beauty for kids.

This Is My Eye: A New York Story by Neela Vaswani

The minute I saw this book I absolutely had to read it. If Sayre is all about nature, and Crews straddles nature and the city, Vaswani goes whole hog on the urban experience. We adults sometimes forget how the world looks through the eyes of a kid. This book manages to capture that feeling. I’ve rarely encountered a book that put me back in the shoes of a nine-year-old so perfectly. Some of the most stunning photographs of the year are right here. Don’t miss it.

Warbler Wave by April Pulley Sayre with Jeff Sayre

A lot of nonfiction children’s books use photography, but rarely is that photography something to highlight and celebrate. In this book, Sayre and her husband lay before us a true labor of love. Migrating warblers of all kinds are depicted on these pages and the reviews have called it everything from “stunning ” and “impressive” to “skillful” and “beautiful”. They aren’t wrong. This isn’t one to miss.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religion

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

Lest we forget, the entire reason children’s books even exist is that they were meant to provide some form of moral instruction for the young and impressionable. Want to write a book for kids that’s silly and doesn’t really mean anything? It can be done but it’s actually pretty darn hard. Publishers know that those books that sell well are those that instill the values that parents with pocketbooks want in their offspring. But there’s a danger to what I deem “Message Books”. Mainly, that a goodly portion of them are just awful. Turns out, it’s really hard to be instructive without being didactic. You want to get what you’re trying to say across in a way that’s simple enough for a child to understand without essentially whacking them over the head with the message.

In 2018 people cranked up the notch on Message Books. Make no mistake, we’ve always had book that discuss feminism or equity, but they often would do so obliquely. But if 2018 is remembered for anything it will be for the year that subtlety took a hike and probably won’t be due back for a while. Here then are the Message Books of the year that tackled the challenge of instructing or informing the young with aplomb.

Forgive me for the shorter descriptions today. I hadn’t anticipated the sheer number of books out this year with a message. Obvious I didn’t think this one through. Ah well.

These are the rarities in the field.

2018 Books With a Message

Board Books

Baby Feminists by Libby Babbott-Klein, ill. Jessica Walker

Message: Feminism

Yeah, I’m not on board with board books about feminists. What could a baby or toddler possibly get out of such a book? How could they even . . . even . . . uh . . . guys? Is . . . is this a book of feminists AS ADORABLE BABIES?!?

Okay, I take it all back. That’s an amazing idea. A baby or toddler would actually get a lot out of this.  You guys are amazing. I’m all in.

Baby Loves Green Energy by Ruth Spiro, ill. Irene Chan

Message: Environmentalism

I’m very much looking forward to the sequel Baby Dislikes the Coal Industry With an Intensity That Rivals the White Hot Sun. What? That’s not a thing?

Make it a thing. I want it.

A Bubble by Geneviève Castrée and Phil Elverum

Message: Terminal Illness

I’ll level with you. I kind of put this book into this category because I had no idea where else to put it. But I couldn’t exactly say its message was “To Make Grown-Ups Cry”. Author Geneviève Castrée was diagnosed with a terminal illness and as her daughter grew she wrote this book as a final goodbye. It’s stirring and probably more for adults than kids, but I don’t care. Once in a while, we should reward the books that do something unexpected.

Hats of Faith by Medeia Cohan, ill. Sarah Walsh

Message: Religious Tolerance

Who doesn’t like hats? And who doesn’t like religious headpieces with a purpose behind them? Clothing board books are out there. Nice to see one with a goal.

My First Book of Feminism (For Boys) by Julie Merberg, ill. Michéle Brummer Everett

Message: Feminism

It’s all about consent, actual baby. Basically, this is a book that talks about respecting women and girls from a very young age. Pairs very well with Not My Idea, when it comes to books for young children tackling complex ideas in a simple (but not simplified) way.

Standroid & Dandroid: Sharing Does Not Compute by Michael Slack

Message: Sharing

Whew! After all these heavy handed themes, coming across a message as simple as “Sharing” feels downright revolutionary. Well, it’s hard to find good sharing books. I’d say

Picture Books

All Mine! by Carol Zeavin and Rhona Silverbush, ill. Jon Davis

Message: Setting Boundaries

It sounds crazy, but I’ve actually learned a lot from the “Terrific Toddlers” series that Magination Press has been putting out this year. Each book is as instructive to small children as they are to adults, and nothing shows this off better than this book. Basically, it’s about not sharing. You heard me. When a toddler goes over to a friend and starts grabbing their stuff, the adult instinct is to have the two share. But how is that fair to the kid who had the item first? Instead, you give it back to the first kid and make it clear that they aren’t ready to share yet. The two will take turns. I’ve never seen anything that discussed supporting toddlers’ needs for ownership before. Really interesting.

All of Us by Carin Berger

Message: Love

It’s sad that this message needs to be drilled home so often. It’s even sadder that usually when people try to drill it home it ends up being saccharine. Berger’s simplicity of text and images bypasses that problem entirely. A good gorgeous book.

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, ill. Jen Hill

Message: Kindness

At this point you’re going to see books that fall into what I like to designate as the Message Is In the Title category. There’s a definite advantage to going this route. Granted you’re not going to win any awards for subtlety (please see previous note about subtlety’s death in 2018) but in terms of being of use to parents and librarians, there’s a real advantage here. A patron walks up to a children’s librarian and asks for a book on kindness. Batta bing. Instant book.

Benji, the Bad Day, and Me by Sally J. Pla, ill. Ken Min

Message: Sensory Issues

Sort of like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, if Alexander had a sympathetic younger sibling that was on the spectrum.  The more I think about this book, the more impressed by it I am. An older brother comes home after a bad day, and who tries to comfort him the only way he knows how? His little brother Benji, going through the motions that give him comfort when his days are bad. It’s honestly touching. One of the more subtle books on today’s list.

The Book Tree by Paul Czajak, ill. Rashin Kheiriyeh

Message: Government Oppression

Literacy is outlawed when a book makes an inopportune landing on the Mayor’s head. But that’s the thing about making things go underground. Sometimes they’re liable to sprout up, bigger and louder than ever before.

Born Bad by CK Smouha, ill. Stephen Smith

Message: Identity

If the world tells you that you’re bad, is your fate sealed? Or can you write your own story?  The metaphor for establishing your own identity reads loud and clear here, but Smouha has an elegant hand and Smith equally elegant art.

Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham & Charles Waters, ill. Sean Qualls & Selina Alko

Message: Personal Space / Race

Pairing very well with fellow picture book Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller, I was quite fond of how Latham and Waters navigated the tricky subjects in this book. A poetry book unlike any others out there today.

Captain Starfish by Davina Bell, ill. Allison Colpoys

Message: Shyness

It’s hard to say where shyness stops and anxiety begins, but I think there will be great comfort for those kids afraid of public situations, that find a true friend in Alfie.

A Card for My Father by Samantha Thornhill, ill. Morgan Clement

Message: Absent Parent / Incarcerated Parent

A kid in school is given the assignment to write a card to her father, which right there makes me want to thump her teacher good and hard.  It’s Father’s Day and Flora never met her dad before he was incarcerated. This is the first in a trilogy of picture books and I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes in the future.

The Day We Lost Pet by Chuck Young, ill. Aniela Sobieski

Message: Death (Dead Pet)

Kirkus called this one “Breathtakingly original.” They weren’t wrong. I picked it up expecting the usual deceased dog storyline. Instead I encountered sentences like, “we were piles of skin laundry blending into a world of pales and fogs.” Buckle up, cowboys. This beautiful book isn’t going to make anything easy for you.

Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller

Message: Personal Space / Racism

The Message Is In the Title! And a good message it is too. Honestly, if this book can stop just one person from reaching out and sticking their hands into someone else’s hairdo, it will have already justified its existence on this globe. I think Miller is getting better and better.

The Fishing Lesson by Heinrich Böll, adapted by Bernard Friot, ill. Emile Bravo

Message: Simplicity

Maybe it’s not as big a message as some of the books on today’s list, but doggone it if it isn’t necessary.

Forest Dream by Ayano Imai

Message: Environmentalism

I can see you looking at this cover and wondering to yourself, “How the heck could I have missed a picture book THAT incredibly gorgeous in 2018?” The world is full of mysteries. At least you’re hearing about it now, eh? This book discusses the life cycle of a forest and the interconnectedness of nature. Kind of exquisite.

Get On Your Bike by Joukje Adveld, ill. Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson

Message: Get on your bike. Duh.

Another candidate for the “Message Is In the Title” category.

Hazelnut Days by Emmanuel Bourdier, ill. ZAÜ

Message: Incarcerated Parent

The rare message book that I actually reviewed in 2018. Normally I find them incredibly hard to review at all. I loved the reveal of where the dad is, and the depth of the boy’s love and conflicting feelings.

How Mamas Love Their Babies by Juniper Fitzgerald, ill. Elise Peterson

The first picture book of its kind I’ve ever seen to include sex workers, amongst other professions, as mothers. In a year when Stormy Daniels had a bestselling title, writing a picture book where ALL mothers are celebrated and granted dignity is beyond timely. It’s overdue.

Jack (Not Jackie) by Erica Silverman, ill. Holly Hatam

Odd to say, but when we talk about transgender picture books or picture books where the characters are gender fluid, nine times out of ten we’re talking about the kids that identify as girls. Where are the books about children that identify as boys then? Here’s one. I read this to my 4-year-old the other night and upon finishing it he insisted I read it again. Then my 7-year-old picked it up and started reading it. The story centers around the older sister of “Jackie” who, in time, identifies as male. Her confusion and frustration is the focus, which I thought was a clever take. Of course, because it’s through her lens, she refers to Jackie as “she” for a long time. Kirkus said, for this and other reasons that “the narrative remains rooted in a cisgender perspective” and that’s true, but I can see why the author made the choices she did. And, after all, there is pretty much almost nothing out there (even Kirkus in their “similar book” suggestions only mentioned books where the characters identify with girls). Necessary.

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Message: Gender Fluidity / Self-Acceptance

Can you believe that I almost forgot to include it? A staple now of Drag Queen Story Hours around the country, Julián is speaking to readers on an almost unprecedented level. Nothing quite like it out there.

Love by Matt de la Pena, ill. Loren Long

Message: Love

The Message Is In the Title. Mind you, I say that the message is just “love” but this is the book that makes it clear just how complicated that feeling really is. In spite of the cover, it’s not all sunshine and roses on these pages. A book unafraid to grapple with serious issues, as well as lighter ones.

Mallko and Dad by Gusti

Message: Acceptance / Down syndrome

I already mentioned this in my post about 2018 Down syndrome children’s books. Since that time I’ve heard folks speculate that this is more of a book for adults. I don’t entirely disagree, but I really and truly feel that if you have a kid whose sibling is differently abled in some way, this book is far more than the sum of its parts.

Marwan’s Journey by Patricia de Arias, ill. Laura Borràs

Message: Immigration / Refugees

In previous years I’ve seen dozens of picture books dealing with refugees and immigrants. This year, almost none on the younger side. Glad I saw this one in any case. Stellar.

Me and My Fear by Francesca Sanna

Message: Anxiety

A book unafraid to discuss the fact that there is an odd comfort in fear. Or, at the very least, in staying within your own personal safety zone, never pushing the boundaries or moving out of your comfort zone.

Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung

Message: Love Across Borders

I met Mr. Chung at NCTE this year. Charming fellow. I was sure to tell him that the librarians at my branch were gaga for this title. It sort of reminds me of Leo Lionni’s old Little Blue and Little Yellow, only with a 21st century attitude.

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham

Message: Confronting Whiteness

I’ve already discussed this book quite a lot, but if this is the first time you’re seeing it then I suggest you check out my full review of it. There is nothing else out there like it today.

The Old Man by Sarah V., ill. Claude K. Debois, translated by Daniel Hahn

Message: Empathy / Homelessness

A book that discusses homelessness (and possibly mental illness as well) without reducing the subject to a one-dimensional caricature. There’s a lot going on in this book. This is what you read to the child that walked past a homeless person and started asking questions. The book isn’t going to give them answers. Just a capacity for compassion.

One Wave At a Time: A Story About Grief and Healing by Holly Thompson, ill. Ashley Crowley

Message: Grief (dead father)

 The Message Is In the (Sub)Title.  One of the few grief books I saw this year that wasn’t pet-related. A book that makes it clear to kids that the unrelenting feeling of loss they have are completely normal.

Paul Writes (A Letter) by Chris Raschka

Message: Just be a decent human being, for crying out loud

I stand by that message.

Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights by Rob Sanders, ill. Jared Andrew Schorr

Message: Social Activism

A lot more kids are going to protest marches these days. Here’s the book you can read them beforehand so that they know what’s up. Has anyone actually made a picture book protest march booklist, by the way? I bet at this point you could include some really keen titles.

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

Message: Grief

Our winner, ladies and gentlemen.  I want to give this book all the things. The perfect title for telling a kid how to be a good friend when another child has suffered some kind of a tragedy.

The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros, ill. Dana Wulfekotte

Message: Dementia

Less a book about solutions and more a book to help kids understand their role in the family when an older member starts losing their memories.

Rock & Roll Woods by Sherry Howard, ill. Anika A. Wolf

Message: Sensory Issues

More sensory issue titles! Clear Fork Publishing is a small operation but they did a good job with this tale of cooperation and dealing with loud/strange sounds.

The Rough Patch by Brian Lies

Message: Grief (Dead Pet)

Like I always say. If you want to tell a story about an adult, turn them into a woodland creature. This is about the death of a pet, and how we come to handle our grief. I love that the fox’s wellies have holes for his toe claws too.

Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin

Message: Immigration

Oh, beautiful!! This book was a real treat. A girl, new to Brooklyn, misses the beaches of Iran. She also misses her friend and saffron ice cream. Her acceptance of the new with the old is deftly told, and the art is just spectacular. Looking forward to more books by this author/illustrator in the future.

Seven Pablos by Jorge Luján, ill. Chiara Carrer

Message: Empathy / Socioeconomic Status

A picture book for older readers, I’d say. The book shows seven boys, all named Pablo, in various places around the world. Sometimes they’re doing well. Sometimes they’re really struggling. Linked by a common name the book doesn’t tell the reader what to think or feel. Readers won’t help but want to know more about these boys and other kids in similar situations.

Small Things by Mel Tregonning

Message: Anxiety

Technically you could add this book to your comic or graphic novel section and no one would say boo about it. It is formatted like a picture book, but the wordless images inside are sophisticated. It’s a book where anxieties are depicted as little monsters, eating away at the kids. A good one for those anxious kids who need to know they’re not alone.

Sterling, Best Dog Ever by Aidan Cassie

Message – Be Yourself

Once in a while you’ve just got to put a silly, fun book on a list. I’m not usually a dog book lover, but I was very much attached to this tale of a canine so willing to please that he gives up his sense of self. Capable of an unusual poignancy, in the midst of the fun.

The Truly Brave Princesses by Dolores Brown, ill. Sonja Wimmer, text edited by Eva Burke and Rebecca Packard

Message: Celebrating Differences

Need I say more? I think it’s shown up on two other lists this month. And, spoiler alert, it’s going to get on at least one more!

Walls by Brad Holdgrafer, ill. Jay Cover

Earlier this year I wrote a post called Trump or Not? The Presidency and Current Children’s Literature where I speculated which books were and were not about our current sitting president. I wrote the post in June and this book came out in August, which means I missed it. Pity since there’s not so much as a drop of doubt in my mind that this is about Trump’s wall.

Water by Subhash Vyam with Gita Wolf from the Hindi oral narrative

Message: Environmentalism

While I said the topic of this is “environmentalism” I could just as well have said it was “personal responsibility in the face of great societal wrongs”. Both work equally well.

We Are All Me by Jordan Crane

Message: Empathy

The Message Is In the Title. Trippy! And cool. Very cool. And trippy.

What’s the Big Deal About Elections? by Ruby Shamir, ill. Matt Faulkner

Message: Get out the vote!

Hey, man. Whatever works. Personally, I hope that parents read this to their children and were inspired to register and vote for the first time. That would be extraordinary.

When Sophie Thinks She Can’t by Molly Bang

Message: Perseverance

This book appeared on the math list as well, but let’s take a moment to appreciate what a good job it does (A) outlining what a frustrated kid who just wants to give up feels like and (B) coming up with a reasonable and believable solution to the problem.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religion

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books

Americans, I ask of you, do you know how lucky we are? We have access to a world of children’s books from all over the globe! Insight into the hearts and minds of other countries’ creators. Yet all too often we discard these titles as “weird”. Sometimes they are, I won’t deny it (see: Hiznobyuti) but open yourselves up to the possibilities people! It’s like I always say. Windows and mirrors are great but what’s the use of having a window if all you can see is your own back yard?

Note again that the bulk of what I’m seeing here is from Europe. Not really a surprise, but in the future I sincerely hope that we see a marked increase in titles from Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Let’s get some variety in here, people.

For the adventurous:

2018 Translated Picture Books

Ayobami and the Names of the Animals by Pilar López Ávila, ill. Mar Azabal

Translated From: Spanish

If this book strikes you as looking a little familiar, you may have seen it on the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books list this year. Or perhaps it was on a different “Best” list somewhere. Weaving together elements of folktales, a girl avoids being devoured by a hippo, a crocodile, a leopard, a snake, a spider, and a mosquito by promising them that she’ll give them their names on paper when comes home from school. And you know me. If you can make a book sound a bit like a folktale, I’ll follow it to the ends of the earth.

The Barber’s Dilemma and Other Stories from Manmaru Street by Koki Oguma and Gita Wolf

I kept putting this book aside this year but it kept coming back. Forbidding me from forgetting about it. Set on Manmaru Street in Tokyo, these are thoughts and doodles with tangential connections to one another. Kirkus kept comparing the magical realism on these pages to Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, which has got to be one of the goofiest, and most appropriate, comparisons this book is likely to get. Personally, I’d say that this is a book suited for older readers. Because it’s so funny and because it’s so strange, this is going to be for that kid liable to page through it again and again, getting something out of it that you don’t understand and, quite frankly, that they don’t really understand either. They’ll just like it. I sure do.

The Crocodile and the Dentist by Taro Gomi

Translated From: Japanese

The other day a fellow parent at my kid’s school told me he’d been asked to speak to his daughter’s second grade class. Did I have any picture book recommendations out there about doctors? And darned if my first thought wasn’t this book. Naturally I dismissed the notion since this is a story of a dentist, not a doctor, and I suggested Zog and the Flying Doctors (which was a big hit, apparently). Certainly if you’re a dentist who has to speak to a class, this book would be an excellent option. In it, a crocodile fears going to the dentist as much as a dentist fears helping the crocodile. Yes, there’s a bit of Doctor DeSoto to it, but ain’t nothing wrong with that. I heard a rumor that this came out an extraordinarily long time ago in Japan. If so, I just feel lucky we finally acquired it now.

The Fishing Lesson by Heinrich Böll, adapted by Bernard Friot, ill. Emile Bravo

Not to put Heinrich Böll in a corner or anything, but I wasn’t exactly expecting a droll, witty little book like this when I picked it up. Emile Bravo’s the one to credit to a large extent. Not everyone can adapt a 1963 fable with such effortlessness. Are you a fan of TinTin at all? You’ll see the influence of Hergé (purposefully) referenced here. At its core the title is about a tourist mansplaining all over a fisherman how he could expand his business. It has a clever denouement at the end that practically had me slow clapping in the break room where I was reading it at lunch. It’s actually one of my favorites of the year. Shh! Don’t tell the other books!

The Forest by Riccardo Bozzi, ill. Violeta Lopíz & Valerio Vidali, translated by Debbie Bibo

Translated From: Italian

You ever see that old episode of Will & Grace (I’m saying too much about myself with this) when Grace gets herself a blooming onion and finds herself incapable of leaving it alone. At one point Will it takes it from her as she says, “But I just found out it’s good with sugar!” That’s how I am with Bozzi and Lopíz’s The Forest. It’s good with everything. Heck, I opened my PW newsletter yesterday and saw an image of them reading the book to a group of kids when they were in town to accept their New York Times Best Illustrated Award. And, of course, it already appeared on my Calde-nott list earlier this month. The hits just keep on coming!

The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė, ill. Aušra Kiudulaitė

Translated From: Lithuanian

My personal curse is that I cannot read the title of this book without immediately humming “Fox in the Snow” by Belle and Sebastian. There are worse curses to accrue in this life, I suppose. I first noticed this title when it received a starred review from PW. This is a more philosophical picture book than you’re likely to find on your average American shelves. It’s not wrong to compare this fox to the one in The Little Prince. She’s prone to the same kinds of ruminations. In the book a boy befriends her but, in time, must leave her. It hangs together better than I’m describing here. Full credit to the translation then. It reads as though it were always in English. Indeed, you’ll have a hard time figuring out how it was ever any other way.

Get On Your Bike by Joukje Adveld, ill. Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson

Translated From: Dutch

There are a lot of reasons why I love this book, not least of all the fact that it’s basically about a couple that fights, takes some time off, clears their respective heads, and apologizes afterwards. Did I mention that the couple involves two male characters? It’s subtle but if you look in the background photographs in their home you’ll see that they are far more than the “friends” some reviews of this book said they were. Now this is a surprisingly tall book for your shelves. You may find you have a devil of a time fitting it anywhere. Fortunately, it’s a charmer. Page after page reveals a wide assortment of creatures bicycling in the city, the countryside, and elsewhere. This title really sucks you into each scene. For more than just bike-enthusiasts.

Grains of Sand by Sibylle Delacroix, translated by Karen Li

Translated From: French

If you plant a seed you get a plant. If you plant grains of sand, what will that grow? There aren’t many books that are best read when a family has just ended a big vacation at the beach, but if that were a genre then this book would dominate it. It captures that let-down feeling you get when you have to return to your real life, as well as the way kids have of grabbing onto the fantastical in any situation.

The Grand Expedition by Emma Adbåge, translated by Annie Prime

Translated From: Swedish

And speaking of vacations, how about an adventure of camping in your own backyard? Quick question for you fellow Yanks out there, but is this something we do at all? I’ve seen it portrayed in a lot of imports over the years, but never once in an American children’s book. Surely we must do it too, right? Of course, I’m also grateful that it shows camping at all. Until recently, if a person walked up to my reference desk and asked for picture books about camping, I’d be flummoxed. Now we’re seeing a real uptick in titles. This trend, I like.

Hiznobyuti by Claude Ponti, translated by Alyson Waters

Translated From: French

When Ponti’s My Valley was published last year it was probably difficult to read near me, what with all my rapturous sighs and all. To my mind, it is the truest form of artistic expression, wrapped up in a sweetly surrealist story. Ponti’s return to the American stage came in the form of this translation, and boy is it one-of-a-kind! You ain’t seen nothing like this tale in your library before, folks. It’s a quest tale, of a sort, and an ugly duckling tale of another sort, and a hands down fever dream of yet another another sort. It’s also deeply charming and unlike anything else out there.

I Need All of It by Petra Postert, ill. Jens Rassmus

I was surprised by the degree to which I fell for this book, hook, line and sinker. It’s pretty simple on the outset. A kid explains to his dad why the objects in his pockets are of the greatest of importance. As the child imagines different situations behind the objects’ origins, the art changes significantly from the plain old black-and-white of reality to far more romantic fare.

It’s Springtime, Mr. Squirrel! by Sebastian Meschenmoser

Translated From: German

He’s baaaaack! You know I’m not including a list like this without my favorite red squirrel in tow, right? Someone mentioned the other day in a comment on my funny picture books list that they didn’t know a new Squirrel book was out. I have good news for them then. Another is slated for 2019. Oh wonderful, wonderful, most wonderful.

Jerome By Heart by Thomas Scotto, ill. Olivier Tallec, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick & Karin Snelson

Just a second . . . just a second . . . I know I have the description we wrote up for this book when we included it on the Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids list of 2018 around here somewhere. Lemme just . . . AHA! Here it is. I’ll just dust it off a second here . . . beautiful.  Ah-ah-ahem! “A remarkably sweet tale of two boys that love each other, and how just holding hands can sometimes feel like an act of resistance.”

The Most Beautiful Village in the World by Yutaka Kobayashi

At first kids reading this book aren’t going to find much happening. It’s the view of an Afghan village, and a nice one at that. There’ s a lot of life and variety at work, and for the most part this feels like one of those how-people-around-the-world-live types of titles. It’s only when you get to the end that you realize that this village is no more. The war happens. The people flee. There are a lot of anti-war books out there, but this may be one of the most effective because it shows rather than tells. The beautiful art doesn’t hurt matters much either.

My Little Small by Ulf Stark, ill. Linda Bondestam, translated by Annie Prime

Translated From: Swedish

Stand aside, Hiznobyuti! There’s a new peculiar book in town and it’s going to try to oust you from your odd little throne. From the land of Astrid Lindgren comes a story about loneliness. A Creature dreams of having something to care for. When a sun spark ends up in her cave she thinks her prayers are answered. The spark isn’t there to stay, though, and the Creature must, in time, let it go. It’s not really a motherhood tale and not really a friendship tale either. But it feels oddly honest about what it’s trying to say, and for that I found myself oddly impressed. I recommend giving it a whirl.

The Old Man by Sarah V., ill. Claude K. Debois, translated by Daniel Hahn

Translated From: French

The homeless in America are the visible invisible. We pretend to not see what’s right in front of our eyes. Maybe that accounts for how few stories about them for children there are. The Old Man is sympathetic to its protagonist, but that sympathy never turns into paternalistic pity. It’s forthright about what it’s like to live on the streets. In the book an old man has forgotten his name and is too ashamed to tell anyone. When he makes a chance encounter with a child, she gives him a little food, and, even more importantly, a name that he can remember. And we could go back and forth all day about what it means to name something and to give it dignity and pride, but I’ll save that for the upcoming “Message” list on Thursday.

On the Other Side of the Garden by Jairo Buitrago, ill. Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado

Translated From: Spanish

How many of you are familiar with or remember the picture book Jimmy the Greatest? Released in 2012, that was the first time I encountered a book by Jairo Buitrago, and I was impressed. This book is far more meditative than that one, but the same sense of quiet acceptance permeates the pages. In this story a girl is spending a night with her grandmother and it’s the first time she’s been away from her parents. There’s something going on in her life that she doesn’t reveal to us at first, and with the aid of an owl, a frog, and a mouse she begins to find a kind of comfort in this new, unfamiliar situation. For older child readers, I think.

Queen Panda Can’t Sleep by Susanna Isern, ill. Mariana Ruiz Johnson, translated by VeroK Agency

Translated From: Spanish

Do you have kids that find going to sleep difficult? Meet Queen Panda. She can’t sleep either. In fact, I’d say that if you had to choose any animal to be wracked with insomnia, a panda is a pretty darn good choice (just check out the natural circles under those eyes, eh?). The story is peppy and fun, but the real standout here is, as you can see from the cover, the art by Johnson. It won’t cure your kids’ insomnia, but at least it’ll give them something to look at while they’re awake.

Time for Bed, Miyuki by Roxane Marie Galliez, ill. Seng Soun Ratanavanh

Translated From: French

And speaking of kids that have a hard time going to bed, meet Miyuki. She may be the greatest bedtime delayer the world has ever seen. Asking for another cup of water? To be tucked in? Child’s play. Miyuki shows you how it’s done. Before she can go to bed she has to “gather the whole Snail family together,” and “dance the last dance of the day,” amongst other things. Ratanavanh’s art, as you can see from the cover, gives it all the impression that you’re dreaming anyway. Imaginative and beautiful by turns.

The Truly Brave Princesses by Dolores Brown, ill. Sonja Wimmer, text edited by Eva Burke and Rebecca Packard

Translated From: Spanish

Like I wasn’t going to include this little wonder. You know what I may like the most about it? Its sense of humor. I’ve seen loads of books celebrating strong women this year but how many did it with a goofy smile? I give a lot of points out for goofy smiles. I give a lot of points to this book.

The Visitor by Antje Damm, translated by Sally-Ann Spencer

Translated From: German

Another book that’s appeared on a previous list. I was so gratified when it started getting a lot of attention from the gatekeepers. I can only hope we’ll see what Damm has coming out in the future.

Water by Subhash Vyam with Gita Wolf from the Hindi oral narrative

Translated From: Hindi

 You know, Baker & Taylor (my library’s distributor) categorizes this book as “Young Adult Nonfiction” and says the text is for teens as well. Can’t say as I necessarily agree, though I understand the instinct to catalog it that way. I’d say it was a picture book for older readers, certainly, but better suited to the 10-14 year-olds than those high schoolers. In it, we are asked, what is the price of water? The traditional story of seven sisters who bargain with the lake for water is contrasted with the very real contemporary story of small villages that have to pay the price for what the big cities do to them. The pictures, as you can tell, are ink-on-paper illustrations of Gond art. Environmental messages don’t often get such beautiful packaging. It helps that it’s written to appeal widely as well.

Interested in the other lists? Here’s the schedule of everything being covered this month. Enjoy!

December 1 – Board Books & Pop-Ups

December 2 – Board Book Reprints & Adaptations

December 3 – Wordless Picture Books

December 4 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Alphabet Books

December 7 – Funny Picture Books

December 8 – CaldeNotts

December 9 – Picture Book Reprints

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Bilingual Books

December 12 – Translated Picture Books

December 13 – Books with a Message

December 14 – Fabulous Photography

December 15 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religion

December 16 – Oddest Books of the Year

December 17 – Poetry Books

December 18 – Easy Books

December 19 – Early Chapter Books

December 20 – Comics for Kids

December 21 – Older Funny Books

December 22 – Fictionalized Nonfiction

December 23 – American History

December 24 – Science & Nature Books

December 25 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 28 – Nonfiction Chapter Books

December 29 – Fiction Reprints

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books