Today I’m shamelessly piggybacking, this time using The Atlantic’s wonderful selection of 65 outstanding US picture books for infant and toddler ‘readers’ to fill in this blog entry. The piece is not signed, but you can find for each book a comment by the person who chose it (authors, librarians and other experts).
The books, the introduction mentions, are limited “to titles that lead up to the transition from listening to an adult’s narration to reading independently.” The volumes are extremely varied but some trends can be appreciated: an abundance of anthropomorphized animals; the surprising longevity of some beloved classics (how can Miffy have appeared in 1955?!) and the opening up in the 21st century of US picture books to other cultures (Africa, East Asia) and to problematic issues, such as bereavement and grief.
Since copying the list is a bit too lazy, I have added links for the authors and illustrators (in many cases the same person). All authors are US-born or naturalized, except when the opposite is noted. Enjoy the treasure trove!
The Story of Ferdinand (w.) Munro Leaf, (ill.) Robert Lawson, 1936
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (w., ill.) Virginia Lee Burton, 1939
Madeline (w., ill.) Ludwig Bemelmans, 1939
Caps for Sale (w., ill.) Esphyr Slobodkina, 1940
The Carrot Seed (w.) Ruth Krauss, (ill.) Crockett Johnson, 1945
Goodnight Moon (w.) Margaret Wise Brown, (ill.) Clement Hurd, 1947
Blueberries for Sal (w., ill.) Robert McCloskey, 1948
Harold and the Purple Crayon (w., ill.) Crockett Johnson, 1955
Miffy (w., ill.) Dick Bruna (Dutch), 1955 (originally Nijntje)
Eloise (w.) Kay Thompson, (ill.) Hilary Knight, 1955
Green Eggs and Ham (w., ill.) Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel), 1960
Go, Dog. Go! (w., ill.) P. D. Eastman, 1961
The Snowy Day (w., ill.) Ezra Jack Keats, 1962
Where the Wild Things Are (w., ill.) Maurice Sendak, 1963
A Baby Sister for Frances (w.) Russell Hoban, (ill.) Lillian Hoban, 1964
Fortunately (w., ill.) Remy Charlip, 1964
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (w., ill.) William Steig, 1969
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (w., ill.) Eric Carle, 1969
Frog and Toad Are Friends (w., ill.) Arnold Lobel, 1970
George and Martha (w., ill.) James Marshall, 1972
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (w.) Judith Viorst, (ill.) Ray Cruz, 1972
Where the Sidewalk Ends (w., ill.) Shel Silverstein, 1974
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (w., ill.) Richard Scarry, 1974
Strega Nona (w., ill.) Tomie de Paola, 1975
Rotten Ralph (w.) Jack Gantos, (ill.) Nicole Rubel, 1976
Hippos Go Berserk! (w., ill.) Sandra Boynton, 1977
I Really Want to See You, Grandma (w., ill.) Tarō Gomi (Japan), 1979
Fairyland (w., ill.) Gyo Fujikawa, 1981
Miss Rumphius (w., ill.) Barbara Cooney, 1982
Everett Anderson’s Goodbye (w.) Lucille Clifton, (ill.) Ann Grifalconi, 1983
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (w.) Laura Numeroff, (ill.) Felicia Bond, 1985
Annie Bananie by Leah Komaiko, (ill.) Laura Cornell, 1987
Mirandy and Brother Wind (w.) Patricia C. McKissack, (ill.) Jerry Pinkney, 1988
The Talking Eggs (w.) Robert D. San Souci, (ill.) Jerry Pinkney, 1989
The Mitten (w., ill.) Jan Brett, 1989
Tuesday (w., ill.) David Wiesner, 1991
Tar Beach (w., ill.) Faith Ringgold, 1991
The Salamander Room (w.) Anne Mazer, (ill.) Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, 1991
Stellaluna [Stelaluna] (w., ill.) Janell Cannon, 1993
Good Night, Gorilla (w., ill.) Peggy Rathmann, 1994
Bark, George (w., ill.) Jules Feiffer, 1999
Olivia (w., ill.) Ian Falconer, 2000
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (w.) Doreen Cronin, (ill.) Betsy Lewin, 2000
Beautiful Blackbird (w., ill.) Ashley Bryan, 2003
Michael Rosen’s Sad Book [El libro triste] (w.) Michael Rosen (England), (ill.) Quentin Blake (England), 2004
Kitten’s First Full Moon [La primera luna llena de gatita] (w., ill.) Kevin Henkes, 2004
Little Blue Truck (w.) Alice Schertle, (ill.) Jill McElmurry, 2008
We Are in a Book! (w., ill.) Mo Willems, 2010
Big Red Lollipop (w.) Rukhsana Khan (Pakistan-Canada), (ill.) Sophie Blackall (Australia), 2010
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match (w.) Monica Brown, (ill.) Sara Palacios, 2011
The Day the Crayons Quit (w.) Drew Daywalt, (ill.) Oliver Jeffers (Australia-Northern Ireland) 2013
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole (w.) Mac Barnett, (ill.) Jon Klassen (Canada), 2014
Grandad’s Island (w., ill.) Benji Davies, 2015
Last Stop on Market Street (w.) Matt de la Peña, (ill.) Christian Robinson, 2015
The Sound of Silence (w.) Katrina Goldsaito, (ill.) Julia Kuo, 2016
School’s First Day of School (w.) Adam Rex, (ill.) Christian Robinson, 2016
Julián Is a Mermaid (w., ill.) Jessica Love, 2018
A Big Mooncake for Little Star (w., ill.) Grace Lin, 2018
Dreamers (w., ill.) Yuyi Morales, 2018
Birdsong (w., ill.) Julie Flett (Canada), 2019
Lubna and Pebble (w.) Wendy Meddour (England), (ill.) Daniel Egnéus (Sweden), 2019
Knight Owl (w., ill.) Christopher Denise, 2022
The World Belonged to Us (w.) Jacqueline Woodson, (ill.) Leo Espinosa, 2022
Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden (w., ill.) Christy Mandin, 2024
I’m Sorry You Got Mad (w.) Kyle Lukoff, (ill.) Julie Kwon, 2024
Some considerations. One is that, it seems to me, authors who are also illustrators have a clear advantage over authors than must partner with an illustrator, as they need not depend on someone else. No idea how this partnership works, I’ve never read or seen anything about it. Another consideration is that, like all genres, picture books have a circuit of awards. The Caldecott Award (named after nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott) is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The John Newbery Medal (named after eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery) is awarded by the same institution to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children’s books, and is given annually by IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young People). Finally, I’m composing this post on the day when I have unearthed from the bottom of my computer the three stories I wrote for my nieces about ten years ago, and the other three I wrote with them. The time we spent together reading and writing the stories was simply wonderful, and I recommend to everyone close to children that they give it a try (I’m not a mother, I’m an aunt). It doesn’t matter if the end result is not close by far to anything publishable: the fun is in making up stories, goofing a bit around, and creating sweet memories for when the kids are older. It works, promise!