In its 71st year of highlighting children’s books, the New York Times Book Review and the New York Public Library have announced the 10 winners of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award. This year’s panel of judges included illustrator Sean Qualls, cultural critic and picture book author Maria Popova, and New York Public Library children’s librarian Christopher Lassen.
The 2023 Best Illustrated selections are:
As Night Falls: Creatures That Go Wild After Dark by Donna Jo Napoli, illus. by Felicita Sala (Random House Studio)
At the Drop of a Cat by Élise Fontenaille, illus. by Violeta Lópiz, trans. from the French by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong (Enchanted Lion)
Bear Is Never Alone by Marc Veerkamp, illus. by Jeska Verstegen, trans. from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans)
Before, Now by Daniel Salmieri (Rocky Pond)
Bunny & Tree by Balint Zsako (Enchanted Lion)
How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido, illus. by Melissa Sweet (Quill Tree)
Mary’s Idea by Chris Raschka (Greenwillow)
Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll! Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll by Tonya Bolden, illus. by R. Gregory Christie (HarperCollins)
We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration by Donna Jo Napoli and Robert Furrow, illus. by Marc Martin (Random House Studio)
The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent by Irene Vasco, illus. by Juan Palomino, trans. from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel (Eerdmans)
