What a wonderful year for children’s books this was! Children’s Librarians from Seattle Public Library selected Ten Amazing Picture Books and Ten Wonderful Novels and Comics that were published in 2018. Each list is rich with stories that reflect a range of different experiences and perspectives. Here is just a sample of what you can find on the lists:
Drawn Together by Minh Lê and illustrated by Dan Santat tells a beautiful and heartwarming tale of the power of art. Left for the day with his grandfather, who only speaks Thai, his young English-speaking grandson expects a boring and awkward afternoon but, as the two being drawing, they discover through their shared love of creating that they don’t need to speak to communicate.
Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow tells a gentle story of love and imagination. A young girl loves the closet full of brightly colored headscarves worn by her mother. Donning one for a day of dress-up, including a trip to the mosque, she feels special, loved, and especially close to her mother.
Debut author Jessica Love gives readers a true celebration of self-expression in Julián is a Mermaid. One day on the subway with his grandmother, Julián sees three women dressed as mermaids and is absolutely enchanted. Can he, too, be a mermaid with flowing tresses and a fabulous costume bursting with color?
Akissi simply cannot stay out of trouble! Marguerite Abouet’s latest collection, Akissi: Tales of Mischief, is an absolute delight. From sneaking into the local movie theater to “borrowing” a neighbor’s baby to play house, Akissi and her friends capture the universal joys of childhood in this lively graphic novel set in a small city in the Ivory Coast.
In Front Desk author Kelly Yang draws upon her own childhood to tell the story of 10-year-old Mia Chang, whose family recently immigrated from China to Southern California. Forced to take job from a dishonest hotel owner, the family does their best to survive and adjust to their new lives while helping other less-fortunate folks that come through the hotel.
Roshani Chokshi’s new middle grade series starts with the unputdownable Aru Shah and the End of Time. Twelve-year-old Aru has a bit of a tendency to embellish the truth in an effort to fit in with her classmates, but when they dare her to light a lamp that is supposedly cursed, Aru accidentally wakes a demonic Sleeper and is suddenly in a race against time against the Lord of Destruction.
We hope you love these books as much as we did!
~Posted by Summer H.
