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The Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years

25 items

Bernadette Huang

Children’s literature is not the same as when we were little. In many ways, it’s better.

✅ My Recommendation • If you only pick one, go with Olivia (the original book) — it’s iconic, covers the character, and is a solid introduction. • If the reader is younger (toddler/preschool), the board book edition is the ideal format. • If you a...

2000 IAN FALCONER=Olivia

Since you’re just purchasing (and not necessarily collecting), I suggest going for the New Hardcover Standard edition: one of the listings rated “new listing new/stock”. This gives you the full experience, good condition, full impact of the illustrat...

2003 MORDICAI GERSTEIN=The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

✅ Why It’s a Strong Recommendation • The interactive nature: The story directly involves the reader (“Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!”) which engages children and makes the reading experience fun and memorable. • Humor + personality: The pig...

2003 MO WILLEMS = Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

✅ Why it’s a great pick • Jerry Pinkney is a highly acclaimed illustrator: over 100 books, numerous honors. • The book’s format (mostly images, minimal or no text) makes it very flexible for younger children, bilingual reading, and storytelling ...

2009 JERRY PINKNEY = The Lion & the Mouse

✅ Why this book might be a strong pick • It pairs rich historical subject matter (enslaved artisan, creativity under oppression) with powerful visuals to engage readers of many ages. • The theme of turning “ordinary material” into lasting art provi...

2010 LABAN CARRICK HILL AND BRYAN COLLIER = Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

✅ Why it’s a strong pick • Very engaging for young children — the interactive format invites participation rather than passive reading. • Great for early readers or shared reading with kids (~ages 3-5), especially to explore cause/effect, action, c...

2011 HERVÉ TULLET = Press Here

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • The combination of Woodson’s spare, emotionally resonant text and Lewis’s powerful watercolor illustrations makes the story subtle yet deeply affecting. • It invites discussion about kindness, inclusion, and missed cha...

2012 JACQUELINE WOODSON AND E.B. LEWIS = Each Kindness

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • The story beautifully blends generosity, transformation, and a sense of magic: good themes for children. • The illustrations’ shift from muted greys to vibrant colour visually reinforce the narrative of change and hope. ...

2012 MAC BARNETT AND JON KLASSEN = Extra Yarn

✅ Why It’s A Strong Pick • It blends poetry, art, and science — appealing visually and intellectually for children who are curious about nature. • The layout and pacing make it excellent for shared reading (adult + child), or for an informational r...

2013 DIANNA ASTON AND SYLVIA LONG = An Egg Is Quiet

🎯 Tips for Use • Best in a group or shared setting: the silliness comes when an adult dramatically reads aloud with big expressions. • Before reading: ask children what they expect from a picture book. Then ask how this one is different. • Pause ...

2014 B.J. NOVAK = The Book With No Pictures

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • The story is emotionally rich yet accessible: it speaks clearly to young readers but opens up for deeper discussion about class, community, race, gratitude, and perspective. • Christian Robinson’s illustrations bring w...

2015 MATT DE LA PEÑA AND CHRISTIAN ROBINSON = Last Stop on Market Street

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • Its combination of picture‑rich art and invented language makes reading it an active, imaginative experience — not just following text, but decoding and exploring. • It invites curiosity about the natural world — insects,...

2016 CARSON ELLIS = Du Iz Tak?

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • The unique point of view (the school building itself) offers a fresh twist on the “first day of school” theme and helps children relate to first‑day jitters from a new angle. • Christian Robinson’s illustrations use pa...

2016 ADAM REX AND CHRISTIAN ROBINSON = School’s First Day of School

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It invites discussion about perspective, observation, and how things appear differently depending on who’s looking. This makes it rich for shared reading and classroom use. • The visuals are inventive: each spread changes...

2016 BRENDAN WENZEL = They All Saw a Cat

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It gives voice to a positive, affirming image of Black boyhood, and does so through powerful language and art that feel unapologetic and joyful. • The book’s language and visual style make it ideal for read‑alouds, enc...

2017 DERRICK BARNES AND GORDON C. JAMES = Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It offers a powerful message of acceptance, self‑expression, and belonging, which makes it meaningful beyond the story itself. • The illustration style — watercolour, gouache and ink on brown paper — is visually distin...

2018 JESSICA LOVE = Julián Is a Mermaid

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It combines autobiographical narrative + visual artistry in a way that resonates with children and adults alike. • The theme of immigration, identity, and empowerment is handled with sensitivity and beauty—useful in discu...

2018 YUYI MORALES = Dreamers

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It blends poetic text and powerful visuals in a way that engages young readers emotionally and intellectually, offering both beauty and depth. • The subject matter—Black history, resilience, identity, hope—is both timely ...

2019 KWAME ALEXANDER AND KADIR NELSON = The Undefeated

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It offers a celebration of culture, rather than a token depiction—showing a vivid, lively border‑town marketplace with heart and depth. • The bilingual format (English + Spanish words throughout) supports language learnin...

2019 RAÚL THE THIRD AND ELAINE BAY = ¡ Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It blends nature‑themed storytelling, seasonal structure, and gentle magic in a way that appeals to younger children while having depth for older readers. • The world‑building is immersive: forest setting, creatures, seas...

2021 PHOEBE WAHL = Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It handles a difficult and significant topic — the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history — in a way that is age‑appropriate yet unflinching enough to respect the gravity. • ...

2021 CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD AND FLOYD COOPER = Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • Sophie Blackall brings her signature detailed, textured, collage‑and‑paint illustrations which reward slow looking and repeated reading. • The subject matter—the passage of time, change in place, memory, family life—of...

2022 SOPHIE BLACKALL = Farmhouse

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It celebrates food and culture through a child’s imagination, bringing the dim sum experience—and a little bit of magical realism—into the story. • The visual art is striking: graphs of colour, scale shifts (giant chefs v...

2023 X. FANG = Dim Sum Palace

✅ Why It’s a Strong Pick • It brings a classic folktale flavor—mystery, shadows, courage—while being accessible to young readers (approx ages 6–9). • Klassen’s signature dry humor and visual style are evident, making it appealing both for childr...

2023 JON KLASSEN = The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale

🎯 Why It’s a Strong Pick • It’s very entertaining, with strong comedic voice and visual humor that appeal to both younger children and adults reading aloud. • It plays with format: presenting something like a “nature guide” then revealing absurdit...

2025 NEIL SHARPSON AND DAN SANTAT = Don’t Trust Fish