Kimberly Fakih

Inclusion and play seem to be the watchwords for this roundup. These books include children using cochlear implants, eye shields, prosthetics, wheelchairs, and other helpful tools and devices, but the text never points them out or even mentions them. Welcome to the world of children at play.

The writer of the landmark YA novel, Annie On My Mind, died 10 years ago this month. Her work paved the way for hundreds of other books on a host of LBGTQIA+ subjects long before the acronym was created. There are now ways for children of all ages to address feelings without shame, to locate characters with hearts and minds and the ability to love as they do, and to feel empowered by books where gay young people (or trans or bi or ace) are part of the narrative. 

When they were first published, Sydney Taylor’s books not only planted a flag for Jewish identity but also for Jewish joy, and today remind readers that Alcott's March sisters haven't cornered the market on getting by on love and little else. For Women's History Month, we remind readers of Sydney Taylor's origin story.

From a glittering party in Harlem to a dazzling parade in Tokyo, from a baba's small patch of soil to a cadre of children learning to love who they are or stand up for others, the very best of 2023's picture books invite readers into pages to meet the world head on.

The beginning of life, the stars in the sky, the fungi around us, and some of the hottest topics in biology and science are on display in the best books of 2023 in the elementary nonfiction list. The facts are in: these writers and illustrators help kids connect with the real world in one thrilling book after another. 

The author/illustrator describes his inspiration for this story about a mother fox making her way across an autumnal landscape to get home to her kits.

With fascinating topics across fiction and nonfiction, these 21 board books make babies and toddlers happy, keep them engaged, and don't wear out caregivers on the first reading.

By reaching back two generations to the abuses suffered by her grandmother in boarding school, Carole Lindstrom, author of the Caldecott Medal-winning 'We Are Water Protectors' reclaims a piece of Indigenous culture about the power and beauty of long hair.

Impeccable art and lyrical and child-friendly text set these 27 titles apart from everything else we read this year.