As we look back at the tumultuous year that was 2020, the SLJ reviews editors have compiled a series of “favorites” roundups.

Here, we share the 2020 Best Books covers that most left an imprint on our eyes (and hearts). Ranging from the regal RESPECT, illustrated by Frank Morrison, to the impactful The Black Kids, which received two nods from our editors, these books should be treasured for the stories they tell, both on the page and on their book jackets.

Reference/Professional Reading Editor Mahnaz Dar: Flamer by Mike Curato
Book jacket designed by Mallory Grigg and Colleen AF Venable

Reviews Editor Shelley Diaz: RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul by Carole Boston Weatherford. illus. by Frank Morrison
Book jacket designed by Debra Sfetsios-Conover

Picture Books Senior Editor Kimberly Olson Fakih: From Ed’s to Ned’s by Gideon Sterer. illus. by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Book jacket designed by Nicole de las Heras and Lucy Ruth Cummins.

YA Senior Editor Katy Hershberger: The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
Jacket illustration by Adriana Bellet; book cover designed by Lucy Ruth Cummins

Chapter Books/Middle Grade Assistant Editor Ashleigh Williams: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
Jacket art by Jedit

Nonfiction/Series Made Simple Associate Editor Vanessa Willoughby: The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed
Jacket illustration by Adriana Bellet; book cover designed by Lucy Ruth Cummins