20 Must-read Picture Books of 2022

Berry Song by Michaela Goade

With lyrical words and dreamlike, atmospheric writing, this representation publication astir the seasonal berry-picking of the Tlingit radical successful Sheet’ká, Alaska is simply a delight! Throughout the twelvemonth a grandma and her granddaughter instrumentality gifts from the Earth portion singing songs to assistance amusement their gratitude, and support the bears distant portion they are berry-picking. This is simply a beauteous communicative astir gratitude and appreciating the Earth. It is besides an astonishing mode to larn much astir the Tlingit culture, particularly done a poignant author’s enactment astatine the extremity of the book.

Blue: A History of the Color arsenic Deep arsenic the Sea and arsenic Wide arsenic the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, illustrated by Daniel Minter

This publication has a agelong rubric and explores an adjacent longer past of the colour blue. It goes implicit each the ways bluish pigment has been made passim centuries, from snails successful Eurasia to crushed sapphires successful Afghanistan to indigo grown and harvested connected American plantations by enslaved African people. The gorgeous illustrations showing a assortment of bluish tones augments the fascinating past of 1 of the world’s astir fashionable and sought retired colors.

Concrete: From the Ground Up by Larissa Theule, illustrated by Steve Light

Calling each construction-obsessed young readers! This representation publication takes a reasonably mundane taxable and breathes beingness into it. From the instauration of factual done the galore applications of the worldly successful the satellite astir us, this nonfiction representation publication dives heavy into the subject. Not lone is the engineering and subject of factual explored, but besides the gathering and architectural history. Concrete is truthful ubiquitous, it’s casual not to deliberation excessively overmuch astir it. But speechmaking this beautifully-illustrated, informative representation publication volition alteration that for readers.

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Does a Bulldozer Have a Butt? by Derick Wilder, illustrated by K-Fai Steele

This publication pitches itself arsenic Dr. Seuss meets Everyone Poops. I recovered that to beryllium a beauteous apt description. This rhyming communicative follows a precious kid walking to schoolhouse with their begetter asking 1 question implicit and implicit and implicit again: does it person a butt? From scarecrows to crayons and sheep to bulldozers, they statement what does and doesn’t person a butt. A hilarious communicative that volition person younger readers dissolving into laughter, but 1 that ne'er devolves into gross retired humor. Prepare for a batch of giggle breaks portion you’re speechmaking this one!

Elephant Island by Leo Timmers

When Elephant gets vessel wrecked, helium ends up connected an land that’s comically small. One by one, his friends travel to effort to rescue him. And 1 by 1 their vessels are destroyed arsenic Elephant tries to escape. But alternatively of giving up, Elephant and his friends usage the wreckage to grow the tiny land truthful determination is capable country for each of them to unrecorded there. Soon, determination is adjacent a ferris instrumentality and a waffle maker. Why would they ever privation to leave? There are important messages astir perseverance and relationship successful this representation book. But the carnal drama portrayed done the illustrations is what volition genuinely delight readers.

Feathers Together by Caron Levis, illustrated by Charles Santoso

Inspired by a brace of real-life birds, Klepetan and Malena are storks who bash everything together. Even erstwhile Malena is injured and indispensable heal nether the attraction of a adjuvant human, they find ways to enactment with each other. But erstwhile autumn comes, it’s clip for Klepetan to permission Croatia and migrate to South Africa. Malena is inactive excessively injured to marque the journey. The 2 storks indispensable effort to find a mode to stay adjacent portion being separated for the archetypal time.

If You Laugh, I’m Starting This Book Over by Chris Harris, illustrated by Serge Bloch

If you privation a publication guaranteed to capable the country with zany, chaotic absurdity, past this is decidedly the close representation publication to read. It breaks the 4th partition by speaking straight to the readers, successful the aforesaid vein arsenic The Book With No Pictures oregon There’s a Monster astatine the End of this Book (one of my idiosyncratic favorites). By demanding that readers don’t laughter but past filling each leafage with silly art, comic names, and hilarious concepts, the publication practically ensures giggles. This mightiness not beryllium a favourite for bedtime, but it makes an incredibly amusive read-aloud.

I Love My Body Because by Shelly Anand and Nomi Ellenson, illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina 

There are truthful galore antagonistic messages kids (and adults) person astir their bodies. This publication combats those pervasive taste messages with a solemnisation of each bodies. It discusses antithetic ways we tin amusement emotion to our bodies similar playing, hygiene, and friendship. It besides acknowledges that sometimes our bodies don’t consciousness good. The publication besides isn’t conscionable astir accepting and loving our ain bodies. It besides emphasizes loving and respecting children with bodies that are antithetic from ours. This is represented done a assortment of races, genders, disabilities, assemblage sizes, hairsbreadth types, spiritual garments, birthmarks, and more. The sheer magnitude of divers practice wrong this publication is simply a triumph that supports its halfway message.

I’m a Unicorn by Helen Yoon

Unicorn stories are plentiful successful the representation publication world. But the kids I cognize are inactive enchanted by them. And this unique, humorous instrumentality decidedly stands out. A 1 horned calf, possibly feeling self-conscious astir being antithetic from the different cows, decides they are a unicorn aft speechmaking astir the magical creatures successful a book. After each they person conscionable 1 horn. And adjacent if they don’t poop rainbows oregon shimmer nether the moonlight, they inactive privation to consciousness similar they belong. A accidental tally successful with immoderate “real” unicorns volition determine the contented 1 mode oregon another. Along with immoderate large laughs (did I notation the rainbow poop?) this publication has a almighty connection of openness and acceptance of differences.

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

Owl dreams of becoming a knight 1 day, adjacent though he’s a vertebrate and a tiny 1 astatine that. With amusive medieval details and tons of humor, the communicative shows him yet getting his accidental erstwhile tons of knights spell missing. After knight school, wherever helium is adorably excessively tiny to wield weapons and has occupation staying awake successful the daytime, he’s assigned to the nighttime watch. Other quality knights underestimate him. But his tiny size and cleverness prevention the time erstwhile a dragon attacks 1 night.

The Line successful the Sand by Thao Lam

This wordless representation publication is beautifully-illustrated and has an important message. Panels amusement a monster dragging a instrumentality down the formation and creating a enactment successful the sand. A radical of different monsters who were playing connected the formation present wonderment what this enactment that divides them into antithetic sections means. They statement if they tin transverse the enactment and adjacent physically halt each different from doing so. But the accomplishment of a bee leads to the enactment being erased and their relationship restored. The metaphor inherent successful this communicative is subtle, but a large mode to commencement meaningful conversations with big guidance.

Love successful the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura

This beauteous emotion communicative is intriguing for children and big readers. It is based connected the the existent emotion communicative of the author’s grandparents who met and fell successful emotion successful the room of a Japanese Internment Camp during WWII. The communicative shows the utmost injustice of this clip successful American past wherever conscionable being Japanese American became a crime. But it besides shows the powerfulness of books to get radical done unimaginably hard times and the optimism of uncovering emotion successful the mediate of utmost hardship.

Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Hyewon Yum

This multicultural publication takes spot successful a kindergarten English arsenic a 2nd connection class. To combat the quiescent classroom, 5 twelvemonth aged Luli decides to big a beverage party. She calls the yummy, blistery portion “Chá!” and her classmates respond with the words for beverage successful their languages ranging from Russian to Arabic to Swahili. While they each talk antithetic languages and galore travel from antithetic countries, beverage is thing they tin each admit and enjoy.

Magnolia Flower by Zora Neale Hurston, adapted by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrated by Loveis Wise

In this beauteous representation book, Kendi adapts a abbreviated communicative Hurston wrote successful 1925 to marque it accessible to young readers. In the publication a stream tells a communicative to a brook astir a young Afro-Indigenous miss named Magnolia Flower. She is the beloved girl of an escaped enslaved idiosyncratic and a Cherokee pistillate who escaped the Trail of Tears. She craves the state to emotion whoever she wants and makes the brave prime to travel her heart. The communicative is gripping and a unsocial emotion communicative to spot successful a representation book. And notes astatine the extremity springiness discourse to the elements of Black folklore preserved successful this adaptation and the value of stories showing Black and Native absorption from American History.

Mama and Mommy and Me successful the Middle by Nina LaCour, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

The young miss successful this communicative loves being sandwiched betwixt her 2 mothers. When Mommy has to spell connected a enactment trip, she stays with Mama who takes attraction of her. But it’s inactive hard for the miss and for Mommy to beryllium isolated from each other. Luckily, astatine the extremity of the week determination is simply a blessed reunion of the trio. Even though determination are a fewer weird feelings astatine archetypal erstwhile Mommy returns, yet things consciousness conscionable close again.

Over and Under the Waves by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

This publication was ever going to beryllium a slam dunk for me. Firstly, due to the fact that I emotion Kate Messner and Christopher Neal’s erstwhile Over and Under representation books. And secondly, due to the fact that I grew up adjacent Monterey Bay, wherever this publication is set. Stunning illustrations mixed with technological accusation astir the biodiversity and interdependence of ecosystems. From oversea kelp to sardines and whales to wolf eels, this publication covers truthful galore absorbing organisms!

Pizza!: A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli

A nonfiction representation publication connected the past of pizza narrated by an adorable mouse! From conscionable the premise alone, I knew I’d autumn successful emotion with this representation book. There are theories connected wherever and erstwhile pizza was archetypal invented, including a fanciful 1 featuring Queen Margartia. The publication besides includes amusive facts astir however pizza is eaten successful antithetic parts of the world, similar however greenish peas are a communal pizza topping successful Brazil. Vivid and agleam illustrations travel this lively text. This is simply a longer representation book, coming successful astatine 56 pages. But for pizza loving young readers, the pages volition alert by.

Sunday Pancakes by Maya Tatsukawa

Cat wants to marque Sunday pancakes, but realizes they don’t person immoderate eggs oregon milk. To get these must-have ingredients, Cat invites Rabbit and Bear to articulation the meal making fun. Luckily, unneurotic they person everything they request to marque a steaming, gangly stack of pancakes. Even if determination are a fewer mistakes made on the way, making meal unneurotic is the astir delicious mode to walk a Sunday morning.

The Worst Teddy Ever by Marcelo Verdad

Noa wonders wherefore Teddy is ever truthful tired. Teddy’s eyes are ever successful the aforesaid sleepy curve. And Noa is getting frustrated that Teddy ne'er has capable vigor to play. But it turns retired determination is simply a crushed Teddy is truthful sleepy. He spends his nights protecting Noa from unwanted visitors similar a tickle monster and the Boogeyman. Noa doesn’t cognize astir Teddy’s nightly work successful helping him sleep. But readers volition person truthful overmuch amusive being fto successful connected this concealed and appreciating Teddy for each the enactment helium does. There is besides a Spanish connection mentation of the representation book, El peor Teddy del mundo, for funny readers!

The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López

A member and sister larn to combat boredom by pursuing their grandmother’s proposal to usage their imaginations. Now, sibling bickering and grey days tin beryllium solved with their powerful, colorful imaginations. This opposition betwixt their interior satellite and the drab outer conditions are portrayed brilliantly done illustrations. Particularly poignant is the grandmother’s descriptions connected however she learned to usage her imaginativeness to alert from her ancestors who utilized the aforesaid quality from her ancestors who were forcibly brought to America and enslaved.