Teacher Teddy’s 25 Favorite Picture Books of the 21st Century
Here is my list of my favorite picture books published this century (since January 1, 2001.)
25. Milo Imagines the World
• Author: Matt de la Peña
• Illustrator: Christian Robinson
• Summary: While riding the subway, Milo draws sketches of the other passengers, creating imagined stories for their lives. A surprising discovery at the end of the line challenges his assumptions and shows him they have more in common than he thought.
24. Fancy Nancy
• Author: Jane O’Conner
• Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser
• Summary: Nancy loves to be fancy in every way, from her clothes to using spectacular vocabulary words. She decides to give her family lessons on how to be fancy, but an ordinary act of comfort from her mom proves that love is fancier than anything else.
23. Du Iz Tak?
• Author/Illustrator: Carson Ellis
• Summary: A group of small, insect-like creatures discover a tiny sprout and observe its growth and changes over the course of a year. The entire story is told in an invented language, allowing readers to infer the meaning through the charming illustrations and context.
22. Niño Wrestles the World
• Author/Illustrator: Yuyi Morales
• Summary: During his sisters' naptime, a small, imaginative boy transforms into a masked luchador, El Niño, who takes on legendary and fantastic Mexican folk creatures. His toughest competitors, however, turn out to be his own two younger sisters once they wake up from their nap.
21. Growing Up Pedro: How the Martínez Brothers Made It from the Dominican Republic All the Way to the Major Leagues
• Author/Illustrator: Matt Tavares
• Summary: This biography tells the inspiring true story of baseball pitcher Pedro Martínez, focusing on his childhood in the Dominican Republic with his older brother, Ramón. It highlights the dedication and familial support that propelled them both from poverty to the Major Leagues.
20. The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale
• Author/Illustrator: Jon Klassen
• Summary: A brave girl named Otilla, running away from danger, takes refuge in a deserted house inhabited only by a talking skull. The skull is terrified of a headless skeleton that comes for him every night, prompting Otilla to devise a plan to save her new companion.
19. Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover
• Author/Illustrator: Markus Motum
• Summary: Told from the perspective of the Curiosity rover, this non-fiction book narrates its journey from creation to its mission on Mars. It explores the technology, science, and ultimate goal of searching for evidence of life on the red planet.
18. Ada Twist, Scientist
• Author: Andrea Beaty
• Illustrator: David Roberts
• Summary: Ada Twist is a curious girl whose mind is constantly full of questions, which often leads to chaotic (but scientific) experiments around her house. When a terrible smell baffles her, she uses her burgeoning scientific method to find the source.
17. Door
• Author/Illustrator: JiHyeon Lee
• Summary: In this wordless book, a young person in a gray world finds a mysterious key and a hidden door. Stepping through the door, they enter a colorful, vibrant world of whimsical creatures where they learn the universal language of kindness and acceptance.
16. The Dark
• Author: Lemony Snicket
• Illustrator: Jon Klassen
• Summary: A boy named Laszlo is afraid of the dark, which mostly lives in the basement of his house. One night, the dark comes up to his room and speaks to him, leading him on a journey to the basement to help him overcome his fear.
15. David Gets In Trouble
• Author/Illustrator: David Shannon
• Summary: David is an energetic boy who constantly gets into scrapes, such as breaking a vase or hitting a baseball through a window. He uses a series of amusing and imaginative excuses until he finally realizes it's better to admit, "Yes, I did it."
14. The Book With No Pictures
• Author: BJ Novak
• Illustrator: N/A (The text itself is the feature)
• Summary: The book's conceit is that it has no pictures, but it forces the adult reader to say increasingly silly and ridiculous things. This highlights the power of the written word and delights children by making the adult reader look foolish.
13. Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
• Author: Doreen Rappaport
• Illustrator: Bryan Collier
• Summary: This biography uses the powerful, famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to tell the story of his life and role in the Civil Rights Movement. It focuses on his message of peace, love, and non-violence in the fight for equality and change.
12. Kitten's First Full Moon
• Author/Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
• Summary: A little kitten sees the full moon for the first time and mistakenly believes it is a giant bowl of milk. The kitten attempts several futile and comical ways to reach the "milk" before finally returning home to a real bowl of milk waiting for her.
11. Actual Size
• Author/Illustrator: Steve Jenkins
• Summary: This non-fiction book features a variety of animals, from the minuscule to the enormous, rendered in life-size collages. The fascinating illustrations give readers an accurate, tangible sense of the scale of creatures, including a giant squid's eye and a gorilla's hand.
10. Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus
• Author/Illustrator: Mo Willems
• Summary: When the bus driver has to leave, he explicitly instructs the reader not to let the persistent Pigeon take the wheel. The Pigeon uses every trick and plea, from pleading to tantrums, to convince the reader to let him drive.
9. Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
• Author/Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
• Summary: Written as a guide for his newborn son, the author introduces the wonders and complexities of our planet and its many inhabitants. It offers a gentle, inspiring message about our place in the universe and the importance of kindness to one another.
8. Knuffle Bunny Free
• Author/Illustrator: Mo Willems
• Summary: Trixie and her family travel to Holland to visit her grandparents, but along the way, she realizes her beloved stuffed rabbit, Knuffle Bunny, is missing. Trixie shows a moment of maturity and selflessness by giving Knuffle Bunny to another child who needs him.
7. Llama Llama Red Pajama
• Author/Illustrator: Anna Dewdney
• Summary: Little Llama is tucked in for the night, but when Mama Llama goes downstairs, he begins to worry and escalate his cries. His drama ends when Mama Llama returns to reassure him that even if she's not right by his side, she is always near.
6. I Am The Subway
• Author/Illustrator: Kim Hyo-eun
• Summary: The story is narrated by the Seoul subway train itself, describing the varied lives and stories of the different passengers it carries throughout the day. The book beautifully captures the shared, rhythmic pulse of a city and the personal narratives of its commuters.
5. Circle
• Author: Mac Barnett
• Illustrator: Jon Klassen
• Summary: Circle and her friends, Triangle and Square, are playing a game of hide-and-seek when Circle makes a rule not to pass a waterfall, as it's too dark to see. When Triangle breaks the rule, Circle ventures into the inky blackness to rescue her friend.
4. There Is a Bird On Your Head! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
• Author/Illustrator: Mo WiIlems
• Summary: Elephant Gerald is distraught when a bird lands on his head, and then even more so when the bird's mate joins it to build a nest. His best friend Piggie tries to help him manage the situation, until the birds' antics make her the next unlikely host.
3. What There Is Before There Is Anything There: A Scary Story
• Author/Illustrator: Liniers
• Summary: Every night, when the lights go out, a young boy's bedroom is visited by strange, silent creatures that descend from the dark ceiling. The scariest of all is a shapeless black blob that declares itself "what there is before there is anything there," driving the boy to the comfort of his parents' bed.
2. Last Stop on Market Street
• Author: Matt de la Peña
• Illustrator: Christian Robinson
• Summary: CJ and his Nana ride the bus across town every Sunday after church, and CJ questions why their life is less luxurious than others. His wise grandmother helps him see the beauty, music, and community in their everyday surroundings and their final destination: a soup kitchen where they volunteer.
1. I Want My Hat Back
• Author/Illustrator: Jon Klassen
• Summary: A bear is looking for his lost hat and politely asks several animals if they have seen it, only for one shifty-eyed rabbit to deny wearing it. The bear eventually has a sudden realization, returns to the rabbit, and the ending strongly implies a darkly humorous act of revenge.
Note: When it came to books from series, I pick my favorite books from the series to represent that series
