Shianna Nichols - NYT Best Seller List for Children's Picture Books-List 5

Shianna Nichols
LSSL 5360
June 20, 2020

List # 5 NYT Best Seller List for Children's Picture Books

Beaty, A., & Roberts, D. (2013). Rosie Revere, engineer. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

In light of her dream, Rosie Revere creates many quirky inventions, including helium pants and a hat designed to ward off snakes. After a beloved family member laughs at an invention, Rosie finds it hard to move past disappointment and fear of more ridicule to keep inventing until her great-great aunt Rose, (who knows a little something about construction work from her days during World War II,) comes to visit.  Though this experience, Rosie learns a valuable lesson.

Through the course of Rosie’s struggles, children will see the path of invention does not always come easy.  Beaty uses well thought out and executed rhymes to show readers how inventors don’t get it right the first, second, or even third time, but with dilignece, they learn from their mistakes and reach their goals. This is a great story to share with all children as they prep for futures where many of the jobs they will seek haven’t even been created yet.

If you enjoy encouraging stories like this one, you might want to check out The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken.

Bundo, M., Twiss, J., & Keller, E. (2018). A day in the life of Marlon Bundo. San Francisco,
    CA: Chronicle Books, LLC.

In this wonderfully illustrated story, Marlon Bundo was a grand-bunny to Vice President Mike Pence who lived in an old house that felt lonely.  He woke up alone, ate breakfast alone, and watched the news alone.  Marlon trotted out into the garden, and before his eyes there was the most beautiful bunny he had ever seen.  His name was Wesley.  Marlon and Wesley fell in love and wanted to get married.  But Stink Bug, who was in charge, wouldn’t let them because two boy bunnies weren’t allowed to get married.  So all the animals in the garden took a vote and kicked Stink Bug out of office.  After Stink Bug was gone, Marlon and Wesley got married and lived happily ever after.

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo made the New York Times Best Sellers List in April 2018 and stayed in the #1 stop for 18 weeks.  This book is geared towards ages 4 and up.  The illustrations of the characters are eye catching for young readers.  This story is politically weighted with confrontations between homosexuals and governmental powers. 

If you enjoy this book you might also like, Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack.

Carle, E. (2015). Love from the very hungry caterpillar. New York, NY: Grosset and Dunlap.

In this cute story, Eric Carle has tapped the golden chrysalis with a new series of books featuring the very hungry caterpillar, including Love from the Very Hungry Caterpillar. This is a great read to share with your someone special. Carle pairs his classic illustration style with different messages of love and affection. Most of these messages consist of idioms and other pieces of simple figurative language, so this book would be a great add on to a teacher’s arsenal as a mentor text for teaching idioms, personification and hyperbole. The book’s charm lies in its simplicity. The more positive experiences you can build with your children through reading, the better your bond with your child will be. This is the gateway to a lifelong love for reading. If you want to enjoy more from Carle, try The Mixed-Up Chameleon.

Daywalt, D., & Jeffers, O. (2013). The day the crayons quit. New York, NY: Philomel Books. In this lively book, the crayons have had it. They have had it with their harsh lives and are on strike. The Day the Crayons Quit is an entertaining story made of letters from each color of crayon written to Duncan, the poor boy who is dealing with this labor crisis. The crayons’ complaints range from being overused or neglected to demanding a more creative use for their talents. The end of this phenomenal picture book will give readers a lesson in creativity in a wide use of colors. Each color’s problems are laid out in a rich voice full of personality and whatever emotion is driving that color to walking out of their box and demanding a better life. Readers will identify with all of the color’s complaints because they might use their crayons the same way from time to time. This will draw them into the story that much more. The illustrations are also done to look like the artwork of a school age child, so it makes the learning more relatable. The child-like charm add to the personality of each letter and together the crayon’s letter and illustration provide the reader with a unique tale on every page, even though every two page spread has the same format of letter and drawing. If you enjoyed this book by Jeffers, try Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth.

Dewdney, A., Duncan, R., & Morrow, J. T. (2018). Llama Llama loves to read. New York:
    Viking.

In this cute story, Llama Llama is learning to read.  Through the course of his day at school, his teacher presents him with different words to learn.  Some words are easy and some are tough, but by the end of the day Llama Llama’s reading gets better!  His mother is delighted with his quick learning when he gets home from school that day.

Llama Lama Loves to Read made the New York Times Best Sellers List in May of 2018 and is intended for ages 4 and up.  With its brightly colored illustrations the reader learns all about letters, sounds, words, and sentences that is perfect for any storytime.  The rhyme and rhythm of this book is a great collaboration and tribute to Anna Dewdney whose mission was to spread a love for reading. 

If you enjoy this book you might also like, Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story! by Janay Brown-Wood.

Diaz, J., & Espinosa, L. (2018). Islandborn. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

In this story, every student in Lola’s class was from different places.  The teacher assigned students to create a picture from their original home.  Every kid seemed to easily remember the details of where they were from, except for Lola.  She moved when she was just a baby.  Lola quickly figured out she could call on the help of her family and community to help with her class project.  By the time Lola turned in her assignment, she had created a collage of everyone’s memories that turned into a beautiful masterpiece from a group effort.

Islandborn made the New York Times Best Sellers List in April of 2018 that was created for ages 5 and up.  Diaz wrote a picture book that is bountiful in description and characterization with illustrations that meld perfectly to the story.  It will get the attention of young readers and is relatable to anyone who comes from a different land. 

If you enjoy this book you might also like, Dreamers by Yuyi Morales.

Higgins, R. T. (2018). We don’t eat our classmates. New York, NY: Hyperion.

In this tale, Penelope is a young T-Rex who is nervous about going to school for the first time and discovers that school comes with challenges she didn’t think of. As her struggles to make friends are added on top of her struggles to not devour the children at her lunch table, she finds herself unable to stop the actions that are causing her loneliness. Before Penelope completely loses hope, she learns a lesson on empathy and begins to understand that it’s not so pleasant to be devoured.

This book relates the fears of not being accepted and unable to make friends in a way that is both original and humorous. The author is able to showcase some of the funniest moments in the book with skilled setups leading into predictable but still comical punchlines. Even though it’s mostly the same joke running through the book, the illustrations add to the humor to its contents.

Know a child beginning school soon?  If so, try out The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson.  It can help alleviate some of that first day pressure. 

Kensky, J., Downes, P., & Magoon, S. (2018). Rescue and Jessica: a life-changing
    friendship. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Jessica and Rescue were going through similar trials.   Rescue was told he was not good enough to be a seeing eye dog and Jessica was told her legs needed to be removed and wouldn’t be able to walk without prosthetics.  They were both told they couldn’t do something and wondered if they would ever be happy again.  Read as both Rescue and Jessica venture through emotional experiences and end up helping each other through life’s difficulties.  At the end of the story, they both realized they couldn’t live well without each other and were a stronger team when they were united together. 

Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship made its way to the New York Times Best Sellers List in April 2018 and is for ages 5 and up.  This book is based on a real-life partnership between a girl and her service dog who face many physical and emotional obstacles together.  It delivers quality characters with real emotions, and  illustrations that go perfectly with the story. 

If you enjoy this book you might also like, Not So Different: What You Really want to Ask About Having a Disability by Shane Burcaw.

Penfold, A., & Kaufman, S. (2018). All are welcome. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Its fun to read along as you watch children who come from different cultures learn together under the same roof.  The characters are learning from each other to see that all their differences make a positive diverse community for everyone.  They all support and encourage one another and hone in on inclusion, respect, love, and kindness toward others.  

All Are Welcome made the New York Times Best Sellers List in August of 2018 and is great for ages 4 and up.  The bright and inviting illustrations allow the reader to experience a culturally diverse group of people within a classroom where all are welcome.  It’s a fantastic rhyming book that shows inclusion of all people no matter the cultural differences. 

If you enjoy this book you might also like, The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson.

Rosenthal, A. K., Rosenthal, P., & Hatam, H. (2017). Dear girl. [New York, N.Y.]: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Through this read, we discover that sometimes the world isn’t always encouraging and kind to girls and young women.  As you read this book, you will understand just how smart and beautiful you really are.  Encouragement will surface on every page as it pushes you to be yourself and think outside the box that people may try to put you in.   

Dear Girl, made the New York Times Best Sellers List in January of 2018 intended for ages 4 and up. This book sends an honest message for girls of all ages about who you are and what you will become through tough times and joyous times.  The collage illustrations follow the story fairly well as you read about life’s biggest lessons. 

If you enjoy this book you might also like, Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal.