Best children’s books of 2018
FROM an elephant-filled counting book, to a crazy detective romp with a monkey private eye chasing down clues, to poignant reflections on the immigrant experience, to a STEM-friendly early reader about a budding engineer, the best kids’ books of 2018 will draw in readers age two to six with eye-catching illustrations and compelling stories. They’re perfect for read-alouds and can boost kids already on their way to independent reading.
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill. A little kid ponders what it means to be kind and finds a way to help a classmate feel better after she’s had an embarrassing moment at school. It’s a great conversation starter about kindness and empathy.
Hello Hello by Brendan Wenzel. With rhyming, rhythmic text and vibrant, colorful art, this visually stunning picture book celebrates a wide variety of animals and introduces the concept of endangered species.
A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes. Charming pastel elephants offer lessons in counting and the concepts of up/down, over/under, and in/out. Elephants spraying stars in the night sky at the end make it a perfect bedtime book, too.
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin. Simple language, repetition, and funny drama involving a silly monkey detective struggling to get his pants on makes a funny readaloud or an engaging book for early readers.
Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson. This poignant story of a young Latina in an immigrant family is by the Newbery Medalwinning team who created Last Stop on Market Street. Carmela has many relatable wishes, and one specific one: for her father to get “his papers fixed” so he can rejoin the family.
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales. This exuberant, magically visual story, based on the Caldecott Honorwinning author-illustrator’s own immigrant experience, follows the path of a mom and her infant son who come to San Francisco from Mexico and find comfort, joy, and language at the public library.
Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. A young boy sees women on the subway dressed as mermaids, tells his grandmother he’s a mermaid, too, and has fun dressing up. His supportive abuela contributes a necklace to his outfit – and lots of love and acceptance – in this visually striking picture book.
Ocean Meets Sky by Terry Fan and Eric Fan. This magical tale of a boy remembering his late grandfather has dazzling art and a moving, tightly crafted, and satisfying story.
Otis and Will Discover the Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Katharine Roy. Action-packed art helps drive this riveting nonfiction story of two men hooked on science, engineering, and a passion for exploration who team up to create and operate a record-breaking deep-sea diving tank.
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: The Questioneers, Book 1 by Andrea Beaty. In this fun first chapter book featuring the star of the best-selling picture book Rosie Revere, Engineer, Rosie designs and builds a painting machine for her wrist-injured great-great-aunt, World War II’s Rosie the Riveter. — Common Sense Media/Tribune News Service