Though the 12 months has been a difficult one, the bubbling world of kids’s literature has been crammed with various voices, messages of hope and loads of silliness. Listed here are our editors’ picks for the 30 greatest youngsters’s books of 2018.
PICTURE BOOKS
Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell, illustrated by Corinna Luyken
Child Monkey Personal Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin
A Huge Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
Courageous Sufficient for Two by Jonathan D. Voss
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
Hi there Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
A Home that As soon as Was by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Lane Smith
Think about! by Raúl Colón
Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
Kitten and the Night time Watchman by John Sullivan, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
Mabel and Sam at House by Linda City, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
The Tough Patch by Brian Lies
The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
The Customer by Antje Damm
MIDDLE GRADE
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
The Guide of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Trustworthy Spy by John Hendrix
Entrance Desk by Kelly Yang
The Woman Who Drew Butterflies by Joyce Sidman
The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
Simply Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard
Louisiana’s Method House by Kate DiCamillo
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Rebound by Kwame Alexander
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
A Sew in Time by Daphne Kalmar
Sweep by Jonathan Auxier
The Reality as Advised by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor
The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair by Amy Makechnie