Best Picture Books of 2024

1. We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang 

Three blue and pink aliens show up in the middle of the night with a broken vehicle. When asked who they are, they respond, “We are DEFINITELY human.” Despite their strange appearance and comical behaviors, the Li family and their town welcome the visitors and help them make repairs. A sotry about kindness that's funny and not sentimental. Great illustrations. 

2. How We Share Cake by Kim Hyo-Eun, translated by Deborah Smith 

When there are five children in your family, everything must be shared five ways—whether it's an apple, hand-me-down clothes or time on the new scooter. But as much as this is about the complexities and challenges of sharing, it's also about the value and meaning of family. When things go wrong and when things go right, they're there for you and can't wait to hear about what happened. Kim deftly illustrates the experience of sharing, and humor is sprinkled throughout, sometimes making me laugh out loud. I loved it. 

3. The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by LeUyen Pham 

“There once was a man who loved his tidy home and who didn’t like animals.” A cat shows up and he tells the cat to go away, but the cat doesn’t. Turns out they have a fair amount in common and the man decides the cat isn’t so bad. Soon all sorts of animals are showing up and staying, despite the initial “go away.” Soon the question arises, can one man have too many animals? This is funny with great, animated illustrations by master illustrator LeUyen Pham. 

4. The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods by Michael Please 

When Rene saved and worked to open her cafe, she envisioned delectable masterpieces for refined palates, not "a bag of bats that smells like farts" for ogres. But an ogre is her only customer. Rene is ready to give up on her dream, but her waiter Glumfoot has an idea: rearrange Rene's beautiful cheese tart to look like a bat and truffle stew to look like slugs. These are the best bats and slugs the ogre's ever had. Together Glumfoot and Rene work together in a cafe packed with all sorts of magical creatures who can't wait to eat Rene's delicious and disgusting food. The words rhyme and the illustrations are cinematic and lush and hilariously disgusting. 

5. The Pelican Can by Toni Yuly 

Who can see it's time to eat? The pelican can! The pelican can! I love the simplicity of this book. Through questions all answered with "the pelican can," we see a baby pelican follow mama pelican as she flies and dives and scoops up some fish for dinner. The illustrations are equally simple, featuring a torn paper background and black line drawings and silhouettes. The "pelican can" chorus is great fun. And it works for mealtime and bedtime, as the story ends with the sun setting. 

6. Mabel Wants a Friend by Ariel Bernstein, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal 

"Mabel always got what she wanted." This is easy to accomplish when you choose to spend all your time alone and willingly trick and even steal to get what you want. But when Mabel accidentally makes a friend, she kind of likes it. Her friend helps her keep her selfish impulses in check until Mabel declares, "If you really want to be friends you'll let me have whatever I want." Of course this isn't how friendship works, and Mabel goes back to spending a lot of time alone, which maybe isn't as great as she previously thought. Wonderful kid-friendly illustrations accompany this story of the value of friends and helping others over getting everything you want. 

7. Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo 

When Jun moves to America, she knows very little English. Making friends is hard without the ability to communicate, and she feels so alone…until she opens her lunchbox, and the tastes and smells bring to her mind vivid memories of family and friends from home. Each bite radiates hearts and sparks joy. When approached by a classmate, she offers her a dumpling, and soon she and others are participating in a culinary cultural exchange and she starts making friends. Though mostly wordless, her emotions come through clearly in the beautiful illustrations. The end of the book features a diagram of what is in her lunchbox (bao, dumplings, bok choy, etc).  

8. Two Little Red Mittens by Kirin Hayashi, illustrated by Chiaki Okada, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa 

This book feels old fashioned in the best possible way. It’s cozy and warm even though it’s about a mitten getting lost in the snowy forest. One mitten misses the other until it learns how it’s been lovingly used by the animals in the forest. The illustrations are lovely. It all has a gentle feeling to it. 

9. Animals Go Vroom! By Abi Cushman 

At first glance, this looks like a traditional sound and die cut book. “Roar goes the…” and then you see a tiger revealed through a cleverly placed hole. “Tiger” your young one might reply. But, no. Turn the page and you’ll see the roaring is coming from a truck rumbling up the road. Most of the animal sounds in this book come from vehicles. And if you look closely, you’ll see storylines emerge from page to page. There’s the pigeon with her own child that goes on a picnic. There’s the box of nails that punctures the snake’s car tire. There’s the sea lion painting portraits of animals and then trying to sell them to his subjects (and the purchased painting with its new owner). This is a lot of fun.

10. The Painter and the President by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Stacy Innerst

Character portraits meet painted portraits in this lighthearted look at a moment in history. Gilbert Stuart painted one of the most famous portraits of President George Washington. Stuart liked to chat with his subjects, getting to know them and their personalities, but President Washington was a hard nut to crack--until that is, Stuart discovered Washington's love of horses. Stacy Innerst's illustrations are wonderful. Sarah Albee tells the story in a way that teaches history, without the reader even being aware of it.

Honorable mention:

Heatwave by Lauren Redniss 

Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli 

The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Susan Reagan 

The First Week of School by Drew Beckmeyer 

Pig Town Party by Lian Cho 

Good Little Mermaid’s Guide to Bedtime by Eija Sumner, illustrated by Nici Gregory 

Books of 2024

Books read: 30
Adult: 15
Teen: 4
Children's: 11
Nonfiction: 13
Fiction: 16
Plays: 1

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 

When people ask that impossible question, "What is your favorite book?" my go-to answer is Anna Karenina, but I realized I haven't read it in 20 years, so I thought I'd see what I thought reading it today. Unsurprisingly, I loved it. I was able to take my time and notice the wonderful writing and character development. All of Tolstoy's characters have such depth. In this reading, I particularly loved Dolly--whose life is a mess, mostly because of her irresponsible, philandering husband, but she still manages to be a kind person and enjoys moments of beauty and joy as she raises her children. I read Rosamund Bartlett's translation and may have liked it even better than P&V's. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 

I really enjoyed this, got totally engrossed in her world and story. My favorite moment is the source of the title: People told Katie that it might be better if her sickly baby dies, but she responds, "It's not better to die...Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It’s growing out of sour earth. And it’s strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way." She defiantly says to them, "This baby will live." 

Yearning for the Living God: Reflections from the Life of F. Enzio Busche by Enzio Busche 

Enzio Busche converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in post-war Germany after a period of study. Later, he became a leader in the church. This is his memoir. I picked up the book largely because I was interested to learn about his experiences growing up in Nazi Germany, and being drafted at age 14 (!). This takes up a very brief part of the book, and the rest is filled with lots of inspiring and interesting stories which testify of God’s presence in our lives. 

Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman 

Two girls who’ve always been enemies find themselves thrown together when both their fathers are at work in Chernobyl at the time of the meltdown. It’s a book about friendship and overcoming prejudices. Really nicely done. (Middle grade, but I think it would work for teens also.)

Lone Wolf Goes to School by Kiah Thomas, illustrated by K-Fai Steele 

“Wolf could count his friends on one hand. Three, two, one…NONE! And that was the way he liked it.” That’s how this easy chapter book starts. The illustrations are silly and a touch grotesque. The “snotty kids” have literal green boogers hanging out their noses through the whole book. It is laugh out loud funny. The illustrations are so good–those facial expressions. And spoiler alert, Wolf absolutely does not learn the value of friendship. (Easy chapter book)

Troubled by Rob Henderson 

From a drug-addicted mother, to foster care, to an adoptive family, to a broken home, to the military, to Yale, to being published by the NY Times, to Cambridge. I couldn’t put this down. I think I read it in 2-4 days. The thing that really stood out to me was this: at the end of the book, he looks at all his accomplishments and successes and realizes he would trade it all for a stable home life growing up. 

Bye Forever I Guess by Jodi Meadows 

This was really cute. A thirteen year old who loves video games and has an instagram account featuring texts sent to wrong numbers. And then she gets an accidental text from someone her age that begins to form into a real friendship, but what will happen if/when the digital crosses into the real world? Also she’s not quite cool enough for her best friend, so there’s friend drama, too. Fast, hard to put down. (Middle grade)

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot 

Memoir about an alcoholic realizing she needs help, going to rehab, and returning to her childhood home to find a life of sobriety in the Orkney Islands. I enjoyed the strong sense of place Liptrot creates with her descriptions of Orkney. There is something peaceful and comforting about the natural world she experiences that I felt as I read. 

Day of Infamy by Walter Lord 

I wanted visiting Pearl Harbor to be more meaningful, so I read this and learned exactly what happened that day. There were times I couldn’t put it down. I learned a lot.

Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E. F. Barone 

Gotta love a volcano book. There was so much I didn’t know or understand about Mt. St. Helens, and it was so interesting to learn about. It was the first lateral eruption on record, and they had no idea how devastating a lateral eruption could be. One misconception this book cleared up is that very few people were inside the red zone. The reason so many died is because their predictions were wrong rather than people defying evacuation orders. At the end, she goes over what might have happened if the volcano had erupted any later than it did, which is sobering. The chapters are short, so this is great for the middle grade audience it’s written for. (Middle grade)

Honorable mention:

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Egil's Saga by Snorri Sturluson

The Heart of the Matter by Russell M. Nelson (only belatedly realized I didn't have this on my list and maybe should have included it in the top 10, but I'm sticking it here, at least for now.)

The Heart of the Matter by Russell M. Nelson • The Outrun by Amy Liptrot • Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper • Troubled by Rob Henderson* • The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone • Bad Therapy by Abigail Schrier* • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy • Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross • Take Me with You When You Go by David Levithan and Jennifer Niven • The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad • Oedipus the King by Sophocles • Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman • A Confession by Leo Tolstoy • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith • How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell • Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance • Odder by Katherine Applegate • They Call Me No Sam by Drew Daywalt • Far Beyond Gold by Sydney McLaughlin • I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys • Egil’s Saga by Snorri Sturluson • Bye Forever I Guess by Jodi Meadows* • Day of Infamy by Walter Lord • Lone Wolf Goes to School by Kiah Thomas, illustrated by K-Fai Steele* • Lone Wolf Gets a Pet by Kiah Thomas, illustrated by K-Fai Steele* • The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers • Good Energy by Casey Means* • Yearning for the Living God: Reflections from the Life of F. Enzio Busche by Enzio Busche • Mountain of Fire by Rebecca E. F. Barone* • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown