Honorable Mention/Picture Books

My Grandfather’s Coat

Jim Aylesworth; illustrated by Barbara McClintock

A captivating retelling of the Yiddish folktale features a tailor who makes a coat. Years pass and the coat wears out. He turns it into a jacket. Then a vest. Then a tie, until there’s nothing left but the story. Exuberant illustrations document the passing years as the characters age, fashion and technology change, and new generations are born. It’s a story about change and continuity, and the love that binds a family together through the generations. The rhythmic and repetitive text makes the book a delightful read-aloud.

Bunny’s First Spring

Sally Lloyd-Jones; illustrated by David McPhail

A little bunny explores his world through changing seasons, sharing his exuberant observations with his affectionate parents. As winter arrives, he mourns what appears to be a dying world. Bunny hides in his burrow with his parents and sleeps. In springtime he awakes and discovers resurrection in nature. Lloyd-Jones weaves themes of new life throughout this story, which closes with a quote from Martin Luther: “God has written the promise of new life not just in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” McPhail’s soft-toned illustrations complement the story as the seasons change and the colors ebb and flow.

Beautiful Moon

Tonya Bolden

A full moon shines through a boy’s bedroom window as he remembers that he forgot to say his prayers. He prays for people with no homes. An illustration of a woman trying to stay warm on a park bench follows. The next illustration shows a man on a train, oblivious to the moon because he’s thinking about his soldier daughter in a war zone. The boy prays for the end of war. This beautifully illustrated book provides snapshots of the world’s needs and shows an earnest boy doing the one thing a young child can do: pray.

Yard Sale

Eve Bunting

A family has a yard sale because it is moving into a small apartment. The young daughter doesn’t really understand until people root through their stuff. “You can’t take this,” she yells to a man who wants to buy her bike. Bunting conveys the pathos of the situation from a child’s viewpoint. Simple ink and watercolor illustrations complement the text. They show the mom and dad, and the mom, dad, and daughter hugging and holding hands, while neighbors and strangers carry off their belongings. That affirms the book’s message that familial love—not stuff—is what lasts.

Reflecting reality

Children’s book publishing has been a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy publishing picture. Parents worldwide continue to buy physical picture books. That could be a response to research showing that e-books don’t measure up: Children get distracted by the bells and whistles, retain less of what they read, and are less likely to benefit from parental snuggles when reading on a tablet.

English-speaking Christian parents have much to be thankful for. Many publishers keep in print old favorites. And many new books appear each year that implicitly affirm a Christian worldview of creation (it’s marvelous!), of creatures (they’re silly, selfish, and noble), and redemption (second chances are possible and hope is reasonable). It’s rare for these themes to be explicit, but the discerning parent can find them in many wonderful books, like those we’ve recognized. The best picture books delight us because they reflect honestly the way things are, and offer hope for the way things could be—and Jesus promises they will be. —S.O.