Runners-up/Picture Books

If You Plant a Seed

Kadir Nelson

Nelson tells this simple yet profound story in three sentences with vibrant, detailed, and expressive paintings. A wide-eyed rabbit and mouse labor together to grow a small garden—but at harvest time, as they take their first bite, five birds appear. The birds wait: Then selfishness produces anger on both sides, and a chaotic food fight ensues. Everyone loses. When the rabbit and the mouse have a change of heart and plant “a seed of kindness,” an unimaginably sweeter harvest of food and friendship results.

Sidewalk Flowers

JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith

A little girl in a red jacket accompanies her distracted father through dull city streets, stopping to gather flowering weeds springing through sidewalk cracks. She pauses to share a bouquet with a dead bird, a sleeping homeless man, and her tired mother waiting at home. The first part of the book is primarily black and white with splashes of bright color denoting things the child observes. The color increases as she leaves behind her flower bouquets. Sidewalk Flowers is a reminder—through a child’s eyes—that kindness and ordinary things matter—especially in the sight of God.

The Golden Plate

Bernadette Watts

As Isobel plays with her friend Elisabeth’s dollhouse, she covets then steals a tiny golden plate. But when she puts the plate in her own more simple dollhouse it doesn’t look as beautiful, and she can’t escape reminders of her theft. Even her toys cast woeful eyes at her. Sunflowers, table plates, and the sun seem to condemn her. Finally she confesses to her mother, who makes her return the plate. Soft, detailed illustrations accompany this narrative showing the struggle of a guilty conscience and the sweetness of repentance and reconciliation. Though a universal theme, it’s definitely in a girlish package.

You Are (Not) Small

Anna Kang; illustrated by Christopher Weyant

Two hairy critters argue: “You are small.” “I am not small. You are big.” The argument escalates as more critters, both small and big, join in. Suddenly the feet of a giant hairy critter appear with a boom. Parachuting down from him come three tiny critters. This rambunctious story has only 25 words, making it perfect for young readers. Its simple illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny for toddlers. And the topic is important for Christians who often overestimate our size relative to God, and both over- and underestimate it in relation to our fellow human beings.

Tea Party Picture Books

In Tea with Grandpa by Barney Saltzberg, a regular afternoon tea date with grandpa turns out to have a sweet, contemporary twist. In A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, crisp dialogue and expressive illustrations enliven a story about a mouse inviting himself to tea with a curmudgeonly bear. When Ida tricks Frances into buying her used, cheap plastic tea set instead of a real china one, their friendship is at stake in A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban. Three cuddly wolves barely escape attacks from a hostile pig but always rescue the tea pot, in The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas. Finally, Tea Rex by Molly Idle reminds us that no tea party is complete without proper manners … and a dinosaur! —Betsy Farquhar