Runners-up (picture books)

Bernice Gets Carried Away

Hannah E. Harrison

Bernice heads off to a birthday party with high expectations, but then things go horribly wrong. The other animals get a rose on their cake, but not Bernice. Events go from bad to worse until the little cat gets carried away with self-pity, grabs all the balloons, and sails into the sky. From that lofty perspective she sees the world—and her situation—with new eyes. Harrison uses the weather and a shifting color palette to reflect Bernice’s changing mood. The winsomely expressive animals pull readers into this instructive and relatable tale for anyone who’s had a bad day.

Water Is Water

Miranda Paul

This nonfiction picture book depicts the water cycle, seasons, and the importance of water in our lives. Lyrical text describes the state of water: “Misty. Twisty. Where is the town?” The illustration accompanying “Fog is fog unless …” shows a brother and sister in their school bus, houses encased in fog, and a tree losing its golden leaves. The next page, “it falls down,” shows the children getting off the bus at school in the rain. The book celebrates the intricacies and wonders of the created world. An appendix includes additional facts about water (including one mention of “millions of years”).

This Is My Home, This Is My School

Jonathan Bean

Bean depicts the joyful chaos of homeschooling life through a child’s eyes, where the world is your art room, the kitchen is your cafeteria, and physical education is a game of soccer in the backyard with dad. Simple text and bright illustrations that bleed outside the lines convey an accurate impression of a busy, loving household. As the author says of his homeschool days: “No moment, whether at desk, dinner table, stream, play, or work, was too insignificant to be scavenged for something to learn.” Homeschoolers will appreciate this portrait of their lives.

Float

Daniel Miyares

In this wordless book a boy floats his newspaper boat in puddles until it sails down the storm drain. He rescues it with a stick, but the boat is ruined. Crushed, he returns home to his father, who comforts him, makes hot chocolate, and folds a newspaper airplane. Miyares’ mostly black-and-white illustrations convey energy and movement with just enough detail to intrigue even young children. Parents may draw parallels to our relationship with our heavenly Father who comforts us in life’s disappointments with mercies anew. The endpapers include instructions for making a newspaper boat and airplane.

Afterword

Two additional books almost made our runners-up list. Lily: The Girl Who Could See by Sally Oxley and Tim Ladwig (Oxvision, 2015) combines vibrant illustrations and an engaging text that finds a middle ground between oversimplification and complexity. It tells the story of Lilias Trotter, who sacrificed artistic fame in England to pursue her calling as a missionary in Algeria. As a print-on-demand title it may be harder to find, but families, church libraries, or other educators who are studying missions will find it worthwhile. In Lenny & Lucy (Roaring Brook, 2015), husband-wife team Philip and Erin Stead tell the story of Peter, his single father, and the loneliness of moving to a new home. The story’s simple words, breathtaking illustrations, and two-is-better-than-one theme make Lenny & Lucy valuable for kids and grown-ups alike.—Megan Saben and Chelsea Boes