The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books is an annual list honoring ten picture books selected for their exceptional artwork and visual storytelling.
2020
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Awards were canceled for 2020. They will resume in fall 2021.
2019
The Lost Cousins
A Million Dots
Monkey on the Run
I Miss My Grandpa
The Boy Who Ate Around
by
Henrik Drescher
My House
by
Lisa Desimini
The Sunday Outing
by
Gloria Jean Pinkney; Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator)
Gulliver's Adventures in Lilliput
by
Ann K. Beneduce; Jonathan Swift; Gennady Spirin (Illustrator)
A Small Tale From the Far North
by
Peter Sís
Cataract of Lodore
by
Robert Southey; David Catrow (Illustrator)
Li'l Sis and Uncle Willie
by
Gwen Everett; William H. Johnson (Illustrator)
Oscar de Mejo's ABC
by
Oscar De Mejo
Little Red Riding Hood
by
Charles Perrault; Beni Montresor (Illustrator)
The Marvelous Journey Through the Night
by
Helme Heine
The Fool and the Fish: A Tale From Russia
by
Alexander N. Afanasyev; Lenny Hort; Gennady Spirin (Illustrator)
I'm Flying!
by
Alan Wade; Petra Mathers (Illustrator)
The Heartaches of a French Cat
by
Barbara Mcclintock
Nicholas Cricket
by
Joyce Maxner; William Joyce (Illustrator)
Olson's Meat Pies
by
Peter Cohen; Olof Landstrom (Illustrator)
Fire Came to the Earth People
by
Susan L. Roth
Swan Sky
by
Keizaburo Tejima
Theodor and Mr. Balbini
by
Petra Mathers
Fox's Dream
by
Keizaburo Tejima
Halloween ABC
by
Eve Merriam; Lane Smith (Illustrator)
Handtalk Birthday: A Number & Story Book in Sign Language
by
Remy Charlip; Mary Beth Miller; George Ancona (Illustrator)
In Coal Country
by
Judith Hendershot; Thomas B. Allen (Illustrator)
Jump Again!
by
Joel Chandler Harris; Van Dyke Parks; Barry Moser (Illustrator)
Rainbow Rhino
by
Peter Sís
The Yellow Umbrella
by
Henrik Drescher
Molly's New Washing Machine
by
Laura Geringer; Petra Mathers (Illustrator)
One Morning
by
Canna Funakoshi; Yohji Izawa (Illustrator)
The Owl Scatterer
by
Howard Norman
Rembrandt Takes a Walk
by
Mark Strand; Red Grooms (Illustrator)
The Nightingale
by
Hans Christian Andersen; Demi (Illustrator)
The Polar Express
by
Chris Van Allsburg
If There Were Dreams to Sell
by
Barbara Lalicki; Margot Tomes (Illustrator)
Jonah and the Great Fish
by
Warwick Hutton
Miniature Natural History
by
Leonard Baskin
Tools
by
Ken Robbins
Twelve Cats for Christmas
by
Martin Leman
Up a Tree
by
Ed Young
Anno's Britain
by
Mitsumasa Anno
Paddy Goes Traveling
by
John S. Goodall
Smile, Ernest and Celestine
by
Gabrielle Vincent
Squid and Spider: A Look at the Animal Kingdom
by
Guy Billout
The Crane Wife
by
Sumiko Yagawa; Suekichi Akaba (Illustrator)
Flight: A Panorama of Aviation
by
Melvin B. Zisfein; Robert A. Parker (Illustrator)
The Maid and the Mouse and the Odd-Shaped House
by
Paul O. Zelinsky
The Story of Old Mrs. Brubeck and How She Looked for Trouble and Where She Found Him
by
Lore Segal; Marcia Sewall (Illustrator)
Where the Buffaloes Begin
by
Olaf Baker; Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)
An Artist
by
M. B. Goffstein
Howard
by
James Stevenson
The Lucky Yak
by
Annetta Lawson; Allen Say (Illustrator)
Mr. Miller the Dog
by
Helme Heine
Stone and Steel: A Look at Engineering
by
Guy Billout
The Wonderful Travels and Adventures of Baron Münchhausen
by
Peter Nicki; Binette Schroeder (Illustrator)
By Camel or By Car: A Look at Transportation
by
Guy Billout
Happy Birthday Oliver!
by
Pierre Le-Tan
King Krakus and the Dragon
by
Janina Domanska
Natural History
by
M. B. Goffstein
The Tale of Fancy Nancy: A Spanish Folk Tale
by
Marion Koenig; Klaus Ensikat (Illustrator)
Tilly's House
by
Faith Jaques
The Forbidden Forest
by
William Pène du Bois
The Great Song Book
by
Timothy John; John Hankey; Tomi Ungerer (Illustrator)
Hanukah Money
by
Sholem Aleichem; Uri Shulevitz (Illustrator)
The Nutcrackers and the Sugar-Tongs
by
Edward Lear; Marcia Sewall (Illustrator)
There Once Was a Woman Who Married a Man
by
Norma Farber; Lydia Dabcovich (Illustrator)
Merry Merry Fibruary
by
Doris Orgel; Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)
My Village, Sturbridge
by
Gary Bowen; Randy Miller
When the Wind Blew
by
Margaret Wise Brown; Geoffrey Hayes (Illustrator)
As Right As Right Can Be
by
Anne Rose; Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)
The Bear and the Fly
by
Paula Winter
Little Though I Be
by
Joseph Low
Merry Ever After: The Story of Two Medieval Weddings
by
Joe Lasker
Test Your Wits (Or Lose Them) with a Book of A-Maze-Ments
by
Jean Seisser; France de Ranchin
Mr. Michael Mouse Unfolds His Tale
by
Walter Crane
The Pig-Tale
by
Lewis Carroll; Leonard Lubin (Illustrator)
There's a Sound in the Sea: A Child's Eye View of the Whale
by
Tamar Griggs
The Tutti-Frutti Case
by
Harry Allard; James Marshall (Illustrator)
The Girl Who Cried Flowers
by
Jane Yolen; David Palladini (Illustrator)
The Man Who Took the Indoors Out
by
Arnold Lobel
Miss Suzy's Birthday
by
Miriam Young; Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)
A Storybook
by
Tomi Ungerer
There Was an Old Woman
by
Steven Kellogg
The Emperor's New Clothes
by
Hans Christian Andersen; Monika Laimgruber (Illustrator)
Hector Penguin
by
Louise Fatio; Roger Duvoisin (Illustrator)
The Juniper Tree
by
Jacob Grimm; Wilhelm K. Grimm; Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
Number 24
by
Guy Billout
Behind the Wheel
by
Edward Koren
Hosie's Alphabet
by
Tobias Baskin; Lisa Baskin; Leonard Baskin (Illustrator)
A Little Schubert
by
M. B. Goffstein
Mouse Café
by
Patricia Coombs
Simon Boom Gives a Wedding
by
Yuri Suhl; Margot Zemach (Illustrator)
Bear Circus
by
William Pène du Bois
Look Again!
by
Tana Hoban
The Magic Tears
by
Jack Sendak; Mitchell Miller (Illustrator)
One Dancing Drum
by
Gail Kredenser; Stanely Mack (Illustrator)
The Teletrips of Alala
by
Guy Monreal; Nicole Claveloux (Illustrator)
Finding a Poem
by
Eve Merriam; Seymour Chwast (Illustrator)
The Gnu and the Guru Go Behind the Beyond
by
Peggy Clifford; Eric Von Schmidt (Illustrator)
Help, Help, the Globolinks
by
Gian-Carlo Menotti, Leigh Dean; Milton Glaser (Illustrator)
Lift Every Voice and Sing
by
James Weldon Johnson
Matilda Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death
by
Hilaire Belloc; Steven Kellogg (Illustrator)
Timothy's Horse
by
Vladimir Mayakovsky; Guy Daniels; Flavio Constantini (Illustrator)
Topsy Turvies: Pictures to Stretch the Imagination
by
Mitsumasa Anno
You Are Ri-Di-Cu-Lous
by
André Francois
Bang Bang You're Dead
by
Louise Fitzhugh; Sandra Scoppettone
Free as a Frog
by
Elizabeth Hodges; Paul Giovanopoulos (Illustrator)
The Light Princess
by
George MacDonald; Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
Sara's Granny and the Groodle
by
Joan Gill, Seymour Chwast (Illustrator)
What Is It For?
by
Henry Humphrey
Winter's Eve
by
Natalia Maree Belting; Alan E. Cober (Illustrator)
Malachi Mudge
by
Edward Cecil; Peter Parnall (Illustrator)
Mister Corbett's Ghost
by
Leon Garfield; Alan E. Cober (Illustrator)
The Real Tin Flower: Poems About the World at Nine
by
Aliki Barnstone; Paul Giovanopoulos (Illustrator)
Story Number 1
by
Eugene Ionesco; Etienne Delessert (Illustrator)
Talking Without Words
by
Marie Hall Ets
The Very Obliging Flowers
by
Claude Roy; Alain LeFoll (Illustrator)
The Honeybees
by
Franklin Russell; Colette Portal (Illustrator)
Hubert: The Caterpillar Who Thought He Was A Mustache
by
Wendy Stang; Susan Richards; Robert L. Anderson (Illustrator)
Knee-Deep in Thunder
by
Sheila Moon; Peter Parnall (Illustrator)
Seashore Story
by
Taro Yashima
Ananse the Spider
by
Peggy Appiah; Peggy Wilson (Illustrator)
A Boy Went Out to Gather Pears
by
Felix Hoffmann
The Magic Flute
by
Stephen Spender; Beni Montresor (Illustrator)
Nothing Ever Happens on My Block
by
Ellen Raskin
Shaw's Fortune: The Picture Story of a Colonial Plantation
by
Edwin Tunis
Wonderful Time
by
Phyllis McGinley; John Alcorn (Illustrator)
A Double Discovery
by
Evaline Ness
Kangaroo & Kangaroo
by
K. Braun; Jim McMullan (Illustrator)
Please Share That Peanut!: A Preposterous Pageant in 14 Acts
by
Sesyle Joslin; Simms Taback (Illustrator)
Punch & Judy: A Play for Puppets
by
Ed Emberley
Sven's Bridge
by
Anita Lobel
Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade
by
Alice Provensen; Martin Provensen
The Giraffe of King Charles X
by
Miche Wynants
I'll Show You Cats
by
Crosby N. Bonsall; Ylla (Illustrator)
The Life of a Queen
by
Colette Portal
The Great Picture Robbery
by
Leon Harris; Joseph Schindelman (Illustrator)
Gwendolyn and the Weathercock
by
Nancy Sherman; Edward Sorel (Illustrator)
A Holiday for Mr. Muster
by
Arnold Lobel
Hurly Burly and the Knights
by
Milton Rugoff; Emanuele Luzzati (Illustrator)
John J. Plenty and Fiddler Dan
by
John Ciardi; Madeleine Gekiere (Illustrator)
Karen's Curiosity
by
Alice Provensen; Martin Provensen
Once Upon a Totem
by
Christie Harris; John Frazer Mills (Illustrator)
Plunkety Plunk
by
Peter J. Lippman
Gennarino
by
Nicola Simbari
The Island of Fish in the Trees
by
Eva-Lis Wuorio; Edward Ardizzone (Illustrator)
Kay Kay Comes Home
by
Nicholas Samstag; Ben Shahn (Illustrator)
Little Owl
by
Reiner Zimnik; Hanne Axmann (Illustrator)
The Princesses
by
Sally P. Johnson; Beni Montresor (Illustrator)
The Singing Hill
by
Meindert DeJong; Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
The Tale of a Wood
by
Henry B. Kane
The Big Book of Animal Stories
by
Margaret Green; Janusz Grabianski (Illustrator)
Dear Rat
by
Julia Cunningham; Walter Lorraine (Illustrator)
Listen - The Birds (Poems)
by
Mary Britton Miller; Evaline Ness (Illustrator)
Sandpipers
by
Edith Thacher Hurd; Lucienne Bloch (Illustrator)
Umbrellas, Hats and Wheels
by
Ann Rand; Jerome Snyder (Illustrator)
The Wing on a Flea: A Book About Shapes
by
Ed Emberley
The Adventures of Ulysses
by
Jacque le Marchand; André François (Illustrator)
Shadow Book
by
Beatrice Schenk De Regniers; Isabel Gordon (Illustrator)
Two Little Birds and Three
by
Juliet Kepes
Animal Babies
by
Arthur Gregor; Ylla (Illustrator)
The First Noel
by
Alice Provensen; Martin Provensen
Full of Wonder
by
Ann Kirn
Kasimir's Journey
by
Monroe Stearns; Marlene Reidel (Illustrator)
The Reason for the Pelican
by
John Ciardi; Madeleine Gekiere (Illustrator)
All Aboard (Poems)
by
Mary Britton Miller; Bill Sokol (Illustrator)
Chouchou
by
Françoise
The Daddy Days
by
Norma Simon; Abner Graboff (Illustrator)
The Giant Golden Book of Animals: More Than 100 Strange and Familiar Beasts
by
Wolfgang Suschitzky
How to Hide a Hippopotamus
by
Volney Croswell
The Magic Feather Duster
by
William Lipkind; Nicolas Mordvinoff (Illustrator)
Big Red Bus
by
Ethel Kessler; Leonard Kessler
The Birthday Party
by
Ruth Krauss; Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
Dear Garbage Man
by
Gene Zion; Margaret Bloy Graham (Illustrator)
This is the Story of Faint George Who Wanted to be a Knight
by
Robert E. Barry
The Friendly Beasts
by
Laura Nelson Baker; Nicolas Sidjakov (Illustrator)
The Unhappy Hippopotamus
by
Nancy Moore; Edward Leight (Illustrator)
Babar's Fair
by
Laurent de Brunhoff
Crocodile Tears
by
André François
I Want to Paint My Bathroom Blue
by
Ruth Krauss; Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
I Will Tell You of a Town
by
Alastair Reid; Walter Lorraine (Illustrator)
Jonah, the Fisherman
by
Reiner Zimnik
Little Big-Feather
by
Joseph Longstreth; Helen Borten (Illustrator)
The Little Elephant
by
Arthur Gregor; Ylla (Illustrator)
Really Spring
by
Gene Zion; Margaret Bloy Graham (Illustrator)
Beasts From a Brush
by
Juliet Kepes
Chaga
by
William Lipkind; Nicolas Mordvinoff (Illustrator)
The Happy Lion in Africa
by
Louise Fatio; Roger Duvoisin (Illustrator)
A Little House of Your Own
by
Beatrice Schenk De Regniers; Irene Haas (Illustrator)
Parsley
by
Ludwig Bemelmans
The Three Kings of Saba
by
Alf Evers; Helen Sewell (Illustrator)
Uncle Ben's Whale
by
Walter D. Edmonds
Andy Says...Bonjour!
by
Pat Diska; Chris Jenkyns (Illustrator)
The Animal Frolic
by
Toba Sojo
Circus Ruckus
by
William Lipkind; Nicolas Mordvinoff (Illustrator)
Heavy Is a Hippopotamus
by
Miriam Schlein; Leonard Kessler (Illustrator)
I'll Be You and You Be Me
by
Ruth Krauss; Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
A Kiss is Round
by
Blossom Budney; Vladimir Bobri (Illustrator)
The Sun Looks Down
by
Miriam Schlein; Abner Graboff (Illustrator)
Fast Is Not a Ladybug
by
Miriam Schlein
The Golden Bible for Children: The New Testament
by
Elsa Jane Werner; Alice Provensen (Illustrator); Martin Provensen (Illustrator)
A Hero By Mistake
by
Anita Brenner; Jean Charlot (Illustrator)
Lucky Blacky
by
Eunice Lackey; Winifred Greene (Illustrator)
Mother Goose: Riddle Rhymes
by
Joseph Low
Who Gave Us...Peacocks? Planes? Ferris Wheels?
by
Madeleine Gekiere
Beasts and Nonsense
by
Marie Hall Ets
The Dogcatcher's Dog
by
André Dugo
The Happy Place
by
Ludwig Bemelmans
The Magic Currant Bun
by
John Symonds