One of my favorite parts of November and December in the book world is the end-of-year "Best Books" lists. I'm often competitive about how many of the "year's best" books I've reach each year, and as a librarian I always love to share some of these fantastic books with patrons.
The Method
In order to create a diverse list, I've tried to compile the top books from many different sources--I've drawn from critically acclaimed sources like School Library Journal and Kirkus, but I've also included the best sellers from Amazon's end-of-year list, and the favorites from book blogs like Book Riot and Thriftbooks. My hope is that by doing this I've included both picture books with literary merit and artistic illustrations as well as best-selling crowd pleasers (and hopefully some books that are both!)
I've enjoyed reading the top books of the year that slipped weren't on my radar this year, and I hope you and the little ones in your life do too!
Herrick District Library recommends these titles as the very best picture books and readers published in 2023.
