Hello friends!
In my non-writing life I’m a librarian and recently I had the opportunity to share with patrons some picture books I think will be standouts in 2022. I thought I would share those same picture books with you you! Some disclaimers first:
- These are books a) I think will be big sellers and/or b) look cool or important to me. HIGHLY subjective.
- I’ve only actually READ a few of them, so my assessment is based on the past successes/work of the authors and illustrators, the covers, and publisher summaries.
- Most, if not all, of these will be published in the first half of 2022.
- I’m sure I missed a lot of great books because while I looked at several sources it’s impossible to know EVERYTHING that is coming out in 2022. Also I only had 20 minutes for my part of the presentation so I definitely had to be selective. There were more on my list.
So, without further ado, my picks. Add yours in the comments!
BOARD BOOKS (Ages birth – 2)
- I’m Up and I’m Still Up by Antoinette Portis
- Companion books about a baby who is… you guessed it, awake. With repeating words and shapes, this will be a regular read-aloud.
- Puppy Dog, Puppy Dog What Can You See? by Amelia Hepworth and Pintachan
- You can’t go wrong with an interactive lift-the-flap! For babies and toddlers, this will be a sure hit. Ask the question and then look at the hints to guess before lifting the flap to see if you’re right. Includes a mirror at the end to even further involve your little one in the story! Others in the series are Ladybug, Little Hen, and Elephant
- Little Seed by Benson Shum
- How cute is this? Little seed wants to hug the whole world! How do you hug a panda? An armadillo?
- My Nap/Mi Siesta and My Party/Mi Fiesta by Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay
- From the team behind the ¡Vamos! books we have this bilingual board book series featuring their character Coco Rocha who is, yes, a cockroach.
- First Morning Sun by Aimee Reed and Jing Jing Tsong
- Sharing your child’s milestones with rhyming text and beautiful illustrations.
- Boop the Snoot by Ashlyn Anstee
- What kid doesn’t want to be invited to “boop the snoot” of various animals? I might get a copy of this for myself, it looks so cute.
- Baby Bug by Wednesday Kirwan
- Baby bug explores the natural world and learns how to wiggle, roll and splash from her creepy crawly friends. The thick,dark outlines on the pictures make this a great book to share with babies under 1 whose eyesight is still developing!
BOOKS FOR TODDLERS (Ages 1 – 4)
- Little Pups in Big Trucks by Bob Shea and Brian Won (Adurable series)
- This is a new series by two book creators I love, Bob Shea and Brian Won. These puppies are just beginning puppy school. But when their teacher is stuck under some rocks, they’ll have to use everything they’ve just learned to help her!
- How To Say Hello to a Worm by Kari Percival
- The subtitle for this book is “a first guide to outside.” And that’s just what it is – a guide for littles on engaging with nature.
I’m Hungry/Tengo Hambre by Angela Dominguez
- Another great bilingual title from Angela Dominguez that seamlessly blends the two languages. Dinosaur is hungry, and bird is trying to figure out what he wants to eat.
- Little Cat Hide and Seek Emotions by Audrey Bouquet
- This looks like a sweet and fun way for children to learn the names for different emotions – which goes a long way toward easing their frustration when they don’t have the words to tell you how they feel.
- Big Green Garage by Jen Arena and Mike Dutton
- The book advertises “15! Satisfying! Novelty! Elements! And that is enough to pull any child in. Flaps to lift, gears to turn, tabs to pull and levers to… lever?
FAVORITE AUTHORS/ILLUSTRATORS (All ages but mostly 3+)
- Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder & Dan Santat
- Fractured Fairy Tale! Choose-your-own-adventure! What’s not to love?
- The Blur by Minh Le and Dan Santat
- The team behind Drawn Together brings you a new superhero: THE BLUR. This child is able to do everything with supersonic speed, including growing up. Parents, sound familiar?
The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson & Rafael López
- From the team behind The Day You Begin! Two children hear from their grandparents how their ancestors used their “brilliant and beautiful minds” to show their strength and resiliance. The children then follow suit, using their imaginations to overcome boredom dream of what might be.
- Somewhere in the Bayou by Jarret & Jerome Pumphrey
- By the authors of the award winning Old Truck and last year’s Old Boat. A group of swamp critters discover that the log they’re using to travel across the pond isn’t a log after all.
- Hey Bruce! By Ryan T. Higgins
- Another title in the super-popular Bruce series! In this outing, readers follow the geese’s instructions to make Bruce do whatever they want. It’s interactive!
- Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
- First we had creepy carrots, then a creepy pair of underwear, and now a crayon gets creepy! The first two in the series were super popular, so there’s no doubt this one will be too.
- Everything Will Be Okay by Anna Dewdney and Judy Schachner
- Little Bunny is having a bad day. In this rhyming story, Bunny finds some good in a day that starts out with a lot of bad. From the author of the Llama Llama books and illustrator of Skippyjon Jones.
- Believe in Yourself: What We learned from Arthur by Marc Brown
- For your nostalgia needs, Marc Brown has brought back his beloved character Arthur on his 25th anniversary. Filled with quotations and life lessons – this will be a popular book for graduation gifts!
- Llama Llama Back to School by Anna Dewdney and Reed Duncan
- While Anna Dewdney sadly passed away, this popular series (also now a Netflix show) continues.
I Love You Like Yellow by Andrea Beaty and Vashti Harrison
- Andrea Beaty wrote the Ada Twist, Scientist series and Vashti Harrison wrote and illustrated the Little Leaders series – both New York Times bestsellers. This rhyming book celebrates unconditional love.
- Love You By Heart by Peter H. Reynolds
- Peter H. Reynolds is the author/illustrator of the “Creatology” series that includes The Dot and Ish and other bestselling books. This celebration of love will be a popular gift book.
NEW AND NOTABLE (All ages but mostly 3+)
- I Forgive Alex by Kerascoet
- From the team behind I Walk With Vanessa. A boy named Alex upsets a friend and must ask for forgiveness. Wordless.
- Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness by Maria Gianferrari and Pete Oswald
- Enjoy the day with a child and their dog and follow the cues to bark, wag and sniff along. Backmatter includes a mindfulness walk you can take with your little one.
- Beauty Woke by NoNiequa Ramos and Paola Escobar
- A puerto rican girl feels great about her heritage and how she looks but later starts doubting as she grows older and sees how people who look like her are treated. Her community helps her find that pride again!
- A is for Bee: An Alphabet Book in Translation by Ellen Heck
- How language is similar and different around the world.
- Powwow Day by Traci Sorell and Madelyn Goodnight
- Traci Sorrell is one of the most well-known Native American (Cherokee, to be exact) authors writing picture books today! River feels the healing power of her community as she recovers from illness and wonders if she’ll ever dance in the Powwow again.
- Berry Song by Micaela Goode
- Micaela Goade won a Caldecott medal for illustrating We Are Water Protectors, but this is the first book she’s written AND illustrated. A grandmother and granddaughter gather gifts from the earth: salmon, herring eggs, and so many kinds of berries, and express their gratitude for these gifts.
- Kindergarten, Where Kindness Matters Every Day by Vera Ahiyya (the Tutu Teacher) and Joey Chou
- Vera Ahiyya gained fame during the pandemic for her Instagram content as The Tutu Teacher. This is her first picture book, and it’s about the ways we show kindness to each other from the point of view of new kindergarteners.
- See You Someday Soon by Pat Zietlow Miller and Suzy Lee
- Pat Zietlow Miller has FIVE picture books coming out this year! I chose this one to share because I love Suzy Lee’s illustrations and the topic is especially timely – that those we love, even though they’re far away, are never far from our hearts.
- I Love You Because I Love You by Muon Thi Van and Jessica Love
- A call-and-response celebration of love featuring diverse families
- Blue by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Daniel Minter
- You didn’t think anyone could create a WHOLE picture book about a color? Well, these two did! And it sounds really cool! How did ancient Afghan painters make blue? When did blue become a mainstream, and not-expensive-to-create color?
Big and Small and In-Between by Carter Higgins and Daniel Miyares
- Billed as YOU ARE (NOT) SMALL meets THE QUIET BOOK. It makes the concept of size personal.
- Daddy Speaks Love by Leah Henderson and E.B. Lewis
- Celebrates fathers, especially Black fathers, and how they guide and influence their children. With illustrations by the iconic watercolorist E.B. Lewis.
- Shapes: My first pop-up by Matthew Reinhart and Ekaterina Trukhan
- Matthew Reinhart is the KING of amazing pop-up books. This one is for toddlers and is a companion to a similar book about colors!
- Baby, Sleepy Baby by Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank
- I LOVE the partnership between Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank. They’ve created some of my favorite books, especially B is for Baby. This book is a lullaby based on a song Atinuke’s father used to sing to her in Nigeria.
HUMOR (All Ages but mostly 3+)
- No Bunnies Here by Tammi Sauer & Ross Burach
- A bear comes looking for some bunnies, so, thinking bear’s intent is to eat them, a bunny attempts to convince bear that there are NO BUNNIES HERE. A story about assumptions! Hilarious.
- My Parents Won’t Stop Talking! By Emma Hunsinger and Tille Walden
- A common lament! A girl’s trip to the park is ruined when her parents meet friends and then WON’T STOP TALKING to them!
- Don’t Eat Bees: Life Lessons from Chip the Dog by Dev Petty and Mike Boldt
- Seems like an obvious thing to do, right? But still, it happens. Chip gives us hilarious life lessons only a dog could have learned. From the author/illustrator team behind I Don’t Want to Be a Frog.
- Goodnight Butterfly by Ross Burach
- From the author/illustrator of The Very Impatient Caterpillar and The Little Caterpillar that Could. Butterfly is restless and can’t sleep, but he uses some mindfulness techniques to calm down and drift off.
- Eyebrows of Doom by Steve Smallman and Miguel Ordoñez
- Just the title makes me laugh. Bear finds a pair of slugs covered in fuzz while cleaning his cave. They inspire him to do unkind things. The eyebrows next find a young girl who does an equally unkind thing. This continues until they get a surprise at the zoo.
- Slug In Love by Rachel Bright and Nadia Shireen
- Continuing the slug theme, we have Slug in Love! Doug the Slug needs a hug. But who will hug a slug? Will he find love?
- Counting To Bananas by Carrie Tillotson and Estrela Lourenço
- This is a counting book, but Banana can’t WAIT for its turn to be counted! A MOSTLY rhyming book.
SEQUELS (All ages but mostly 3+
- Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and Vanessa Brantley-Newton
- From the author/illustrator team behind the King of Kindergarten we have this companion title. This girl is READY to rock Kindergarten.
- Pretty Perfect Kittycorn by Shannon Hale & LeUyen Pham
- The sequel to one of my favorites of last year, Itty Bitty Kittycorn. In this story, Unicorn worries that he’s not as perfect as everyone thinks he is and maybe kitty won’t be his friend anymore. A common worry for kids (and some adults like me).
Playtime for Restless Rascals by Nikki Grimes and Elizabeth Zunon
- This follows the same pattern as their previous books Bedtime for Sweet Creatures and Off to See the Sea. This outing celebrates the bond between parent and child and the play, which is the “work of childhood” according to Mr. Rogers (and he was right).
- Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome by Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua
- The series started with Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and continued with Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon. Now Amy Wu tries to make a new classmate from China feel welcome by inviting him to her dumpling party!
COLORADO AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS (All ages but mostly 3+)
I feel like I should preface this section by saying that this is by NO MEANS an exhaustive list of the amazing books being created by Colorado authors and illustrators. These folks just happen to be more on my radar (as they’re my friends, and, in one case, a work colleague). Also, I’m focusing on traditional publishing here. If you’re a Colorado author with a book coming out in 2022, please add it in the comments! I didn’t exclude you on purpose, I promise!
- A Grand Day by Jean Reidy and Samantha Cotterill
- Celebrates the bond between grandparent and grandchild.
- Me and You in a Book Made for Two by Jean Reidy and Joey Chou
- The sequel to What Will You Do in a Book About You? which was a popular graduation gift.
- Sylvie by Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins
- The team behind the beloved turtle Truman! Sylvie the Spider keeps watch over her people in the apartment building where she lives, out of sight. But when something seems off, Sylvie must decide whether or not to step into the spotlight to fix things. Truman even makes an appearance!
- Swim, Jim by Kaz Windness
- Jim is a crocodile, and afraid to swim. Can he find a way to learn, but on his own terms?
- Her Name was Mary Katherine: The Only Woman Whose Name is on the Declaration of Independence by Ella Schwartz and Dow Phumiruk
- Mary Katherine Goddard, a businesswoman and newspaper publisher ,stepped up and printed the Declaration of Independence so that it could be widely distributed. And she added her name at the bottom as a printing credit!
- Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country by Kelly Yang and Dow Phumiruk
- Kelly Yang is a New York Times best selling author and Dow is one of several notable Asian-American illustrators to work on this book.
Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang and Hyewon Yum
- Luli makes friends in her ESL class by sharing a cup of tea, something familiar to all the kids in the class, no matter what their home language is.
- Strut, Baby, Strut by Amika Kroll and Ebony Glenn
- A celebration of girls as they grow up!
Happy reading!