Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners Picture Books About Nature

Awards List

2025

We Are the Wibbly

We Are the Wibbly (*)
Sarah Tagholm

Apr-2024
/ General Fiction

Your Forest

Your Forest (*)
Jon Klassen

Feb-2025
/ General Fiction

The Gift of the Great Buffalo

The Gift of the Great Buffalo (*)
Carole Lindstrom

Mar-2025
/ General Fiction

Pencil

Pencil (*)
Hye-eun Kim

Mar-2025
/ General Fiction

I Would Give You My Tail

I Would Give You My Tail (*)
Tanya Tagaq

Apr-2025
/ General Fiction

I'm Like a Tree and a Tree's Like Me

I'm Like a Tree and a Tree's Like Me (*)
Sylvaine Jaoui

Apr-2025
/ General Fiction

Nightsong

Nightsong (*)
Sally Soweol Han

Jun-2025
/ General Fiction

Where the Deer Slip Through

Where the Deer Slip Through (*)
Katey Howes

Jun-2025
/ General Fiction

Dawn

Dawn (*)
Marc Martin

Aug-2025
/ General Fiction

Sundust

Sundust (*)
Zeke Pena

Aug-2025
/ General Fiction

Dear Acorn (Love, Oak)

Dear Acorn (Love, Oak) (*)
Joyce Sidman

Sep-2025
/ General Fiction

Moon Song

Moon Song (*)
Michaela Goade

Oct-2025
/ General Fiction

2024

What's New, Daniel?

What's New, Daniel? (*)
Micha Archer

Feb-2024
/ General Fiction

The Noisy Puddle

The Noisy Puddle (*)
Linda Booth Sweeney

Mar-2024
/ General Fiction

Something About the Sky

Something About the Sky (*)
Rachel Carson

Mar-2024
/ General Fiction

The Pelican Can!

The Pelican Can! (*)
Toni Yuly

May-2024
/ General Fiction

Windsongs

Windsongs (*)
Douglas Florian

Jun-2024
/ General Fiction

Crick, Crack, Crow!

Crick, Crack, Crow! (*)
Janet Lord

Aug-2024
/ General Fiction

Animal Countdown

Animal Countdown (*)
Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Oct-2024
/ General Fiction

2023

9 Kilometers

9 Kilometers (*)
Claudio Aguilera

Feb-2023
/ General Fiction

Nell Plants a Tree

Nell Plants a Tree (*)
Anne Wynter

Feb-2023
/ General Fiction

Little Land

Little Land (*)
Diana Sudyka

Apr-2023
/ General Fiction

Desert Jungle

Desert Jungle (*)
Jeannie Baker

May-2023
/ General Fiction

The World's Best Class Plant

The World's Best Class Plant (*)
Audrey Vernick

Jun-2023
/ General Fiction

Stickler Loves the World

Stickler Loves the World (*)
Lane Smith

Aug-2023
/ General Fiction

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods (*)
Nikki Grimes

Sep-2023
/ General Fiction

2022

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (*)
Robert Frost

Oct-2001
/ General Fiction

Snow Angel, Sand Angel

Snow Angel, Sand Angel (*)
Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Jan-2022
/ General Fiction

Where Wonder Grows

Where Wonder Grows (*)
Xelena Gonzalez

Jan-2022
/ General Fiction

Apple and Magnolia

Apple and Magnolia (*)
Laura Gehl

Feb-2022
/ General Fiction

Berry Song

Berry Song (*)
Michaela Goade

Jul-2022
/ General Fiction

Moonlight

Moonlight (*)
Stephen Savage

Aug-2022
/ General Fiction

Magnolia Flower

Magnolia Flower (*)
Zora Neale Hurston

Sep-2022
/ General Fiction

Mushroom Lullaby

Mushroom Lullaby (*)
Kenneth Kraegel

Oct-2022
/ General Fiction

Still This Love Goes On

Still This Love Goes On (*)
Buffy Sainte-Marie

Oct-2022
/ General Fiction

So Much Snow

So Much Snow (*)
Hyunmin Park

Nov-2022
/ General Fiction

Dark on Light

Dark on Light (*)
Dianne White

Dec-2022
/ General Fiction

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

Dystopian Fiction

Empowering Picture Books

Environmental Fiction

Fiction in Translation

Fictional Families

Fictional Voices

Funniest Picture Books

Historical Fiction

Informational Picture Books

Joyous Picture Books

Middle Grade Exploring Social Themes

Middle-Grade About Speaking Up

Middle-Grade Activist

Middle-Grade Adventures

Middle-Grade Family Stories

Middle-Grade Fantasy and SF

Middle-Grade Fiction

Award Years