Kirkus Best Books of the Year - Picture Books Celebrating Family (Awarded by Kirkus)

Awards List

2023

At the Drop of a Cat
(*)
Elise Fontenaille

My Strange Shrinking Parents
(*)
Zeno Sworder

My Baba's Garden
(*)
Jordan Scott

We Are Lions!
(*)
Jens Mattsson

Oh No, the Aunts Are Here
(*)
Adam Rex

Papa's Home
(*)
David Soman

Summer Is for Cousins
(*)
Rajani LaRocca

Martina Has Too Many Tias
(*)
Emma Otheguy

Papa's Magical Water-Jug Clock
(*)
Jesus Trejo

Spanish Is the Language of My Family
(*)
Michael Genhart

Together We Swim
(*)
Valerie Bolling

A Letter for Bob
(*)
Kim Rogers

Zora, the Story Keeper
(*)
Ebony Joy Wilkins

Do You Remember?
(*)
Sydney Smith

2022

Tia Fortuna's New Home
(*)
Ruth Behar

A Day for Sandcastles
(*)
JonArno Lawson

The Rainbow Parade
(*)
Emily Neilson

See You Someday Soon
(*)
Pat Zietlow Miller

Jigsaw
(*)
Bob Graham

Farmhouse
(*)
Sophie Blackall

Playtime for Restless Rascals
(*)
Nikki Grimes

Mama's Home
(*)
Shay Youngblood

2021

I See You See
(*)
Richard Jackson

Milo Imagines the World
(*)
Matt De La Pena

The Electric Slide and Kai
(*)
Kelly J. Baptist

The Night Walk
(*)
Marie Dorleans

Watercress
(*)
Andrea Wang

On the Trapline
(*)
David A. Robertson

Strollercoaster
(*)
Matt Ringler

Dad Bakes
(*)
Katie Yamasaki

2020

Uncle Bobby's Wedding
(*)
Sarah S. Brannen

The Old Truck
(*)
Jarrett Pumphrey; Jerome Pumphrey

Ohana Means Family
(*)
Ilima Loomis

The Paper Kingdom
(*)
Helena Ku Rhee

A Stopwatch from Grampa
(*)
Loretta Garbutt

Nana Akua Goes to School
(*)
Patricia Elam Walker

The Blue House
(*)
Phoebe Wahl

Saturdays Are For Stella
(*)
Candy Wellins

Weekend Dad
(*)
Naseem Hrab

I Talk Like a River
(*)
Jordan Scott

My Day with Gong Gong
(*)
Sennah Yee

The Most Beautiful Thing
(*)
Kao Kalia Yang

Ritu Weds Chandni
(*)
Ameya Narvankar

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Bedtime Books

Beginning Readers

Board Books

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

Debut Fiction

Empowering Picture Books

Environmental Fiction

Fiction

Fiction in Translation

Fictional Families

Fictional Voices

Funniest Picture Books

Historical Fiction

Informational Picture Books

Joyous Picture Books

Middle-Grade About Speaking Up

Middle-Grade Activist

Middle-Grade Adventures

Middle-Grade Family Stories

Middle-Grade Fantasy and SF

Middle-Grade Fiction

Middle-Grade Friendship Stories

Middle-Grade Graphic Fiction

Award Years

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019