Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners Picture Books for Starting Conversations

Awards List

2023

All Aboard the Schooltrain

All Aboard the Schooltrain (*)
Glenda Armand

Jan-2023
/ General Fiction

The Bear and the Wildcat

The Bear and the Wildcat (*)
Kazumi Yumoto

Feb-2023
/ General Fiction

Yellow Butterfly

Yellow Butterfly (*)
Oleksandr Shatokhin

Feb-2023
/ Historical

Corner

Corner (*)
Zo-O

Mar-2023
/ General Fiction

The Hospital Book

The Hospital Book (*)
Lisa Brown

Mar-2023
/ General Fiction

To the Other Side

To the Other Side (*)
Erika Meza

Mar-2023
/ General Fiction

The Tree and the River

The Tree and the River (*)
Aaron Becker

Mar-2023
/ General Fiction

The Shape of You

The Shape of You (*)
Muon Thi Van

May-2023
/ General Fiction

Remembering

Remembering (*)
Xelena Gonzalez

Sep-2023
/ General Fiction

Boyogi

Boyogi (*)
David Barclay Moore

Oct-2023
/ General Fiction

How This Book Got Red

How This Book Got Red (*)
Margaret Chiu Greanias

Oct-2023
/ General Fiction

2022

Will It Be Okay?

Will It Be Okay? (*)
Crescent Dragonwagon

Apr-1977
/ General Fiction

Abuelita and Me

Abuelita and Me (*)
Leonarda Carranza

Apr-2022
/ General Fiction

A Blue Kind of Day

A Blue Kind of Day (*)
Rachel Tomlinson

Apr-2022
/ General Fiction

The Curiosities

The Curiosities (*)
Zana Fraillon

Jun-2022
/ General Fiction

Sometimes I Grumblesquinch

Sometimes I Grumblesquinch (*)
Rachel Vail

Aug-2022
/ General Fiction

The Moon from Dehradun

The Moon from Dehradun (*)
Shirin Shamsi

Sep-2022
/ Historical

My Uncle Is Coming Tomorrow

My Uncle Is Coming Tomorrow (*)
Sebastian Santana Camargo

Sep-2022
/ General Fiction

Until Someone Listens

Until Someone Listens (*)
Estela Juarez

Sep-2022
/ General Fiction

The Circles in the Sky

The Circles in the Sky (*)
Karl James Mountford

Oct-2022
/ General Fiction

The Talk

The Talk (*)
Alicia D. Williams

Oct-2022
/ General Fiction

Joao by a Thread

Joao by a Thread (*)
Roger Mello

Nov-2022
/ General Fiction

Paradise Sands

Paradise Sands (*)
Levi Pinfold

Nov-2022
/ General Fiction

2021

The Big Bad Wolf in My House

The Big Bad Wolf in My House (*)
Valerie Fontaine

Mar-2021
/ General Fiction

The Big House and the Little House

The Big House and the Little House (*)
Yoshi Ueno

Mar-2021
/ General Fiction

Rissy No Kissies

Rissy No Kissies (*)
Katey Howes

Mar-2021
/ General Fiction

The Wind and the Trees

The Wind and the Trees (*)
Todd Stewart

Mar-2021
/ General Fiction

The Day the Rain Moved In

The Day the Rain Moved In (*)
Eleonore Douspis

Apr-2021
/ General Fiction

Jenny Mei Is Sad

Jenny Mei Is Sad (*)
Tracy Subisak

Jun-2021
/ General Fiction

Black and White

Black and White (*)
Debora Vogrig

Sep-2021
/ General Fiction

Bright Star (*)
Yuyi Morales

Sep-2021
/ General Fiction

Can You See Me?

Can You See Me? (*)
Gokce Irten

Sep-2021
/ General Fiction

The Longest Storm

The Longest Storm (*)
Dan Yaccarino

Sep-2021
/ General Fiction

The Sour Cherry Tree

The Sour Cherry Tree (*)
Naseem Hrab

Oct-2021
/ General Fiction

The Longest Letsgoboy

The Longest Letsgoboy (*)
Derick Wilder

Nov-2021
/ General Fiction

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

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 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