Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards: Picture Book Winners

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd. A child in an unnamed village "where we live inside our mud-for-walls home" describes the diversions of daily life, including zooming about with "my crazy brothers" on a "patchwork bike" built of scrap. Clarke's spare, mellifluous language is hand-lettered on Rudd's rough, tactile paintings composed of heavy acrylic paint on recycled cardboard. The illustration choices reflect the book's theme--exposing the harsh reality of life while acknowledging the resilience that comes from homemade joy.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(1) K-3 A girl considers the wondrousness of the world around her, prompted by the colors she encounters throughout her day. The text moves effortlessly between prosaic description and poetic contemplation, making of color something both familiar and extraordinary. Tamaki's rich acrylic paintings combine scratchy ink line work with watery brushstrokes, establishing a visual tension that echoes this paradoxical sense of things being just at hand yet frequently astonishing.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(1) 4-6 Bryan restores humanity to ten real-life slaves listed for sale on an 1828 document (plus one fictional slave), giving them ages, African names, relationships, talents, and dreams. Each individual receives two spreads of poetry: the first serves as introduction (accompanied by a wood carving–like portrait, suggesting the mask each wears for day-to-day life on the plantation); the second (illustrated in brilliant colors) is devoted to his or her dreams.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Francis Vallejo. On August 12, 1958, fifty-plus jazz musicians gathered in Harlem for a group photo shoot. This iconic photo is the springboard for a series of twenty-one poems and a set of personality-rich illustrations. The words take you back to the photo--reproduced here as a gatefold spread--and the excellent list of sources leads you back to the music. Websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(1) K-3 Appearances can be deceiving in this superb wordless book. A grim-faced farmer comes to the rescue when a circus train hits a bump and ejects a jolly-looking toddler clown. At bedtime, off comes the clown makeup, revealing a scared child; the farmer makes a clown of himself to get a real smile from his guest. A riveting narrative with an impressive range of emotion.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(1) PS Mr. Tiger, bored in his very drab, very proper community, drops to all fours, sheds his clothing, and runs wild. This is a book made for storytime, with its bold mixed-media illustrations and a plot with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Children, who get tired of grownups and their requests for proper behavior, will relate to Mr. Tiger.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(1) K-3 Bean draws on childhood memories to demonstrate the process of one family building its own house. A little girl narrates the engaging and warm account; the steps are broken down into captions for half-page panels, while moments of greater import, such as setting the corners for the foundation, receive full- and double-page spreads. Family and friends make not just a house but a cozy home.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jon Klassen. When young Annabelle finds a box containing yarn of every color, she knits herself a sweater. Then she knits one for her dog and everyone else in her colorless town. An archduke steals the box, but the magic doesn't work for him and all is made right. Impeccably paced brown ink and digitally created illustrations pair nicely with the translucent, lightly inked knitwear.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(1) K-3 Sixty-four nursery rhymes appear in an intricate tapestry of wool, felt, embroidery, beads, and every kind of needlework. With the constructions attentive to even the smallest details, the book is organized loosely from morning to night. The deftly photographed needlework looks three-dimensional because the textures of the various media create shadows and encourage the eye to linger on every hand-sewn detail.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010