The Best Picture Books of 2023
Welcome to the 6th Annual Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards! Once a year we take a look back at the previous year of picture book publishing, pore over mountains of books, and put together our definitive top 10 list of the year. And the time has come for 2023!
It’s the top 10 picture books of 2023 in the 6th Annual Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards! #kidsbooks #picturebooks #dadsuggestsbooks #kidlit #bestpicturebooksoftheyear
All year long I’m taking notes and making stacks and thinking about which picture books are my personal favorites - and which might end up on this list in January. If a good book was published all the way back in last January, that’s like a millions years ago, so I really need those notes to re-track down all my favorites and make the ultimate, definitive stack of candidates.
At that point we re-read lots of books and slowly start making a definite top 10 pile - until the top 10 is completely full and we’re satisfied. But the fun isn’t over there. That’s when we get to argue about placement and flip flop the books and swap 7th place with 8th place and so on, until we’re feeling very confident and settled.
I’m proud of this yearly awards show tradition of ours, and I stand by the picks. It’s obviously a very good representation of our personal tastes at Dad Suggests and the type of curation that takes place at our bookshop too. But more than anything it’s a pleasure to honor (in our own small way) these artists that make incredibly beautiful books like the ones on this list.
I can’t believe it’s been 6 years already that we’ve had the Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards. Shockingly, no publishers have put our award sticker on any of the winners yet, but I’m sure they’re getting around to it soon. Probably a hold up in the sticker factory. You should probably call your local mega publishing house and let them know.
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Honorable Mentions
These are all of the picture books that were in serious consideration this year, and were a part of our debates. At some point during 2023, they were shortlisted and placed in contention for making this list of the best picture books of 2023. Listed in no particular order, these books are certainly among the best of the year.
Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers and Júlia Sardá
Mulysses by Oyvind Torseter
What You Need to Be Warm by Neil Gaiman
Very Good Hats by Emma Straub and Blanca Gómez
Ning and the Night Spirits by Adriena Fong
The Little Book of the Little Brontës by Sara O’Leary and Briony May Smith
My Very Own Special Particular Private and Personal Cat by Sandol Stoddard Warburg and Remy Charlip
Begin Again by Oliver Jeffers
The Amazing and True Story of Tooth Mouse Pérez by Ana Cristina Herreros and Violeta Lópiz
Robot, Unicorn, Queen by Shannon Bramer and Irene Luxbacher
Beneath by Cori Doerrfeld
Vlad the Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago
Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow by Ryan T. Higgins
How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda and Paloma Valdivia
The Magic Cap by Mirelle Messier and Charlotte Parent
Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller
Afterward, Everything was Different by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng
The Top 10 Picture Books of 2023
After much debate, the following books made it into our top 10 picture books of the year. On with the show!
10. Bunny & Tree
Written and Illustrated by Balint Zsako
Bunny & Tree is a wordless picture book made by Balint Zsako and published by the wise book connoisseurs at Enchanted Lion. It’s an extremely beautiful book, with lots of art to explore together, and it’s certainly bigger than your typical picture book at 184 pages.
But it’s still easily a one-sitting read since it’s wordless, and I remember how my 7-year-old sat by my side and flipped through every single page with me the day it came out. It’s a wonderful experience talking about the pictures and asking questions and telling the story together like that.
This is an adventure story about a rabbit separated from their family (because of a very spooky wolf), and a friendship made with a tree. And it’s full of a bit of magic and wonder too - because the tree can turn into trains and boats and planes to help with the search for Bunny’s family.
And this story is also about family and friends and finding a place to call home. It’s a sweet tale that my daughter and I enjoy quite a bit. Wordless books can be a great experience, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one take us on this big of an adventure before.
9. The Magicians
Written and Illustrated by Blexbolex
The Magicians is an unconventional picture book - not just because of its length, but also because of its construction. It’s split into chapters for one thing, although it feels more like a picture book than a chapter book.
The pages themselves are also interesting, because they’re folded over and doubled up, perhaps to prevent bleed-through of the images. Even the way the words are situated on the page below the art is different from the norm.
And I think the fact that it feels and looks different is a perfect compliment to the fact that this story is actually very different than what we usually get in a picture book. It’s a fabulous original fantasy adventure - like something straight out of a family-friendly anime film from the 80s.
A young huntress chases down 3 trouble-making magicians that have the power to shapeshift and turn into animals. It’s incredibly engaging and different, and the plot most definitely subverts your expectations in very interesting ways. Fantasy lovers will simply get a kick out of this book.
8. Evergreen
Written and Illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Evergreen is another book on this list that defies the normal conventions of picture books, and I’m starting to see a trend here. Evergreen is also broken into chapters, and I suppose I’m starting to think that adds a certain je ne sais quoi to a picture book, if you can pull it off.
Evergreen captures my heart primarily because of the feeling it gives me while reading it. Matthew Cordell’s art style and colors chosen for this book remind me Frog and Toad, so the whole book just gives me vibes of a beloved 70s classic.
The story follows a little squirrel who is afraid of everything, but who is sent on a mission through the scary forest to deliver an acorn full of soup to Granny Oak. So there are certainly undertones of lessons about facing your fears and being independent and coming into yourself - but mostly it feels like an adventure story which is very nice.
And the cast of characters that Evergreen meets along the way is fantastic. It’s kind of set up in a way that Evergreen meets someone new in each chapter, and my personal favorite is Grandpa Sprig the toad. This is also perhaps the funniest moment in the book, because we get the hilarious understated line “I will take this soup with me” coupled with an illustration of wide-eyed Grandpa Sprig freaking out over how good the soup smells.
7. Ten-Word Tiny Tales
Written by Joseph Coelho and Illustrated by Various Amazing Artists
This book is super cool, and I would love to have dozens more just like it. That’s because it’s a fantastic concept and the possibilities are simply endless.
The concept is 10-word, self-contained tales on each page - much like the two-sentence horror stories you’ve probably heard of before. And, speaking of two-sentence horror stories, the vast majority of these tales are unsettling as well. Which of course I love!
But perhaps the very coolest thing of all, is that each 10-word tale is illustrated by a different artist, and the lineup of illustrators is absolutely phenomenal. It’s almost a who’s who of our favorite illustrators. Júlia Sardá, Flavia Z. Drago, Alex T. Smith, Nahid Kazemi, Shaun Tan - I can’t believe how wonderful and beautiful and creepy this book is.
If you like good art and you like imagination and storytelling and slightly creepy things - this is an absolute 100% no-brainer, and I think it’s criminally under-the-radar. It’s also exactly the type of project that can really inspire kids to try their own stab at creating art, and you gotta love that.
2023 Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards Medal Winners
Honor Books
The following 5 books made our final cut, and were actually part of our discussions for winning the 2023 Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards. If the winning book didn’t exist, any one of these books might have won. And they are all awarded with a 2023 Honor Medal.
6. A Daydreamy Child Takes a Walk
Written by Gianni Rodari and Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna
This is an incredibly original story about a young boy with his head in the clouds - so much so that he misplaces a body part from time to time. I know - it’s absolutely bananas. But this boy very much reminds me of my own daydreamy boy.
It’s also spectacularly beautiful and brought to life by the incomparable Beatrice Alemagna. And it’s just the sweetest story about parenting and childhood that I’ve read in the longest time. And I absolutely cannot do justice to Alemagna’s surreal art.
It’s almost heartbreakingly sweet the way the boy comes home at the end of the day and asks his mom if he’s been a good boy that day. There’s so much meaning in that one sentence - it feels like something he worries about and asks every day. And we all know good and well he’s been walking around town accidentally losing his legs and hands and nose.
But the chorus of the book is “that’s just the way children are.” And the mother let’s her boy know he’s a most wonderful boy, without mentioning a word about how townsfolk have been showing up all day to return his body parts. It’s really the most beautiful display of unconditional love in the wildest package imaginable.
5. Twenty Questions
Written by Mac Barnett and Illustrated by Christian Robinson
This is a special picture book crafted by two very talented artists. Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson together is one of those super team situations that we are lucky to witness.
Twenty Questions is a lot of things. It looks great, it’s thoughtful, it’s creative, but, most of all, it’s really funny. It even has a slightly spooky page tossed in for good measure. It’s an experience.
What ties the book together is that most of the questions are utterly and completely open-ended - hilariously so. There are no right or wrong answers, making it a fun opportunity for kids to just interact and unlock their imaginations.
And the set up for that is hilarious, because the first question is pretty normal: “How many animals can you see in this picture?” But the second question is perfectly surprising: “How many animals can you not see in this one, because they’re hiding from the tiger?” This book is spectacular, a perfect choice for read alouds, and something that will have a LOT of staying power.
4. The Bear and the Wildcat
Written by Kazumi Yumoto and Illustrated by Komako Sakai
I suppose it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of picture books that focus on death. Our list of picture books about death is one of my all-time favorite lists I’ve ever compiled on Dad Suggests, and I definitely have to add The Bear and the Wildcat to that list now - easily in the top 10.
This book is about Bear dealing with the death of his bird friend. It’s a very honest and heartbreaking look at his sadness. And it’s a very realistic representation of the absolute depths of despair you can find yourself in when you lose someone close to you. I believe the art may be done with charcoal - at least it appears like it. And it’s really a perfect pairing to the emotions.
I love the focus on memories in this book, and I really love that it’s music that brings the memories flooding in. A wildcat thoughtfully plays a tune on his violin in memory of the bird, and that helps the emotions come pouring out for Bear.
The story is very thoughtfully constructed to gradually teach us more and more about Bear’s love for his friend the bird. And death is handled in a very straightforward and honest way - with the focus being on the emotions of those left behind. I feel like I’m not doing justice to this beautiful book, but suffice it to say that there are moments and images that stand out as some of the best I’ve ever seen in books about death.
3. Manolo and the Unicorn
Written by Jackie Azúa Kramer & Jonah Kramer and Illustrated by Zach Manbeck
Manolo and the Unicorn is probably the sleeper picture book of the year. There is nowhere near enough buzz for this incredible book, so I’ll take it upon myself to shout about it here and now. 3rd place in the Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards is not something just given out willy nilly.
If I had to do one of those picture book pitches using other books as reference, I’d call this Julian is a Mermaid meets Pokko and the Drum. It has messages about being true to yourself, it has messages about magic and wonder, and it’s a damn fine looking book. Manbeck’s art reminds me of Matthew Forsythe a bit in this book, and it pairs perfectly with Kramer’s sweet and inspiring story.
Manolo loves unicorns and wants to be a unicorn for the the school animal parade - but the other kids kind of bully him and tell him things like it’s supposed to be real animals and boys aren’t supposed to like unicorns. It crushes Manolo’s spirit and pulls at your heart as you see a bit of childhood magic leave him. But thankfully he rediscovers it.
Themes about being yourself and using your imagination and promoting childlike wonder have always been some of my favorites in picture books, and this one has it all. And many books try their best to tackle these topics, but they simply don’t have the same emotional impact as a book like this one that’s executed perfectly and paired with the most wonderful and whimsical art.
2. I’m Going to Build a Snowman
Written and Illustrated by Jashar Awan
Two years in a row now Jashar Awan has had a book finish in 1st place for our annual best Christmas picture book list. And I’m Going to Build a Snowman is so fantastic it has finished all the way up in 2nd place for our best picture books of the year overall.
I love absolutely everything about the construction of this book, and I love reading it to others. It’s beautiful and sweet and the comedic timing and visual humor is so well done. It’s also a bit about seeing the world through the eyes of a child. It feels to me like it’s about magic and excitement and the types of things we can lose as we get old and jaded. How can a funny book with so few words make me feel all that?
In that way I’m Going to Build a Snowman is a true feel good book. It makes me feel good to read it and it makes me laugh and it makes me happy. And visually it’s just a joy. The use of color and the decisions about how to use two-page spreads and even how the words look on the page - it just feels like a special project to me all around. I really highly recommend you track this one down and experience it yourself this winter!
2023 Dad Suggests Picture Book Awards Winner
1. The Skull
Written and Illustrated by Jon Klassen
The Skull got a lot of very well-deserved attention this year - even sparking a widespread conversation about the current quality of children’s literature, and the apparent hesitance for US publishers to take chances on weird books for kids. Let the kids get weird indeed, because The Skull is the best picture book of the year.
The Skull defies picture book conventions so much that I even waffled on including it on this list. I even put out a poll asking if people considered it a picture book, and 100% of responses said yes. It’s longer, it’s broken into acts, and it even has the smaller dimensions of a chapter book. But there are pictures on every page, and it’s similar in structure to Klassen’s previous picture book The Rock from the Sky in every way except the dimensions.
But, let’s be clear, once I decided once and for all that The Skull has to count as a picture book, there was no doubt about it. This simply had to be the best one of the year. It’s phenomenal. It’s spooky. It’s different. It’s exciting. It’s gorgeous. It’s an original adventure and absolutely everything that’s good about stories for kids.
Otilla runs away from home (why, we don’t really know), and finds a new home with a skull that lives in a castle. Now how can you not love a crazy plot like that right off the bat? But the story really gets good when the skull tells her about the headless skeleton that comes every single night to try and take him away. It’s just the right amount of scary.
And in the end it’s a story about friendship and standing up for the ones you love. And I personally think it might be about Otilla reaching her breaking point (a nod to why she ran away from home?) and snapping, and standing up not just for her friends but for herself, and saying you will not treat us this way. But perhaps that’s neither here nor there. Because at the end of the day it’s just a spectacularly entertaining, fun, and memorable book.
For more about The Skull, make sure to read our featured article.
