Best books of 1987

Chosen annually by our editors, Fanfare is The Horn Book Magazine’s selection of the best children’s and young adult books of the year.

Picture Books
The Moon’s Revenge written by Joan Aiken, illustrated by Alan Lee (Knopf)
Machines at Work written and illustrated by Byron Barton (Crowell)
Grandaddy’s Place written by Helen V. Griffith, illustrated by James Stevenson (Greenwillow)
Crafty Chameleon written by Mwenye Hadithi, illustrated by Adrienne Kennaway (Little)
In Coal Country written by Judith Hendershot, illustrated by Thomas B. Allen (Knopf)
17 Kings and 42 Elephants written by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Patricia MacCarthy (Dial)

Fiction
The Goats by Brock Cole (Farrar)
Roscoe’s Leap by Gillian Cross (Holiday)
The December Rose by Leon Garfield (Viking Kestrel)
Rabble Starkey by Lois Lowry (Houghton)
The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy (McElderry)
After the Rain by Norma Fox Mazer (Morrow)
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (Knopf)
Children of Christmas by Cynthia Rylant (Orchard Books/Jackson/Watts)

Folklore
The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit retold by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Dial)
Red Riding Hood retold and illustrated by James Marshall (Dial)
Finn Mac Cool and the Small Men of Deeds retold by Pat O’Shea, illustrated by Stephen Lavis (Holiday)
Jump Again! More Adventures of Brer Rabbit adapted and retold by Van Dyke Parks, illustrated by Barry Moser (Harcourt)
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale written and illustrated by John Steptoe (Lothrop)

Poetry
Roomrimes written by Sylvia Cassedy, illustrated by Michele Chessare (Crowell)
Halloween ABC written by Eve Merriam, illustrated by Lane Smith (Macmillan)

Nonfiction
The Incredible Journey of Lewis & Clark by Rhoda Blumberg (Lothrop)
The Human Body: How We Evolved by Joanna Cole (Morrow)
Indian Chiefs by Russell Freedman (Holiday)
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (Clarion/Houghton)
26 Letters and 99 Cents written and photographed by Tana Hoban (Greenwillow)
Dinosaurs Walked Here and Other Stories Fossils Tell by Patricia Lauber (Bradbury)