Below is Fanfare, a list of the books that the Horn Book editors and reviewers have selected as the best of 2022. The annotated list will be published in the December issue of Notes from the Horn Book (sign up!) and in the January/February 2023 issue of the Horn Book Magazine (subscribe!). Help us “blow the horn” on social media (@HornBook | @Facebook.com/TheHornBook | @thehornbook). Happy reading! 

Picture Books

John’s Turn
written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kate Berube; Candlewick

Farmhouse
written and illustrated by Sophie Blackall; Little, Brown

Together We Ride
written by Valerie Bolling, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita; Chronicle

I’m Not Small
written and illustrated by Nina Crews; Greenwillow*

Berry Song
written and illustrated by Michaela Goade; Little, Brown

H Is for Harlem
written by Dinah Johnson, illustrated by April Harrison; Ottaviano/Little, Brown

The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky
written and illustrated by Jihyun Kim; Floris

A Day for Sandcastles
written by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng; Candlewick

A Spoonful of Frogs
written by Casey Lyall, illustrated by Vera Brosgol; Greenwillow*

Madani’s Best Game
written by Fran Pintadera, illustrated by Raquel Catalina, translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel; Eerdmans

Still This Love Goes On
written by Buffy Sainte-Marie, illustrated by Julie Flett; Greystone Kids

Hot Dog
written and illustrated by Doug Salati; Knopf

Every Dog in the Neighborhood
written by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Matthew Cordell; Porter/Holiday

Don’t Worry, Murray
written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein; Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins*

The World Belonged to Us
written by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa; Paulsen/Penguin

Fiction

The Door of No Return
written by Kwame Alexander; Little, Brown

Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls
written by Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu; Candlewick

Caprice
written by Coe Booth; Scholastic

Isla to Island
written and illustrated by Alexis Castellanos; Atheneum

M Is for Monster
written and illustrated by Talia Dutton; Surely/Abrams ComicArts

Miss Quinces
written and illustrated by Kat Fajardo, color by Mariana Azzi; Graphix/Scholastic

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet
written by Jen Ferguson; Heartdrum/HarperCollins*

The Flamingo
written and illustrated by Guojing; Random House Studio/Random

Oh, Sal
written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes; Greenwillow*

Surely Surely Marisol Rainey
written and illustrated by Erin Entrada Kelly; Greenwillow*

Those Kids from Fawn Creek
written by Erin Entrada Kelly; Greenwillow*

Freewater
written by Amina Luqman-Dawson; Patterson/Little, Brown

Merci Suárez Plays It Cool
written by Meg Medina; Candlewick

An Arrow to the Moon
written by Emily X.R. Pan; Little, Brown

Black Bird, Blue Road
written by Sofiya Pasternack; Versify/HarperCollins*

Tumble
written by Celia C. Pérez; Kokila/Penguin

Windswept
written by Margi Preus, illustrated by Armando Veve; Amulet/Abrams

Man Made Monsters
written by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Jeff Edwards; Levine Querido

Three Strike Summer
written by Skyler Schrempp; McElderry

Looking for True
written by Tricia Springstubb; Ferguson/Holiday

Berliners
written and illustrated by Vesper Stamper; Knopf

Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
written by Lisa Yee; Random

Folklore

The Three Billy Goats Gruff
retold by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen; Orchard/Scholastic

Poetry

Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life
written by Marilyn Nelson; Ottaviano/Little, Brown

Ain’t Burned All the Bright
written by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jason Griffin; Dlouhy/Atheneum

Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual
written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison; Crown

Nonfiction

The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey
written and illustrated by Jason Chin; Porter/Holiday

Murder Among Friends: How Leopold and Loeb Tried to Commit the Perfect Crime
written by Candace Fleming; Schwartz/Random

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
written by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington; Roaring Brook

Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night
written and illustrated by Julia Kuo; Greystone Kids

Sanctuary: Kip Tiernan and Rosie’s Place, the Nation’s First Shelter for Women
written by Christine McDonnell, illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov; Candlewick

A Seed Grows
written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis; Porter/Holiday

Out of the Shadows: How Lotte Reiniger Made the First Animated Fairytale Movie
written and illustrated by Fiona Robinson; Abrams

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice
written by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile; Norton

A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters
written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh; Abrams

How to Build a Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps
written by Pamela S. Turner, illustrated by John Gurche; Charlesbridge

*HarperCollins Union members (UAW Local 2110) continue to be on strike.