The 2023 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books is out! Here is a list of the ten books:

How to Write a Poem, written by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido; illustrated by Melissa Sweet 

Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!, written by Tonya Bolden and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie 

At the Drop of a Cat, written by Élise Fontenaille, illustrated by Violeta Lópiz, and translated from the French by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong 

As Night Falls, written by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Felicita Sala  

We Are Starlings, written by Donna Jo Napoli and Robert Furrow; illustrated by Marc Martin 

Mary’s Idea, written and illustrated by Chris Raschka 

Before, Now, written and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri 

The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent, written by Irene Vasco, illustrated by Juan Palomino, translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel 

Bear Is Never Alone, written by Marc Veerkamp, illustrated by Jeska Verstegen, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson 

Bunny & Tree, written and illustrated by Balint Zsako

Congratulations all the winners!

All the books are undeniably gorgeous, but not all are eligible for the Caldecott Award.  

Two titles are illustrated by former Caldecott honorees Melissa Sweet and R. Gregory Christie; Chris Raschka is a two-time Medal winner. Since all three veteran artist continue to live in the U.S.—meeting the citizen/residency requirement—their books (How to Write a Poem; Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!; and Mary’s Idea) are eligible. As is Brooklyn–based author-illustrator Daniel Salmieri’s Before, Now.

Bunny & Tree, written and illustrated by Balint Zsako, is a little trickier. Zsako was born in Hungary and grew up in Canada. However, he currently lives in Los Angeles, so his debut picture book makes the cut.

Of note: two of the eligible titles are welcome picture-book biographies of Black women musicans (though Raschka takes a less-traditional approach to the genre). At almost 200 pages, the wordless Bunny & Tree is a good candidate for the picture book–vs.–illustrated book debate.

Both of Donna Jo Napoli’s books were illustrated by artists living in (and presumably citizens of) other countries: Felicita Sala in Italy (As Night Falls) and Marc Marin (We Are Starlings) in Australia—which means neither of those books is eligible. (Martha weighed in on the absurdity of the citizenship/residency requirement almost four years ago. Still no word from “the ALSC powers-that-be.") 

According to the criteria, ineligible titles also include “books first published in previous years in other countries.” That knocks out Violeta Lópiz’s At the Drop of a Cat, which was originally published in France; Juan Palomino’s The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent, published first in Spain; and Jeska Verstegen’s Bear Is Never Alone imported from the Netherlands.

That leaves us with five Caldecott-eligible books from the NYT/NYPL’s best illustrated list: How to Write a Poem; Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!; Mary’s Idea; Before, Now; and Bunny & Tree. We plan to cover Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll! and Before, Now in the coming weeks on the blog. Supporters of How to Write a Poem; Mary’s Idea; and/or Bunny & Tree, please feel free to share your thoughts on those books!