Best of… Children’s Books 2018

I have a love/hate relationship with “Best of” lists. This time of year you can practically trip over the number of “Best of” lists online. And I’m just talking about books, not to mention tech, gifts, etc.

I love these lists because it helps me to grab titles that I may have missed when they were published earlier in the year. For whatever reason, I may have missed something and these lists help me to check off the popular titles of the year. With thousands of children’s books being published every year, I can’t read them all and so having these lists helps me to at least get a hold of as many titles as I possibly can. I also like that they help parents and even teachers and librarians learn more about recently published titles.

But at the same time, I hate these lists because reading is subjective and books mean different things to different people. What might be on my “best” list, might be on someone else’s “not-so-best” list. I also fear that the same 30-50 books are highlighted on every list and other titles get bypassed so easily. There are so many amazing authors and illustrators out there that it’s hard to break through all the titles and be a stand-out book. 

So rather than “Best of” lists, I suggest we do something a little different. Why not try – “Favorites Titles” lists instead? This allows for more personalization as well as not necessarily promoting a title to be the “best” rather something that spoke to you deeply.

That being said, I do like to check out a few of the large library system’s titles – to see what I’ve read and what I need to add to my library’s collection. so if you have no idea what sort of books are out there for kids this year, definitely check out the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids – which include a wide interest and audience level and focuses on diverse titles. Or check out Chicago Public Library’s Best Kids Books of 2018 broken out into different age groups with a focus on diverse authors and illustrators as well.