The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2012 have just been announced via Twitter. This year marks the 60th anniversary of this annual picture book award.

Judges Chris Raschka, Bruce Handy (Vanity Fair), and Cathryn Mercier (director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons College) selected the following ten titles to receive the honor:

Bear Despair written and illustrated by Gaëtan Dorémus (Enchanted Lion)
The Beetle Book written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins (Houghton)
House Held Up by Trees written by Ted Kooser; illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)
The Hueys in the New Sweater written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel)
Infinity and Me written by Kate Hosford; illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (Carolrhoda)
Little Bird written by Germano Zullo; illustrated by Albertine (Enchanted Lion)
One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World written and illustrated by Joe McKendry (Godine)
Red Knit Cap Girl written and illustrated by Naoko Stoop (Tingley/Little)
Stephen and the Beetle written by Jorge Luján; illustrated by Chiara Carrer (Groundwood)
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad written and illustrated by Henry Cole (Scholastic)

Thanks to Katie Bircher for compiling from the NYT Tweets and checking all the titles and names. Now Robin and I have to find all of these and see what we think. In the meantime, what do YOU think?

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This afternoon, the inaugural issue of our new quarterly e-newsletter Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book went out to subscribers of our long-running monthly newsletter Notes from the Horn Book.

Each issue will offer Horn Book Guide reviews of recommended informational books, grouped by subject, that we believe will be useful for schools adhering to — and engaging with — the Common Core State Standards. Discussing the problematic disconnect between libraries, publishers, and classrooms in his article “Common Ground” (featured in this issue), Marc Aronson sums up our goal: “Look to Nonfiction Notes to help bridge that gap by providing concrete suggestions of high-quality, useful books that are also enjoyable, eye-opening, and mind-broadening.” Happy reading!

Subscribe here, and send feedback to newsletter@hbook.com.

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If you need to get in touch with us, our office phones are working and you can reach us on Twitter at @hornbook (general queries) or @RogerReads (if you need me). Or just pop any questions at the bottom of this post. We soldier on: Look in your email this afternoon for the debut issue of Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book, which is being sent to all subscribers of Notes from the Horn Book; and tomorrow begins our celebration of Picture Book Month (yeah, who knew?) with the online-only publication of Barbara Bader’s “Absorbing Pictures and What They Say,” an invitation to look closely at what different artists can make of the same scene or theme. And next Wednesday, I’ll be hosting a live webcast with Lois Lowry; tune in.

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Table of Contents

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In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th ten years ago, there were many books published for children and teens about the tragedy. Some were informative, and at least two transcended the moment: Maira Kalman’s Fireboat and Mordicai Gerstein’s The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. But there was a persistent strain of “helpful” books—bibliotherapeutic tales, frequently allegorical—designed to somehow assist kids in coming to terms with the event. Readers know books don’t work like that: as I said in an editorial many years ago, not only is there not a book about overcoming one’s fear of lawn mowers (a query that had been sent my way), there’s no reason to think a book would provide the cure.

We know this, but we forget this; witness the recent furor sparked by the Wall Street Journal’s op-ed about YA books (“Darkness Too Visible,” June 4, 2011), wringing its hands in worry that Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls was going to make previously well-adjusted girls start hurting themselves. And the right-minded replied No, Wintergirls will save girls from hurting themselves. Neither is true: books aren’t that kind of magic. While reading helps us—even saves us—during dark days writ large or personal, it’s not like The Match Game. You want to learn about 9/11, you want to fix a lawn mower; yes, books will help. You want to feel better (or worse, or more deeply)? Read something you love.

•    •    •

Without suggesting that you drop this magazine right now to go over and take a look, there’s a lot to love about our sister publication School Library Journal (our little sister, as I frequently remind SLJ chief Brian Kenney). But the thing I love most is their Heavy Medal blog, helmed by Nina Lindsay and Horn Book Magazine reviewer Jonathan Hunt. Running from the beginning of September through the end of January, Heavy Medal (http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/) concerns itself with ALA’s Newbery Medal: Nina and Jonathan parse the rules, wrangle the definitions, and put their magnifying glass over some likely contenders. They frequently disagree, beginning a lively conversation that is continued both in the comments on the blog itself and elsewhere in the kidlitosphere. With a combination of rational, elucidatory discussion and trash talking, Heavy Medal is complete catnip for our kind.

In a spirit of sororal (there’s a word you’ll never find in SLJ) cooperation (heh), this month we’re launching a companion blog, Calling Caldecott, in which our designer Lolly Robinson and Horn Book reviewer Robin Smith are taking on all things picture book: as the blog’s tagline has it, “What can win? What will win? What should win?” You couldn’t ask for better conveners: Lolly has been paying close attention to picture books for thirty years and served on the 2005 Caldecott committee (the Kitten’s First Full Moon year); Robin is a veteran second-grade teacher and was a member of the 2011 committee (A Sick Day for Amos McGee). But this blog needs you, too, so get yourself over to www.hbook.com/blogs/callingcaldecott and join the fun.

—Roger Sutton

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I hope you will join us.

Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

From Notes from the Horn Book, August 2011

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Any early Medal contenders out there?

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