The Horn Book Magazine’s choices for the best books of 2016. Sign up now to receive the fully annotated list in next week’s issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

Picture Books

Thunder Boy Jr. written by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Little, Brown)

Leave Me Alone! written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol (Roaring Brook)

The Airport Book written and illustrated by Lisa Brown (Porter/Roaring Brook)

Du Iz Tak? written and illustrated by Carson Ellis (Candlewick)

We Found a Hat written and illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)

Frank and Lucky Get Schooled written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow)

Best Frints in the Whole Universe written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis (Porter/Roaring Brook)

School’s First Day of School written by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson (Porter/Roaring Brook)

Before Morning written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes (Houghton)

Freedom in Congo Square written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Little Bee)

Fiction

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry (Viking)

To Stay Alive: Mary Ann Graves and the Tragic Journey of the Donner Party by Skila Brown (Candlewick)

 Makoons [Birchbark House] written and illustrated by Louise Erdrich (Harper/HarperCollins)

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog written by Adam Gidwitz, illustrated by Hatem Aly (Dutton)

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (Amulet/Abrams)

Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm (Random)

When the Sea Turned to Silver written and illustrated by Grace Lin (Little, Brown)

Juana & Lucas written and illustrated by Juana Medina (Candlewick)

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (Candlewick)

A Tangle of Gold [Colors of Madeleine] by Jaclyn Moriarty (Levine/Scholastic)

The Best Man by Richard Peck (Dial)

As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds (Dlouhy/Atheneum)

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Delacorte)

Poetry

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan (Dlouhy/Atheneum)

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph written by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Francis Vallejo (Candlewick)

Nonfiction

Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented the Wild West by Candace Fleming (Porter/Roaring Brook)

Giant Squid written by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Porter/Roaring Brook)

I Am Pan! written and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook)

March: Book Three written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat written and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe (Little, Brown)

Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Houghton)

Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World’s Brightest Bird [Scientists in the Field] written by Pamela S. Turner, photos by Andy Comins, with art by Guido De Filippo; (Houghton)