WOMEN MAKE PICTURE BOOKS TOO: the 2014 edition…
But every year I’m a little dismayed by how overwhelmingly women illustrators seem to get overlooked in early Caldecott conversations.
To be clear– I LOVE the books that win. I love the men who (mostly) make the books that win. Many of these men are my friends, and I believe that they are talented and creative and brilliant and worthy of awards. ABSOLUTELY. Last year, despite all my ranting about gender-bias, my own top pick for the medal was illustrated by a man.
BUT.
I also believe women are worthy. Yet, somehow, when we start to generate buzz within our own little community, we PREDICT success for men. Which creates a certain sense of inevitability.
How does it begin? I don’t know. Maybe there are more marketing dollars for dudes. Maybe men are more inclined to illustrate. Maybe we, the women who buy most of the books, simply adore dudes. Maybe men are more inclined to make “Caldecott-style” illustrations. Or maybe MEN ARE SIMPLY BETTER AT ART THAN WOMEN AND I AM WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER SAID ON THE MATTER.
In any case, it happens. Statistically.
So…
Last year I made this list of AMAZING PICTURE BOOKS CREATED BY WOMEN. It was great fun, and I heard from a lot of folks that they were introduced to books they hadn’t seen before. I know some folks even sold a few books via the list.
So I invite you to help me make a 2014 edition, by leaving a comment below, with your very favorite woman-illustrated picture book of the year. OR BY VOTING ON THIS HANDY GOODREADS LIST! Please don’t self-nominate or self-promote in this space. If you’ve truly created something awesome, no doubt someone else will mention it for you! Just link to your favorite book in a comment, and I’ll pull an image of the cover, and add it below.
And if you’re a list-maker yourself, a blogger or journalist or librarian who runs a mock Caldecott… and you find yourself with a dude-heavy list, consider adding a few women to the mix. If women-illustrated titles don’t jump immediately to mind, you might want to ask yourself why that is…
I’ll kick things off myself, with a few favorites of my own:
A BOY AND A JAGUAR, by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrations by Catia Chien
LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT of EVERYTHING, by Maira Kalman
TELEPHONE, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jen Corace
NANA IN THE CITY, by Lauren Castillo
FIREFLY JULY, by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrations by Melissa Sweet
EXTRAORDINARY JANE, by Hannah E Harrison
AVIARY WONDERS, INC, by Kate Samworth
FLIGHT SCHOOL, by Lita Judge
VIVA FRIDA, by Yuyi MOrales
FLASHLIGHT, by Lizi Boyd
A PIECE OF CAKE, by LeUyen Pham
THE IRIDESCENCE OF BIRDS, by Patricia MacLaughlan, illustrations by Hadley Hooper
THE RIGHT WORD, ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS, by Jen Bryant, illustrations by Melissa Sweet
THE TROUBLEMAKER, by Lauren Castillo
QUEEN ON WEDNESDAY, by Gabi Swietkowska
WATER WATER WATER, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
SNOWBOUND SECRETS, by Nivola Uya
THE GARDENER’S SURPRISE, by Sonja Wimmer
BEFORE WE EAT, by Pat Brisson, illustrations by Mary Azarian
LOUISE LOVES ART, by Kelly Light
THE NUMBERLYS, by William Joyce, illustrations by Christina Ellis
FROODLE, by Antoinette Portis
SHOE DOG, by Katherine Tillotson
WHERE’S MOMMY? by Beverly Donofrio, illustrations by Barbara McClintock
EL DEAFO, by Cece Bell
THIS ORQ (HE CAVEBOY), by David Elliott, illustrations by Lori Nichols
THE BABY TREE, by Sophie Blackall
SLEEPOVER WITH BEATRICE AND BEAR, by Monica Carnesi
MAPLE, by Lori Nichols
THE FARMER AND THE CLOWN, by Marla Frazee
ONCE UPON A MEMORY, by Nina Laden, illustrations by Renata Liwska
THE TWINS’ LITTLE SISTER, by Hyewon Yum
THE PROMISE, by Nicola Davies, illustration by Laura Carlin
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND EVERY OTHER WEEKEND, by Karen Stanton
UNI THE UNICORN, by Amy Krause Rosenthal, illustrations by Brigette Barrager
BABY PENGUINS LOVE THEIR MAMA, by Melissa Guion
DON’T TURN THE PAGE, by Rachelle Burk, illustrations by Julie Downing
THE JACKET, by Kirsten Hall, illustrations by Dasha Tolstikova
TWO SPECKLED EGGS, by Jennifer K Mann
HENNY, by Elizabeth Rose Stanton
EARLY BIRD, by Toni Yuly
KING FOR A DAY, by Rukhsana Khan, illustrations by Christiane Kromer
EMILY’S BLUE PERIOD, by Cathleen Daly, illustrations by Lisa Brown
DAY DREAMERS, by Emily Martin
HERE IS THE BABY, by Polly Kanvesky, illustrations by Taeeun Yoo
Please Louise, by Toni and Slade Morrison, illustrations by Shadra Strickland
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, by H. Chuku Lee, illustrations by Pat Cummings
I WISH I HAD A PET, by Maggie Rudy
FLORA AND THE PENGUIN, by Molly Idle
HERE COMES THE EASTER CAT, by Deborah Underwood, illustrations by Claudia Rueda
EDGAR’S SECOND WORD, by Audrey Vernick, illustrations by Priscilla Burris
ZOE’S JUNGLE, by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
SUMMONING THE PHOENIX, by Emily Jiang, illustrations by April Chu
SLEEPYHEADS, by Sandra J Howatt, illustrations by Joyce Wan
NAKED< by Michael Ian Black, illustrations by Debbie Ohi
CATNAPPED, by Leeza Hernandez
PUDDLE PUG, by Kim NOrman, illustrations by Keika Yamaguchi
MR. CORNELL’S DREAM BOXES, by Jeanette Winter
September 15th, 2014 at 6:41 am
A Piece of Cake by LeUyen Pham!
September 15th, 2014 at 7:46 am
I realize this might officially come out today, but thought I’d include The Right Word, Melissa Sweet. http://www.eerdmans.com/Products/5385/the-right-word.aspx Also Maple (Lori Nichols). I never know if graphic novels count or not, but it is my dream for El Deafo (Cece Bell) to win big.
September 15th, 2014 at 7:51 am
Oh, and Louise Loves Art!
September 15th, 2014 at 7:58 am
And the Numberlys…
September 15th, 2014 at 8:20 am
I don’t see why Cece couldn’t win it! How awesome would that be?
September 15th, 2014 at 8:28 am
I’m pulling over a bunch of FB suggestions too, btw, these aren’t all mine…
September 15th, 2014 at 8:28 am
If Selznick could win for HUGO CABRET, I don’t see why El Deafo would somehow be out of the running. Picture books are wild and diverse and MIGHTY.
September 15th, 2014 at 8:33 am
I love Louise Loves Art! But man, it is TIME for Melissa Sweet to get a Caldecott. I am TEAM MELISSA SWEET this year. We’ll see. I think Beekle is the monster to beat, and Beekle is a very strong contender.
September 15th, 2014 at 8:34 am
This may be a *teensy* bit self-promotion, as the illustrator is my boss’s client, but I had no hand in it and would think it was a gorgeous book anyway:
WHERE’S MOMMY? by Beverly Donofrio and illustrated by Barbara McClintock http://www.randomhouse.com/book/41968/wheres-mommy-by-beverly-donofrio
September 15th, 2014 at 9:31 am
I think we’ll allow it.
September 15th, 2014 at 9:34 am
I don’t think this one is Caldecott eligible, but I read this book and thought it was really unique! It’s called Nancy Knows by Cybele Young.
http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781770494824
September 15th, 2014 at 12:01 pm
So many beautiful books! And what a fantastic project, Laurel.
September 15th, 2014 at 12:59 pm
PUDDLE PUG illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi
http://www.amazon.com/Puddle-Pug-Kim-Norman/dp/1454904364
CAT NAPPED by Leeza Hernandez
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Napped-Leeza-Hernandez/dp/0399164383/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410807498&sr=1-3&keywords=leeza+hernandez
NAKED illustrated by Debbie Ohi
http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Michael-Ian-Black/dp/144246738X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410807394&sr=1-3&keywords=naked
September 15th, 2014 at 1:05 pm
And SLEEPYHEADS illustrated by Joyce Wan!
http://www.amazon.com/Sleepyheads-Sandra-J-Howatt/dp/1442422661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410807839&sr=8-1&keywords=sleepyheads
September 15th, 2014 at 3:18 pm
Thank you for this incredible list! There are lots of books I haven’t seen yet and will be requesting from the library immediately.
September 15th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
HERE COMES THE EASTER CAT and HERE COMES SANTA CAT, written by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda.
September 15th, 2014 at 5:03 pm
SUMMONING THE PHOENIX, written by Emily Jiang, illustrated by April Chu; ZOE’S JUNGLE, written and illustrated by Bethanie Murguia; EDGAR’S SECOND WORD, written by Audrey Vernick and illustrated by Priscilla Burris.
September 15th, 2014 at 11:35 pm
I have been discussing this very subject with the children’s librarians here! Not an American, but…A Lion in Paris, Beatrice Alemagna, Enchanted Lion 2014.
September 16th, 2014 at 9:58 am
I went to Goodreads to make a list – everything mentioned here that I hadn’t already read I wanted to – but I see you’ve beat me to it Laurel!
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/78583.THE_BEST_2014_WOMEN_ILLUSTRATED_PICTURE_BOOKS
Also – Matt Phelan – Druthers is adorable. And Lisa Brown the art in Emily’s Blue Period has me savoring every line and detail. “Savor” is a dumb word. There’s got to be a non-disgusting way of saying I am licking it with my eyeballs.
September 29th, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Wow, just saw this, Laurel. Thanks for putting it together. There are some on here I still need to read!
January 10th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
Please add Water Rolls, Water Rises by Pat Mora, illustrated by Meilo So. It took my breath away!
January 29th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
So many of my favorites have already been mentioned and they may not be eligible, but there’s a wonderful book written and illustrated by Laura Carlin called “A World of Your Own,” Phaidon 2014. And At the Same Moment, Around the World by Clotilde Perrin, Chronicle. Also “Julia Child” by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Julie Morstad, Tundra 2014 and Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan and Nancy Carpenter (illustrator), Simon & Schuster 2014.
January 29th, 2015 at 12:36 pm
Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance: Birgitta Sif
Bear Hug: Katherine McEwen
A Library Book for Bear: illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton (by Bonny Becker)
January 29th, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Thanks for compiling this list!
January 29th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
SO MANY FAVORITES of mine from the past year are on here. I loved Sophie Blackall, Melissa Sweet, and Kelly Light’s work (just to name a few)!
January 30th, 2015 at 8:54 am
Terrific list! I mean really, really good list. Lots of luminaries as well as newbies. So glad to see titles I’d never heard of before but will now check out. Thank you for this post! I couldn’t agree more!
January 31st, 2015 at 2:56 pm
You have to check out Outside by Deirdre Gill. Exquisite!
February 21st, 2015 at 12:23 pm
LOVE this post, Laurel! What a list. I was particularly interested in the newbies. Thank you for doing this. I need to add this as a reference in our group. March 8th is International Women’s Day. This should be reposted then.
February 21st, 2015 at 8:13 pm
Great list, Laurel — I see some favorites on it, and a few I hadn’t seen before. Thanks!