Pinkney, Tan, Cousins Make the NYT Best Illustrated Books of 2009

Rabbits, penguins, an astronaut, and a witch are some of the characters depicted in the 10 books listed by the  New York Times' Best Illustrated Books of 2009.

Every year since 1952, the New York Times Book Review has asked a panel of judges to select 10 books from among the several thousand children’s books published that year—and the timing no doubt helps boost holiday sales.

“My book listing on Amazon skyrocketed since the weekend,” says Antoinette Portis, whose A Penguin Story (HarperCollins, 2008), about a penguin named Edna who goes on a quest to discover new colors, made the list.

Not surprisingly, award-winning Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse (Little, Brown, 2009), also appears. Based on an Aesop’s fable, the almost wordless picture book was selected by SLJ Blogger, Betsy Bird as her Caldecott pick for this year.

Australian author/illustrator Shaun Tan’s Tales From Outer Suburbia, (Scholastic, 2009), an illustrated collection of surreal tales, also makes the list.

But perhaps the biggest surprise is Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales (Candlewick, 2009),written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins, because as Adam Gopnik, one of the judges, says in a New York Times Book Review podcast, Cousins, the creator of the Maisy (Candlewick) series, isn't "the kind of children's book illustrator who has an obviously arty style.” Gopnik adds this was the judges' way to say "Lucy Cousins is the bomb.”

“It not easy to have an aggressive bold style like Cousin’s," says  another judge Jillian Tamaki. "There is no place to hide.” 

Some say both the New York Times and Society of Illustrator lists are precursors to the Caldecott award winners. Brian Floca’s picture book MOONSHOT: The Flight of Apollo 11 (Atheneum, 2009) appears both on the NYT list and received a silver medal this year from the Society of Illustrators.

Three other books on the list were not included in the current Society of the Illustrators original art exhibit of the 100 best illustrated books of the year were The Odd Egg (S & S, 2009), written and illustrated by Emily Gravett, a story about an eggless duck who finds a strange egg and hatches it; The Snowy Day (Scholastic, 2009), written and illustrated by Komako Sakai, captures a rabbit family enjoying a snow day at home; and White Noise (S & S, 2009), a pop-up book on modernism, by David Carter.

Rounding out the list were were Only a Witch Can Fly (Feiwel, 2009) by Alison McGhee and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo, about a young girl's struggle to achieve her dream, and All the World (S & S, 2009) by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee, which follows friends and family through the course of a day and affirms the importance of things large and small.

This year’s list was selected by a panel of three judges that included Gopnik, a regular writer The New Yorker, Tamaki, a teacher at the School of Visual Arts, and Lisa Von Drasek, the children’s librarian of the Bank Street College of Education.

View a slide show of the books.  

Listen to a podcast of Gopnik discussing his experience as one of the judges.