2017 Picture Books
Marcia Strykowski
♦ February 28, 2017
♦ 72 Comments
Below are a baker’s dozen of new picture books in alphabetical order that we’ve recently added to our library collection. All were released in 2017, so brandy new. Well, except for Piggy who came in at the tail end of 2016, but really, who can resist him?
ABC Pasta an Entertaining Alphabet written and illustrated by Juana Medina—Viking. Very clever! Who knew there were so many different types of pasta–enough to match every letter of the alphabet. Illustrations are light and lively, combining real pasta with digital art. Although recommended for ages 0 to 3, I think older kids will get a kick out of this circus-themed book, too.
Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro, illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss—Doubleday Books. I don’t think many will be able to resist this special book about Bunny and his friends and their love for books. Lots of funny lines (can bears really fit through book drop slots!?) Lovely soft illustrations add a cozy feel. You’ll want to dust off your library card and start your own book club after reading this one!
The Green Umbrella written by Jackie Azua Kramer, illustrated by Maral Sassouni—North South Books. Everyone Elephant meets while strolling insists his umbrella is really theirs, claiming it to be their boat, tent, flying machine, or cane. I love the generous nature of Elephant as he shares his precious umbrella with each of them. A beautiful tale of friendship. The unique illustrations are magnificent (keep an eye out for little mice with their own umbrellas). My only criticism is that commas look pretty much identical to periods in this otherwise lovely type font.
A Greyhound A Groundhog written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Chris Appelhans —Schwartz & Wade. Rhythmic text reads almost like a song IF you don’t get your tongue twisted. Not a whole lot of story, but vibrant illustrations add much to this rollicking fun read aloud.
Mingo the Flamingo written & illustrated by Pete Oswald and Justin K. Thompson—Harper Collins. The personable Mingo loses his whereabouts during a bad storm. After a crash landing on a farm and a bit of amnesia, it takes much work and determination to finally figure out who he is and where he belongs. Cute story and pictures!
Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Edward Hemingway—Two Lions Press. What a fun book. Lily’s cat, Mr. Fuzzbuster is sure he must be her favorite, but what about the other four pets in the house? Hilarity ensues when Mr. Fuzzbuster goes from one emotion to the next, sometimes confident, sometimes worried, and sometimes comforting to others. Adorable illustrations make this a good read aloud book with a surprise ending!
Mouse and Hippo written and illustrated by Mike Twohy —Simon & Schuster. Another very funny book. Such a great way to show how things can look quite different from various perspectives and how art can be enjoyed on many levels. Wonderful illustrations lend much to the laugh-out-loud humor in this tale of friendship.
Piggy written and illustrated by Trevor Lai—Bloomsbury. Cute story about book-loving Piggy who’s never had time to make friends until one day he notices a special kitten who also loves to read. He tries desperately to get her attention and finally succeeds by sharing their common interest. The pictures of the already famous Piggy (popular emoticon) really make this a fun book.
The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! written by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin —Scholastic Press. Beautiful strong message in this gorgeously designed and illustrated story. With mob mentality the villagers bring about great change and too late realize the error of their ways. Enter a brave rooster who refuses to be silenced. ❤ his steadfast refrain of “But I will sing.” Timely and timeless!
Who Ate the Cake? written and illustrated by Kate Leake—Alison Green Books (Scholastic). Things are crazy enough but when a newcomer arrives, everything spirals out of control. Lots of funny situations with colorful detailed pictures to match. This is a story about secrets, collections, mysterious packages, misunderstandings, and a bit of rivalry between a pooch and a pelican.
Wolf in the Snow written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell—Feiwel and Friends. Before you ever get to the title page, the scene is set in the opening pages as a little girl sets off for school and later gets lost in a snowstorm. At the same time, a wolf pup also loses his way. Quite an adventure awaits you in this nearly wordless tale of watercolor and ink paintings.
XO, OX A Love Story written by Adam Rex, illustrated by Scott Campbell—Roaring Brook Press. Humorous picture book romance told in letters. Through persistence Ox finds a way into the heart of the gazelle of his dreams. Nice message of respecting differences.
Yoga Bunny by Brian Russo—Harper Collins. This is a sweet book filled with yoga poses acted out by an adorable bunny and his friends. The end papers show lots more poses, too. Something about this little bunny forming the poses makes them look easy to do even for beginners who aren’t feeling flexible. Good motivation to slow down and join in.
And that’s the roundup! As usual, I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of great new titles, but these are the ones that caught my eye with their subject and visual appeal as well as their good reviews. Without even realizing it, the majority of those I ordered featured nonhuman characters. And it’s not just because I’m partial to animals. I’m thinking, along with dropping word counts, there might be a resurgence of this style book. Many also have the timeless theme of making friends. Any thoughts?
Marcia Strykowski 
Thanks for the list, I love seeing new pbooks to check out. I have a recommendation of my own- Not Quite Narwhal. It is so cute!! And an animal book. =)
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Yes! 🙂 I have Not Quite Narwhal on my next order list. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Leandra!
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You always find the most amazing books for your library. These all look great. Kids just love stories featuring animals. Perhaps they can identify with them.
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Good point. I think animals are a nice way to tell stories. They usually live in diverse groups and are able to go about their business independently. Whereas with children, there are often so many rules necessary before they can start their adventures. Wolf in the Snow is a great example of giving both child and animal the same experience.
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Thanks, Marcia. Great list!
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You’re welcome, Pierr! 🙂
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What a lovely lot of children’s books. Have shared on my Facebook page @SirChocolateBooks and on twitter @bakeandwrite.
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Oh, thank you so much! I will follow you if I have not already done so.
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Some of those look so adorable. The Green Umbrella really tickled my fancy. Thanks for the list.
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The Green Umbrella is very cute, glad you enjoy the list!
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There are a few of these books that I’m tempted to check out–and I’m a bit older than preschool age! The ABC Pasta book looks great. I love ABC books.
Louise
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Oh, good, I hope you’ll check them all out! I’ll be returning my batch tomorrow and putting them on display.
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What a wonderful assortment! I love the pasta book and the Mr. Fuzzbuster reminds me of my little black cat -Dolce who “knows” he is the favorite. Lucky patrons of your library! They are in for some treats. I really enjoyed this post, Marcia, thank you!
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Sounds like Dolce is a special cat. Thanks, Colleen!
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Hello Marcia, I certainly can’t resist Piggy or any of the others! The Green Umbrella and Yoga Bunny look very special. I am so envious of your job! I visited two libraries last week and was really disappointed by the children’s sections. They were short on books and in both cases the children’s books were shoved into a draughty corner with very low lighting. There was not one child to be seen, which really didn’t surprise me, but what a shame. I never missed an opportunity to visit the library when I was small (or now I’m big!)
Regarding your question perhaps it’s easier to talk about friendships in relation to animals. I seem to remember reading something along those lines a while back, but I can’t think where I read it. It was something about giving children intellectual and emotional distance so that if an animal tries out the role (perhaps making friends) it is considered less threatening for a child. I may have got that completely wrong, but it was something like that. Of course, it could just be kids like animals so authors & artists exploit that fact. 🙂
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Hi Barbara! Thanks for your well thought out comment. Very interesting points and your mention of emotional distance makes a lot of sense. I hope the libraries you visited will pick up soon with new books, lighting, and lots of happy readers!
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These look great!
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Always such great books coming out!
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Fabulous array of delightful picture books, Marcia! I just got A Greyhound A Groundhog from the library this morning! Thank you for sharing all of these! 2017 is bursting with picture book goodness!
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Oh, fun, you’ll enjoy A Greyhound A Groundhog, a whirlwind of color and sound!
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All of these books look like they have adorable illustrations. I have no children in my life right now but that may not stop me from getting some of these books. I do have nieces.
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Ah, nieces like books! 🙂 I love to choose titles for gift giving, a good excuse to read through them all.
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So nice to learn about these. All of these are new to me and I will have to look for them for my library. Tons of cute covers- can’t decide which one to start with. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
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Isn’t it a great batch of covers? Thanks for your comment, Stephanie!
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A glorious list you made, Marcia. Am I wrong to think picture books have just gotten better every decade? I’m not thinking about the great classics, but run of the mill books. The standards for art and art reproduction are stunningly high.
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I think you’re right, so many are of museum quality. Even those coming from the smallest publishers are standing out. With so many picture book illustrators and writers competing in the field, the bar is set quite high.
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What a great list Marcia. I am partial to those cat, mouse and bunny books. My book Ten Easter Eggs is a toddler (published in 2015). Would you still consider having it in your library? Much appreciated if you already do.
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Hi Vijaya, I started ordering in Jan 2016 and I remember looking up your cute book at one point. We don’t usually add too many board books, but I’ll make sure it gets into our next order, just in time for Easter. Thanks for the reminder. I’m looking forward to seeing it in person!
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Yay, more books to check out! Piggy certainly looks adorable (those big glasses), and I can’t wait to get my hands on the nearly-wordless one – Wolf in the Snow, and The Green Umbrella. Thanks for a fabulous list again, Marcia, and thank you for your kind words on my latest blog post. It means a lot to be on this children’s writing journey with friends like you.
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You’re going to love those titles you mentioned. Thanks, Claudine, always a pleasure to hear from you. Wishing you much success with your life changes!
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wow, this is very interesting! Bookmarked! I would like to share it with my son. He loves reading and drawing. I’m also going to check out these books. Thanks a lot for sharing, Marcia. Have a good day! 🙂
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Hi Lilly! Happy to hear your son loves reading and drawing, a great combination. Maybe he’ll make his own books some day. 🙂
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Reblogged this on SnailTrail Art Corner and commented:
A lovely selection of fresh picture books!
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Thanks, Mary Lee, I appreciate your interest!
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I so enjoyed reading your list of new picture books! I love picture books especially books with beautiful watercolor illustrations! Being a fellow yogi, Yoga Bunny caught my eye! I may have to add that to my picture book collection! Thank you for a delightful informative post! 🙂
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You will ❤ Yoga Bunny–so cute and beneficial, too!
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This is a great collection!! All new to me!! I’m going to look for Bunny’s book club and Piggy.
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Great Ashley, I’m sure you’ll enjoy both of those titles very much!
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Dear Marcia – the yoga bunny really appeals to me. Makes me smile too. Wonderful round up of books – amazing talent too. Also read your previous post on gluten free foods in New England. Hubby and his family all have celiac disease so it is nice to know if we are traveling in that part of the country there looks to be delicious safe food available. That chicken and butternut squash looked fabulous. Hope you are having a delightful day. Take care and thanks for taking time to stop and visit me.
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Isn’t Yoga Bunny adorable? So sorry your husband and his family have to deal with celiac. It’s wonderful how many eating places are stepping up to the challenge, though. Glad I could help recommend a few. Thanks for your comment!
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I can’t resist! I’m checking some of these out from my library!
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Oh, good! Even if your library doesn’t have a particular title in stock yet, they might be able to borrow it from another library in the area. 🙂
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Thank you for listing these new books, Marcia. I’m looking forward to the new Hector Fox book by Astrid Sheckels coming out in April.
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Thanks for the tip, Jennie, I’ll have to look into her books!
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I think you will like it, Hector Fox and the Giant Quest. The new one is #2.
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Great! 🙂
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Hi Marcia: Always looking for books for extended family for gifts, and if they are published this year, then they probably don’t already own them. Thanks. Carol
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Great, so happy this post will be useful to you, Carol. Thanks for letting me know!
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What a grand, fun list! Thank you for sharing these titles!
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You’re welcome, Bobbi, thank YOU for your comment! 🙂
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I adore this list! Thanks for picking some recent favorites and for introducing me to new artists.
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Thanks, Kristin, so many fun new titles coming out!
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Thank you for the heads up, I’ll look forward to getting hold of some of these in 2017. Adding “who ate the cake?” to my to-be-read pile as we speak!
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Great, hope you enjoy it, Clare! 🙂
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I love reading about which picture books are coming out, but reading a post like this is dangerous for me as it never fails to double my Amazon wishlist. 🙂 Thanks for making me aware of some lovely new books!
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I guess we can never have too many picture books. Priorities, right?!
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Great list – And, I’m very intrigued by the first book. What is the “X” in the pasta book? Maybe I’ll just have to buy it to find out. 🙂
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Oh, gosh, I can’t remember what X was. I’ll have to check it out again next time I’m at the library. A few of the letters were used for other words followed by the pasta name, maybe X was one of them.
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You generally locate the most astonishing books for your library. These all look incredible. Kids simply romantic tales including creatures. Maybe they can relate to them.
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You’re right, creatures have been featured in tales since the beginning of time and I’m glad the trend continues. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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Looks like a nice variety of books. 🙂
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Thank you, Misha. Happy you stopped by!
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Yeah Marcia!! I always love when I find your new book posts!! I want to meet Mingo, PIggy and those cake eating pooch and pelican characters!! You do have the Best Job! And I’ll bet you love sending all those books home with kids who come through the library. Thanks Marcia for sharing all these great titles with us! You’re the best! xox
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🙂 Aren’t these personable characters wonderful?! Glad you enjoyed the post, Rhonda. Hope you’re having a great week! xo
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Love all your posts Marcia– but I think your book reviews are my favorites!! Happy reading!! (I’m in the middle of America’s First Daughter (Patsy Jefferson)– really fun and fascinating! hugs hugs!
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Sounds like a good recommendation. I’ll look into it, thanks! 🙂
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It’s a good one Marcia– stayed up late last night, almost finished. She had such a complicated life, supporting her widowed father and torn between him and her husband and 11 (!) kids. A different look at American political history than I learned in school. Hope you have a fine weekend ahead– any plans? We having a MOG (mother of the groom) lunch for a friend who’s son is getting married next week. Lots of advice and chocolate! hug hugs!
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Sounds like a good read. I’m listening to A Piece of the World by Christina Kline based on the Wyeth painting, Christina’s World–right up my alley with many mentions of places and people I’m familiar with. Enjoy the MOG lunch, sounds fun. I’ll be working Saturday and chilling on Sunday!
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Hi Marica– OK, writing that one down. I’ve read several books based on lives of artists (a little different) –and I know what you mean about books set in familiar places– There’s a Spanish writer Reverte-who sets some of his work where we lived in Seville. I think-“Oh I know that bakery!” makes it all more lively to read… Enjoy your Sunday– hope it’s lazy and refreshing! Blessings.
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🙂
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Ooo…Can’t wait to read these!
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Aren’t they gorgeous? Well written, too!
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