Myra here.

Two days ago, I shared my #Top21of21 consisting mainly of adult novels, memoirs, graphic novels, middle grade/ YA fiction. Yesterday, it was my #Top21of21 – nonfiction picturebook edition. Given how I have read 294 picturebooks in total (inclusive of fiction, non-fiction and poetry titles), I thought it would be best to devote an entire post for my #Top21of21 – fiction picturebooks.

It was challenging whittling down my list of 294 to just 21 – there are just so many outstanding picturebooks out there – but these ones stood out for me.

Given our 2021 reading theme on #SurvivalStories2021 – I made sure that I read a number of international (translated into English from their original languages) and diverse titles published outside of the US. These narratives capture the range of human experience – with a special focus on those who are invisible, regarded as the others, the outsiders, the strange, the foreign. The list here is not presented in any particular order.

(01) The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang and Khoa Le (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(02) Eyes That Kiss In The Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho  (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(03) Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(04) Maccher Jhol by Richa Jha and Sumanta Dey

(05) Watercress by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(06) Wishes by Muon Thi Van and Victo Ngai (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(07) When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling and Aaron Asis (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(08) In The Meadow Of Fantasies by Hadi Mohammadi and Nooshin Safakhoo and translated by Sara Khalili (Amazon | Book Depository)

(09) Girl From The Sea by Margaret Wild and Jane Tanner (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(10) The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk and Joanna Concejo and Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(11) Wanderer by Peter Van Den Ende (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(12) The Mediterranean by Armin Greder (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(13) The 1619 Project: Born On The Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson and Nikkolas Smith (Amazon | Book Depository)

(14) It Fell From The Sky by the Fan Brothers (Amazon | Book Depository)

(15) Me And Mama by Cozbi Cabrera (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(16) Niños: Poems For The Lost Children Of Chile by Maria Jose Ferrada and Illustrated by Maria Elena Valdez and translated by Lawrence Schimel (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(17) The Invisible by Tom Percival (Amazon | Book Depository)

(18) A Song Of Frutas by Margarita Engle and Sara Palacios (Amazon | Book Depository)

(19) The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit translated by Elisa Amado (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

(20) I Dream Of A Journey by Akiko Miyakoshi (Amazon | Book Depository)

(21) The Most Beautiful Story by Brynjulf Jung Tjonn and Oyvind Torseter (Amazon | Book Depository) – my review here.

How about you? What picturebooks spoke to you this year?

December 31, 2021 at 06:31AM Myra Garces-Bacsal