10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year: Free Samples

By Jason Boog 

The New York Times Book Review has released its annual list of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the year.

Here’s more about the list: “The annual special Children’s Book section will run in the November 13 Sunday Times Book Review and will feature the 10 books, which a panel of judges selected from among the several thousand children’s books published this year. Lists of past winners of the Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award can be found on NYTimes.com/Books, along with a slide show of this year’s winners.”

Below, we’ve linked to free samples of all the winners. If you are looking for more books to sample, follow these links for free samples from the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist, the National Book Award finalist the Business Book of the Year Shortlist, the Man Booker Prize for Fiction Longlist, the Best Thrillers of the Year the 2011 Hugo Award Nominees, and the Man Asian Literary Prize Longlist.

1. Along a Long Road written and illustrated by Frank Viva (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

2. A Ball for Daisy written and illustrated by Chris Raschka (Schwartz & Wade)
3. Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures written by Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Pamela Dalton (Chronicle Books)
4. Grandpa Green written and illustrated by Lane Smith (Roaring Brook Press)
5. Ice written and illustrated by Arthur Geisert (Enchanted Lion Books)
6. I Want My Hat Back written and illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press)
7. Me … Jane written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
8. Migrant written by Maxine Trottier, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Groundwood Books)
9. A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis written by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Dial)
10. A New Year’s Reunion written by Yu Li-Qiong, illustrated by Zhu Cheng-Liang (Candlewick Press)