There are lots of "best books" lists of the best children’s books of 2008 available. Below, I have included my own list and some of the best "best books" lists I have found. You’ll find recommended 2008 children’s books for children, from babies to tweens and teens. They were all published in 2008. You’ll find some of the 2008 children’s books for babies, tweens and teens on multiple best 2008 children’s books lists. Others appear on only once.
Simon & SchusterThis is my list of what I think are some of the best illustrated children's books of 2008 published in the U.S. The 10 books include We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, A is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet, Wabi Sabi, A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, and Garmann's Summer, among others.
This is the most comprehensive list I have found. It contains an annotated list of 67 books, divided into three categories: picture books, nonfiction, and fiction. According to
School Library Journal, the list includes “books for toddlers and preschoolers, terrific picture books and easy readers, and some highly original novels. Fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, humor, mystery, affecting family stories, and adventure all make an appearance.”
This slide show of illustrations from the 10 children's picture books published in 2008 that a panel of judges selected as the best illustrated children's books of the year comes from
The New York Times, About.com's parent company.
This annotated list, with cover art, includes eight picture books for children ranging from preschoolers to second graders, nine works of fiction for tweens and teens in upper elementary, middle and/or high school, and six works of nonfiction covering a wide age range.
This annotated list is described as “a compendium of surprising, inspiring titles—everything from picture books and novels to memoirs—for youngsters and the grownups who read to, and with, them.” It includes more than a dozen books for children between the ages of one and six, 16 books, both fiction and nonfiction, for middle readers, and 9 books, including a memoir, for ages 10 and up.
The 10 featured children's books on this annotated list are for tweens and teens. Each brief description ends with a link to the newspaper’s review of the book.
Eight books, including two picture books, a pop-up book, three novels for children 12 and up, one novel for teens 13 and up, and one novel for teens 14 and older are included in this annotated list.
The Toronto Public Library's list includes cover art and brief annotations for books it describes as “2008's best Canadian children's books for building reading readiness in children birth to five.”
This list of picture books from Time.com includes one per page and larger images of the cover art than you usually see in such lists. It’s always fun to discover new books, and this list includes two books that were new to me.
This annotated list of eight books comes from The New York Times. It includes several picture books for younger children and five novels for older children and/or teens.
