An Adventure Begins: Picture Books of Distinction in 2006

List compiled by Susan P. Bloom,
Professor Emeritus, Simmons College, Boston

Walk On: A Guide for Babies of All Ages
written by Marla Frazee
Harcourt

Mommy?
written by Arthur Yorinks, illustrated by Maurice Sendak and engineered by Matthew Reinhardt
Michael DeCapua/ Scholastic

Emily’s Balloon
written by Komako Sakai
Chronicle

Hop! Plop!
written by Cory Rosen Schwartz and Tali Klein, illustrated by Olivier Dunrea
Houghton

What a Treasure!
written by Jane Hillenbrand, illustrations by Will Hillenbrand
Holiday House

Flotsam
written by David Wiesner
Clarion

Sharks and Other Sea Monsters
written by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Candlewick

Black? White! Day? Night!
written by Laura Vacarro Seeger
Roaring Brook

Owen and Mzee
written by Isabella Hatkoff and Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu, photos by Peter Greste
Scholastic

Mama: A True Story
written by Jeanette Winter
Harcourt

Gorilla, Gorilla
written by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
Atheneum

The Runaway Dinner
written by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Bruce Ingman
Candlewick

The Adventures of the Dish and Spoon
written Mini Grey
Knopf

Lilly’s Big Day
written Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
written by Mo Willems
Hyperion

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
written by Jon Agee and the rest of the Coop
Dial

The Little Red Hen
written by Jerry Pinkney
Dial

Hardworking Puppies
written by Lynn Reiser
Harcourt

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet
written by David McLimans
Walker

Alpha Oops! The Day Z Went First
written Alethea Kontis, illustrated by Bob Kolar
Candlewick

Move
written by Steve and Robin Jenkins, illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Houghton

Ballet of the Elephants
written by Leda Shubert
Roaring Brook

Silly Suzy Goose
written by Petr Horacek
Candlewick

Library Lion
written by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Candlewick

One of Those Days
written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Rebecca Doughty
Putnam

The Sound of Color: A Journey of the Imagination
written by Jimmy Liao
Little, Brown

Silly Billy
written by Anthony Browne
Candlewick

For You Are a Kenyan Child
written by Kelly Cunnane, illustrated by Ana Juan
Atheneum

Adele and Simon
written by Barbara McClintock
Farrar

John, Paul, George, and Ben
written by Lane Smith
Hyperion

Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor
written by Emily Arnold McCully
Farrar

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Hyperion

Jazz
written by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers
Holiday House

Dizzy
written by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Sean Qualls
Scholastic

Keeper of Soles
written by Teresa Bateman, illustrated by Yayo
Holiday House