THE 10 BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF 2021 ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES/NY PUBLIC LIBRARY

The link to the original New York Times Article: www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/bo...
I mentioned the artist Henry Darger. You can look at his art and read more information about his person here: www.moma.org/artists/28600
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
THE BOTTOM THREE
3:53 10th Book
5:56 9th Book
7:23 8th Book
TWO NIGHTTIME BOOKS
9:28 7th Book
11:46 6th Book
TRAVEL/DAILY LIFE/SLICE OF LIFE BOOKS
12:30 5th Book
15:36 4th Book
TOP THREE
17:01 3rd Book
19:46 2nd Book
22:36 1st Book
26:24 BYE!
Books mentioned (arranged by the author's last name)
1) The Night Walk
Written and illustrated by Marie Dorléans
2) It Fell From the Sky
Written and illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
3) Keeping the City Going
Written and illustrated by Brian Floca
4) The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess
Written and illustrated by Tom Gauld
5) I Am the Subway
Written and illustrated by Kim Hyo-eun
Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith
6) While You’re Sleeping
Written by Mick Jackson
Illustrated by John Broadley
7) Time Is a Flower
Written and illustrated by Julie Morstad
8) ¡Vamos! Let’s Cross the Bridge
Written and illustrated by Raúl the Third
Colors by Elaine Bay
9) On the Other Side of the Forest
Written by Nadine Robert
Illustrated by Gérard DuBois
10) Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Written by Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Extra notes:
I run a bookclub with David Wiley who you will find here: / wileydavid1
Schedule for Homer's The Iliad
December 1-7: Books 1-6
December 8-14: Books 7-12
December 15-21: Books 13-18
December 22-28: Books 19-24
Voxer name: ShellySwearingen
If you'd like to find me on Voxer, send me a message and I'll add you to the group chat for the Eclectic Bookclub.
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Children's books reviews, reviewer, booktube, booktuber, Art for kids, best books for children, best books for kids, best-illustrated picture books for kids, how to expose children to incredible art, how to raise an art snob, picture books that adults can enjoy as well, exploring the concept of being bored (boring or boredom), varied art styles, picture books every kid should read at least once, professional list, art inspiration, these books will be classics, classic children's books, books with fantastic art, textures galore, so much color that will make your eyes happy, neon, beautiful, flip through, detailed

[@SabaBushnaq]

It's funny how as an artist myself, and a children's books illustrator, my favorites are the ones you have on the bottom of your list. It's interesting to know what people who aren't artists think of certain types of art 😊.

[@chrisdudleyart]

I absolutely love how you weren’t afraid to tell your personal preferences. In todays world, many get too offended. You aren’t saying it’s BAD, just that YOU don’t like it! Great critiques and reviews!!!

[@Shellyish]

Thank you, Chris! :)

[@GinaStanyerBooks]

This was a wonderful topic Shelly! Your passion and love for picture books shines through in this video.

[@Shellyish]

Thank you, Gina. There were several very beautiful books in the bunch. ☺️

[@spreadbookjoy]

This is great Shelley. I really enjoyed your analysis of these books and seeing lots of books that I’ve not seen before. The Korean book about the subway looks fascinating. Your top three books all look fantastic - Unspeakable sounds very important. I only learned about the Tulsa massacre this year and it’s definitely a story that needs to be told more widely. Brilliant reviewing and so many here for me to seek out!

[@Shellyish]

Now that more time has passed between and me and the subway book, it's stuck with me more and more. Maybe would've made my top three today? I'm shocked more people don't know/talk about the Tulsa Massacre. I found out about it through MadMen, the HBO television show.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

"Unspeakable" looks an incredible powerful and beautifully illustrated book about a very important event in American history. Hannah (of Hannah's Books) co-wrote a book with Susan Burch also called "Unspeakable" about the life of a deaf black man, Junius Wilson, who spent seventy-six years at a state mental hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina, including six in the criminal ward. Despite never being diagnosed as mentally ill nor found guilty of any criminal charge.

[@Shellyish]

Jim, thank you for sharing about Hannah's co-written book. I knew Hannah was an author and that her focus in US Southern history, but I didn't realize this was the topic of her book. I must check it out in the near future. 😊

[@GloriaZThompson]

Just loved this video! I am now going to checkout your top 3 from the library. I had not heard about the Tulsa Massacre either until I read Dreamland Burning this last year.

[@Shellyish]

Thanks, Gloria! I hope you like them. I found out about the Tulsa Massacre through a television show I watched a few years ago. So sad that it's often not remembered.

[@AJDunnReadsandWrites]

I love woodcuts. They are fun to make. And challenging. _It Fell From the Sky_ is beautiful.

[@Shellyish]

Woodcuts are great! I’ve never made any myself. Have you? If so, can you show off your work?

[@AJDunnReadsandWrites]

@@Shellyish I don't have any. I made some in art class in high school when art was my life.

[@AnneEWilliamson]

I definitely don't read many children books, but I personally love how different these books are in art styles and in ways to examine deep concepts in simple ways.

[@Shellyish]

I completely agree! All of these books were elevated by the illustrations which always fascinates me.

[@AliceandtheGiantBookshelf]

I love your cat cardigan! This seems like a great video and I’m going to come back and watch properly when I have the time. 😊

[@Shellyish]

Thank you so much!! My cat cardigan was a gift from my sister and I adore it. ❤️

[@BookwormAdventureGirl]

Loved this video and seeing all the different types of books and illustrations. Your #1 sounds very powerful. I’ve never heard of this author before. Fantastic! 😊💙

[@Shellyish]

Thanks, Jolene! I went back and forth on my #1 for ages. I realized that if a book brought one to tears, it should probably be at the top. A very incredible read!

[@derxiong8304]

Thank you for doing this video. God bless you!

[@Shellyish]

Thank you!

[@deborajohnson5717]

You do such amazing reviews. I loved the video and I haven’t read a children’s book in years. Maybe next year you could do a video of the best children Christmas book through time!

[@Shellyish]

Great idea, Debbie! Thank you! Merry Christmas!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@deborajohnson5717]

@@Shellyish Have you thought of doing a video of Dr Seuss books?

[@Shellyish]

@@deborajohnson5717 I haven't. Should I?

[@deborajohnson5717]

@@Shellyish I love Dr Seuss. I was raised on them. I think it would be a great video. I picked one up this morning and was still delighted with the illustrations. They are so whimsical.

[@alishareadsrambles98]

I might need to read more picture books. The art in all of these was really intriguing, especially the one that is in charcoal except for the marbles. Unspeakable looks amazing, it is the kind of book I want on my shelves for my potential future children.

[@Shellyish]

Alisha, picture books are one my favorite ways to interact with art. Often children's book art is so whimsical and special. Unspeakable is incredible. My kiddos need a bit more age in them to appreciate what a special book Unspeakable is.

[@lindysmagpiereads]

Excellent video, Shelly! Unspeakable is my top pick from this list too. I’m a fan of everything the Fan brothers create, but I also loved Night Walk, so I’m not sure which of those two I would place second and third here. I share your disappointment with Time Is a Flower; I enjoy her style but I agree with your assessment that focusing more pages on one example of time unfolding might have been more successful. Nadine Robert is a Canadian author (as are several others on this list) so I feel remiss in having missed reading On the Other Side of the Forest. I’ve now placed a library request for it, as well as the original French edition, so that I can compare them. (Did you know that Night Walk is translated from French as well?)

[@Shellyish]

I head no idea Night Walk was translated from the French. That’s fascinating. Nadine Robert definitely created my favorite aesthetic piece and I’ll be following her career with great interest!!!!!

[@ReadBecca]

Definitely a couple in here I will be keeping an eye out for at the library, thank so much for sharing. Based on what you liked about your top choice you might check out Like a Bird by Cynthia Grady, its less a narrative but great historical info and has all those elements you talk about. That one was my favorite children's book read last year.

[@Shellyish]

Thank you for the suggestion, Becca! Please let me know if you do check out any of these titles and how you got along with them! ❤️ I'd be VERY interested in your thoughts!

[@BiotechArab]

I noticed here, almost all the 10 books are actually for older kids (not really for toddlers) like a good fit for readers as primary school children

[@Shellyish]

That’s a great observation.

[@Annazumi]

Amen and Ditton to @chrisdudleyart ! And the fact that I didn't agree with all of your opinions is awesome, too... you really got me thinking. Looking forward to discovering more of your videos!! Great job!!

[@Shellyish]

Awe! Thank you!!

[@Annazumi]

@@Shellyish Now I'm crying. Finally finished this video. Thank you so much!!!

[@Freelancer-qj9yn]

Great book!

[@olgaolga2126]

I am the subway is sooo good. I have it and i’m in love

[@jimg653]

Thanks

[@CestKevvie]

The marble one looks really pretty, and I definitely need to pick up Unspeakable!!

[@Shellyish]

Both are beautiful and worth a look.

[@bookofdust]

Wow, Shelly, what a wonderful video and impressively done, I so appreciate your attention to detail and telling us about the media that was used for many of the books as video doesn’t always capture the nuances of illustrations in picture books. Quite a scope of works, and you can tell you really sat with them for awhile and unlocked deep and intricate aspects of them both visually and in the text. Did you get any kid input on the ones that were age appropriate from your boys, and best wishes for their speedy recovery? I think my top ones would be the marble and insects books and the rabbits book. The rabbits really reminded me of a children’s book creator who does primarily wordless etchings of pigs, I’ll need to look up his name and add it later. The rabbits looked a bit more lyrical and I liked the selective pallet, especially the chartreuse. Congrats and again well done!

[@bookofdust]

The pig illustrator is Arthur Geisert!

[@Shellyish]

Thank you, Michael. I loved the rabbit book as well (On the Other Side of the Forest). I think I’ll buy it in the near future. As far as the age appropriateness, I’ll add that in for the next video or incorporate the my boys’ reaction to the reading experience in the review or remarks about the book. Good idea. Loads of these books prompted rabbit trails as I learned more about the author and illustrators. Im familiar with Giesert, but it’s probably time I revisit his work.

[@bookofdust]

@@Shellyish Wordless picture books are one of my all time favorite genres and his go some places that no one else ever has gone before. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@Shellyish]

@@bookofdust Thanks for letting me know! Marry Christmas to you and yours as well!

[@AJDunnReadsandWrites]

You're the only person I've ever heard of talk about Henry Darger, and I only know of him because of Natalie Merchant's song about him.

[@Shellyish]

Ha! Thank Tedwell. He bought the books on Darger and I’ve enjoyed them ever since.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Dat editing 👏

[@Shellyish]

Thx Una!

[@varshneydevansh]

thanks

[@Shellyish]

Welcome!!

[@Aklime88]

Pardon, but where do you see "watercolor style" in the book about subway?

[@Shellyish]

It’s actually done in watercolor.

[@gabriellacrump]

Can you review "Shayla Boo and You All About My Hearing Book"?

[@Shellyish]

I'll consider it. :)

[@nom278]

It fell from the sky is it copied from the book the rock from the sky?

[@Shellyish]

Thanks for sharing.

[@spuddy4845]

the illustrations in the first book are a straight up rip off from the 1970s Joe annuals by artist joan hickson...hate artists that just copy work

[@Shellyish]

Oh, thanks for letting me know!

[@norm2322]

Really poor choices, illustration wise.

[@Shellyish]

I heartily disagree.

[@norm2322]

We can agree to disagree. I stick with my original statement: poor choices.@@Shellyish

[@Shellyish]

@@norm2322 Take it up with the NY times. :)

[@norm2322]

Agreed.They are not taking this category seriously enough.Would like to see who's on the selection panel and what their credentials are in regards to the fine art of illustration. Sorry to be so negative to this point, but being an illustrator, I'm invested in the best illustration can be.@@Shellyish

[@Shellyish]

@@norm2322 same! Though I’m not an illustrator. I’m invested in illustrated literature.