The Best Children's Books of 2022

(but not only 2022)

Nov 20, 2022

It’s true! I have great books to share with you.

Who am I to call any book the “best”? Art is subjective. But people like these lists. I like these lists. And you read Moonbow for my opinion on children’s books. So why should I stop now?

Many of the books I’ve picked were published in 2022, but not exclusively. I buy most of our books from used bookstores or check them out from the library, which means we tend to read books from the backlist. But all of these books are books we loved reading this year. I’ve mostly stuck to picture books because they’re my favorite. If you think your kids are too young or too old for picture books, think again!

🌝 I’m going to place a full moon emoji next to the books that are the most fun to read out loud. If you loved a book that didn’t make this list, share it in the comments.

Telling Stories Wrong (2022) | Picture Book 🌝
Written by Gianni Rodari and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna (trans. Antony Shugaar)

“Grandpa, you really don’t know how to tell a story. You get everything wrong. But all the same, can I have a quarter and buy some bubble gum?”

Everyone knows how the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood goes, but Grandpa tells the story all wrong! He keeps mixing up the details. But thankfully, his grandaughter knows the story, and she’s more than happy to correct him. Originally from Rodari’s larger collection, Telephone Tales (1962), this creative story-within-a-story respects children’s intelligence and gives them agency over the storytelling process. The writing is hilarious, and Alemagna’s inventive artwork practically leaps off the page—resulting in a riotous read-aloud experience.

We picked this one up at the library, and after our first reading, my eight-year-old daughter exclaimed, “Oh, you have to buy this one for us to keep. It’s really, really good!!” So there you have it.

Pokko and the Drum (2019) | Picture Book 🌝
Written and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

“The biggest mistake Pokko’s parent’s ever made was giving her a drum.”

There’s a hard rule in parenting: NEVER give your kid a drum! But that’s exactly what Pokko’s parents do, and as you might expect, they majorly regret it. However, what happens next you won’t expect! Forsythe’s text is cleverly amusing, and his bright neon illustrations are incandescent. Like the banging of a drum, each page turn adds a new surprising beat to this delightful story. Kids will want to read it again and again!

Will reading this book be the biggest mistake? Definitely not.

The Bug Club (2021) | Graphic Novel (Non-Fiction Comic)
Written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Did you know snails can sleep for three years?!!

If you haven’t read anything by Elise Gravel, stop what you’re doing, go buy a bunch of her books, and read them all in one sitting. That’s how great they are. The Bug Club has a similar format to her wildly popular The Mushroom Fan Club (2018). It highlights weird and wonderful things about bugs, but not only that, it makes bugs FUN! Naturally, my kids already thought bugs were cool, but after reading this, I discovered a newfound love and appreciation for these so-called “creepy” crawlers.

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza (2022) | Graphic Novel 🌝
Written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Shawn Harris

“Oh my grammy’s meatloaf.”

(I’m lifting text this from my Instagram, in case you haven’t seen it. There’s no need to write something new since I already poured my heart out. Clearly, this book means a lot to my family. It’s about a cat that gets blasted into space and teams up with a queen and a robot to save the moon from being eaten by rats!)

You don’t have to be a Club Head to appreciate The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, the graphic novel by MacBarnett and Shawn Harris, but if you are, it’s a reading experience like no other. I’ve never had so much fun reading a book out loud with my kids. Oh bliss!

We are Club Heads and have been since the world went into lockdown back in March of 2020. Mac and Shawn’s one-of-a-kind “TFCISAP” Live Cartoons (along with Mac’s Book Club Show Book Club) helped us get through those unsettling early days. And for the past two+ years, we’ve revisited the Live Cartoons whenever we needed the comfort of a good laugh. Now that we have our hands on a physical copy, we’ve treated it like a special event. This book is more than a good story; it's a community.

Each night, the kids and I read a few chapters, but only after we watched an episode of the Live Cartoons or listened to the soundtrack. We wanted to prolong the immersive experience of being on the moon with the First Cat and his friends (and foes) for as long as possible. And because of this (and because we’re long-time Club Heads), it was impossible not to burst into song while reading the book or mimic the voices we heard in the Live Cartoons. But since this was my first time performing the book aloud, I sometimes flubbed and used the wrong voice for the wrong character, which, thankfully, only made my kids laugh more.

We’ve now read this book at least five times. It never gets old! My six-year-old son loves to do the voices along with me. The catchphrases are so memorable they’ve become part of our family’s lexicon. We can’t wait for book number two!

The Queen in the Cave (2022) | Picture Book
Written and illustrated by Júlia Sardà

“Free? Carmella asked herself, wondering for the first time if she hadn’t always been.”

There is something inherently spooky about Júlia Sardà’s illustrations. Maybe it’s the way she draws long, angular faces, or perhaps it’s the dark, gothic undertones she brings to popular children’s classics (Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Mary Poppins). Whatever it is, I find it eerily delightful. In her debut picture book as author and illustrator, The Queen in the Cave, Sardà shows us her wide range of artistic talents. In this modern-day fairy tale, three sisters venture deep into the forest and find that the world is full of secrets waiting to be discovered. The illustrations are rich in detail —there are giant snail bunnies, flying fish, a grandmotherly spider, and spooky trolls — each spread is a wonder to behold. It’s an enchanting story of adventure, discovery, and the hidden mysteries of growing older.

(From Moonbow’s newsletter: My Favorite Scary and Not-So-Scary Children’s Books)

Hansel and Gretel (2018) | Picture Book
Written and illustrated by Bethan Woollvin

“Willow wasn’t like most witches.”

Who’s the real villain? That’s the question at the center of this fractured fairy tale. We all know who’s the villain in the Grimms’ classic Hansel & Gretel: the witch! But what if we heard her side of the story? What would happen then? In Woollvin’s version, a nice witch named Willow finds that two children have dropped breadcrumbs all around her gingerbread house. Fearful that this will attract pests to her home, Willow asks the children to help clean up their mess. But Hansel and Gretel aren’t the two innocent children we’re familiar with; the two refuse to help Willow and instead eat her house, ravage her kitchen, and take advantage of her magic spell book. Throughout this ruckus, Willow maintains her composure because, as it’s stated many times, “Willow is a good witch.” But is she? How much trouble can a good witch take? Children who are familiar with the original story will love this clever remake, but even those who aren’t will enjoy this fun, twisted tale.

Woollvin has also remixed classics such as Rapunzel (2021) and Little Red (2020).

Hot Dog (2022) | Picture Book
Written and illustrated by Doug Salati

“What a day for a dog.”

Sometimes you just got to get the hell out of dodge, and that’s exactly what this wiener dog and his owner do in Doug Salati’s Hot Dog. This bright, bustling story is about a dachshund who gets hot and exasperated by the hustle and heat of a big city. Thankfully, his perceptive owner knows exactly what he needs: the beach! There the dog is able to run free and feel the cool, salty breeze glide through his fluffy hair. The text is sparse and effortlessly lyrical, and the expressive illustrations have a vibrant comic-book feel with multiple horizontal and vertical panels. It’s a sensory experience that both children and adults will relate to and enjoy.

Nigel and the Moon (2022) | Picture Book
Written by Antwan Eady and illustrated by Gracey Zhang

“At night, he tells the moon his dreams. And here his dreams are safe.”

Little Nigel has big dreams, but he’s too afraid to tell his friends. Instead, he confides in the moon. At night, Nigel travels to the moon, where he imagines he’s an astronaut, a dancer—and his favorite—a superhero! Nigel doesn’t believe his dreams are realistic because his parents don’t have “fancy” jobs (his mom is a mail carrier and his dad is a truck driver). But when his parents attend his school’s career day, they explain the importance of their work and the good they do for the world—inspiring a change of heart in Nigel. Hearing his parents gives him the courage to speak his truth.

I love the juxtaposition of the realistic school scenes set against Nigel’s moonlit fantasies. The combination of Eady’s soft, poetic text and Zhang’s whimsical and affecting illustrations tell an empowering tale of Nigel’s bright future.

Dory Fantasmagory series (2014-2020) | Chapter Books 🌝
Written and illustrated by Abby Hanlon

“I have a fairy godmother named Mr. Nuggy, and he accidentally turned into a chicken.”

At a kitchen table covered in discarded craft projects, broken crayons, crispy bits of dried-up Play-Doh, soggy bowls of Cocoa Puffs, and cold cups of coffee, our family sat and read the entirety of Dory Fantasmagory. We gasped, we laughed, we made urgent phone calls to Mr. Nuggy on our banana phones—basically, it was the perfect Sunday morning. *

*This was from my Instagram post earlier this year after reading Dory Fantasmagory for the first time. It was a fantastic reading experience with my kids.

Dory is a plucky six-year-old with a highly active imagination that gets her into all kinds of trouble. Throughout the series, Dory deals with many of the difficulties that little kids face: learning to read, making friends, going to school, and fighting for the attention and respect of her older siblings—but what makes Dory’s plights so entertaining is her approach—which is to seamlessly and hilariously interweave her fantasies with reality. And the characters are irresistible. Like Mrs. Gobble Gracker, a mean witch with a childlike naivety (who looks a lot like James Marshall’s iconic Miss Viola Swamp!), and Mr. Nuggy, Dory’s male fairy godmother who’s constantly messing up his spells, accidentally turning himself into a rather useless chicken. Similar to Cleary’s Ramona and Fitzhugh’s Harriet, Hanlon’s Dory is a memorable rascal you can’t help but love.

Allergic (2021) | Graphic Novel
Written by Megan Wagner Llyod and illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter

How could something that made me so happy make me so sick?"

My daughter is in the third grade, and let me tell you something I’ve learned about third graders: they love graphic novels. And you know what else? So do I! Graphic novels are fantastic, especially for kids coming out of picture books and early readers who are looking for something meatier but still crave visual appeal. That was the case for my daughter, who, despite loving books, couldn’t get into chapter books until recently. We’ve read a lot of incredible graphic novels this year: El Deafo (2014), Measuring Up (2020), The Baby-sitters Club (2006-)series, and all of Raina Telgemeier’s books, but the one my daughter wanted me to include is Allergic. It’s a coming-of-age story about a girl named Maggie, who loves animals and really wants a pet, but she has severe allergies. Maggie is smart and resilient. She works tirelessly to find a solution to her pet problem, and that’s not the only struggle she faces. Throughout the story, she also deals with starting at a new school, making friends, annoying younger brothers, and feeling insecure about a new baby that’s about to join their family. I enjoyed Telgemeier’s books more, but I think for an eight-year-old, this book is more relatable.

The Little One (2021) | Picture Book
Written and illustrated by Kiyo Tanaka (translated by David Boyd)

‘I think I should follow it.”

Translated from Japanese, The Litte One is the story of a little girl who encounters a mysterious black creature (that looks as if it could live inside a Jon Klassen book) who appears to be following her. After she sums up the courage to introduce herself, the creature has her follow it on an adventure through town and in a garden. They drink tea and enjoy each other’s company, but then the creature motions for her to enter a dark closet. What could have been scary ends up being a beautifully illustrated magical world filled with glowing lights and a giant, cuddly friend. This story feels more like an enchanting poem or a delightfully strange fever dream —one that I’m eager to revisit.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff (2022) | Picture Book 🌝
Retold by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen

I recently watched HBO’s documentary '“Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street” (2021). Like many kids who grew up in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, I was obsessed with ‘Sesame Street.’ I’ve always known it was hysterical, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I recognized its radical experimentation. The talented geniuses behind the show cared deeply about making good art for children. The documentary includes behind-the-scenes footage of the revolutionary puppeteers Jim Henson and Frank Oz. The two are a comedy duo the likes of Abbott & Costello and Martin & Lewis. As kids, we weren’t aware of Henson and Oz’s creative alchemy, but we witnessed it in their iconic characters like Bert & Ernie and Kermit & Miss Piggy. We didn’t know about the men behind the puppets; it was essential that we didn’t. The chemistry between Henson and Oz reminds me of another dynamic duo: Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Like Henson & Oz, Barnett & Klassen make experiential and entertaining art for kids. Their stories have a playful energy; they’re boisterous but not reckless. Read Extra Yarn (2012), Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (2014), The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse (2017), and the Triangle trilogy (2017), and you’ll see what I mean.

Their latest book is a hilarious retelling of the classic Norwegian fairy tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. This is not a fractured fairy tale; it relatively sticks to the original. But Barnett adds linguistic flourishes, turning the troll into somewhat of a Shakespearean poet, but he’s not overly sophisticated; he’s a troll, after all. When the troll hears the first of the three goats trot, “Clip-clop! Clip-clop!” across the bridge, he exclaims in ravenous delight:

“I love goat! Let me count the ways. A rump of goat in honey glaze. Goat smoked, goat poached, a goat pot roast. Goat smorgasbord! Goat smeared on toast! A goat kale salad —hold the kale. Goat escargot! (That’s goat plus snails.) On goat I’ll dine, on goat I’ll sup. You little goat, I’ll eat you up!”

This story is meant to be read out loud in the way that original fairy tales were. It’s pure entertainment with wild twists and turns to keep listeners engaged. But this is a picture book, and Jon Klassen’s visual storytelling decisions are just as crucial to its success as the words. Klassen’s illustrations have quiet confidence—they’re funny without being whacky. His engaging composition, texture, and use of scale work well when reading to a large group of kids, but there are plenty of details suited for reading up close.

There are a few additions, like the size of the third goat (spoiler: it’s HUGE!) and (another spoiler!) the troll getting flung from the bridge into a succession of waterfalls, each cascade more ominous than the last, to what we can assume is his death, but it’s left open. Some kids may think the troll should suffer; some may not. Like Woollvin’s Hansel & Gretel, this retelling is nuanced—but not too much. Ultimately, we’re with the goats, so long as we’re willing to cross the bridge.

You can buy these books on my Bookshop.org page: Best Children’s Books of 2022!

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