By Kimberly Olson Fakih

When they were first published, Sydney Taylor’s books not only planted a flag for Jewish identity but also for Jewish joy, and today remind readers that Alcott's March sisters haven't cornered the market on getting by on love and little else. For Women's History Month, we remind readers of Sydney Taylor's origin story.

From a glittering party in Harlem to a dazzling parade in Tokyo, from a baba's small patch of soil to a cadre of children learning to love who they are or stand up for others, the very best of 2023's picture books invite readers into pages to meet the world head on.

The beginning of life, the stars in the sky, the fungi around us, and some of the hottest topics in biology and science are on display in the best books of 2023 in the elementary nonfiction list. The facts are in: these writers and illustrators help kids connect with the real world in one thrilling book after another. 

The author/illustrator describes his inspiration for this story about a mother fox making her way across an autumnal landscape to get home to her kits.

By reaching back two generations to the abuses suffered by her grandmother in boarding school, Carole Lindstrom, author of the Caldecott Medal-winning 'We Are Water Protectors' reclaims a piece of Indigenous culture about the power and beauty of long hair.

Back to school means time to revisit Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's How to Raise an Antiracist. This New York Times bestseller is his answer to the many questions parents and educators have on how to bring children into conversation, about how to be better citizens in the world, and how to treat their peers with compassion and inclusion.

From quiet books that took off to those that just gave him 'that feeling,' Neal Porter takes the lessons of legends and puts his own spin on an award-winning collection of books spanning decades. 

In an era when we’ve all learned the separation between essential workers and everyone else, Katie Yamasaki's latest takes on a topic that most people would rather not discuss.

Twenty-four exceptional titles made SLJ's list of the best picture books published in 2020.