This week, Slate published a delightful list of the 25 best picture books of the last 25 years, based in part on a survey of “more than 100 authors, illustrators, librarians, booksellers, academics, and publishing pros.”
The list reflects the evolution of the picture book in the 21st century as the form became more diverse, inclusive, and irreverent. It includes modern classics Olivia and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and the book that was most frequently named by experts: Last Stop on Market Street.
Unfortunately, that award-winning book by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson was one of the earliest targets of book banners in the wave of censorship that has led to nearly 16,000 book bans across the country since 2021.
In fact, nearly a quarter of Slate’s 25 “greatest” picture books have been counted in PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans since 2021:
- Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes and James C. Gordon
This celebration of a boy’s experience at the barbershop and the confidence it instills was also an early target of book banners. (Buy it at Barnes & Noble)
- Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales
Dreamers tells Morales’ story of coming to America from Mexico and learning about their new home at the library. It has been banned in at least three school districts. (Buy it on Bookshop)
- Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis
This book by National Book Award winner and former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jacqueline Woodson tells the heartbreaking story of a girl who moves to town and is snubbed, then moves away without making any friends. It’s a moving conversation-starter about empathy and friendship. (Buy it on Bookshop)
- Julián Is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love
Julián Is a Mermaid tells the story of a boy who dreams of dressing up like the women he sees on the subway, and his abuela who embraces him. Slate called it “an openhearted message that renders absurd the many challenges and bans this book has endured since publication.” The book has been banned in at least nine school districts since 2021. (Buy it on Bookshop)
- Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson
A little boy’s bus ride with his grandmother becomes a lesson in empathy and grace in this picture book that won both the Newbery Medal and a Caldecott Honor. (Buy it on Bookshop)
- The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander
Another target of book banners, this picture book in verse tells the history of the hardships and triumphs of Black people in the United States. (Buy it on Bookshop)
