According to three judges appointed by the NY Times—Robert Sabuda (illustrator & pop-up genius), Elizabeth Bird (NYC librarian, author & Fuse #8 blogger) and David Barringer (novelist & designer)—these are the top 10 illustrated picture books of 2010.
After reviewing these titles, there is little doubt that the finest illustrative work in the world appears in children’s literature.
Congratulations to the illustrators! Erin E. Stead, Sophie Blackall, Tony Fucile, R. C. Roth, Peter Brown, Peter McCarty, Red Nose Studio, Blexbolex, Suzy Lee and Christoph Niemann.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 
15 comments
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November 7, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Beth MacKinney
Love them all. I could look at them over and over. Especially like seeing them in a group.
November 7, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Diana Evans
I love collecting picture books!!! These look like so much fun especially the big lollipop one!!! I also have to check out that book you mentioned…Arnie the donut!!!! Thanks for popping by!!!
November 7, 2010 at 7:19 pm
tara
Arnie is by Laurie Keller. It is one of our all-time faves!
November 7, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Diana Evans
my dream is to have many of my books as family favorites…I love my job as an Illustrator and Author….
November 7, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Christie Wild
I’ve read the Garbage Barge. Pretty fun. I’d like to read the lollipop book.
November 8, 2010 at 9:27 am
Heather Kephart
I can’t believe I haven’t read all of these. I agree, the quality of the illustration is flabbergasting. My daughter would yank THE BIG RED LOLLIPOP right off the shelves. I have heard so much about THE SHADOW & can’t wait to read it. Look at the ears and feet on HENRY IN LOVE. Oh, I can’t stand it!
November 8, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Shannon O'Donnell
These are wonderful! thanks for the list, Tara. 🙂
November 8, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Sheri A. Larsen
So many congrats. These are all wonderful!
November 8, 2010 at 11:09 pm
ccgevry
The best thing about posts like these is I discover new books!
November 9, 2010 at 10:04 am
Pam Jones
As an illustrator, it’s so great to see what others are doing in the children’s book field. And the top ten! Thank you for posting this as I would have missed it otherwise. 🙂 Such awesome talent!
November 9, 2010 at 11:31 am
Eme En
nice pictures. they all give a really retro feeling. and picture books.. hmm.
November 9, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Ruth McNally Barshaw
Tara, thanks for tracking them down and posting them in one place. 🙂
November 9, 2010 at 6:32 pm
tara
No problem, Ruth. I love seeing them all together. Such a diverse range of styles.
November 10, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Ishta Mercurio-Wentworth
I’ve seen a couple of these – now to go read the rest!
November 14, 2010 at 1:14 am
Ishta Mercurio-Wentworth
Interesting to note that this list appears to favor author/illustrators… I wonder if that is significant? Are author/illustrator books generally better? Hmmm…