In their 73rd year of highlighting children’s books, the New York Times Book Review and the New York Public Library have announced the 10 winners of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award. This year’s panel of judges included Hans Christian Andersen Medal-winning illustrator Peter Sís, author Tracey Baptiste, and children’s librarian Amber Moller. Selections were made from nearly 800 publisher submissions.
The 2025 Best Illustrated books are:
Broken by X Fang (Tundra)
Dragon Flower by Chen Jiang Hong, trans. from the French by Alyson Waters (NYRB Kids)
Fireworks by Matthew Burgess, illus. by Cátia Chien (Clarion)
The Lighthouse Keeper by Eugenio Fernández Vázquez, illus. by Mariana Villanueva Segovia, trans. from the Spanish by Kit Maude (Tapioca Stories)
Little Rebels by Yuyi Morales (Holiday House/Porter)
Making Art by Diana Ejaita (Rise x Penguin Workshop)
Pencil by Hye-Eun Kim (TOON)
Sunday by Marcelo Tolentino, trans. by Rahul Bery (Blue Dot)
The Three-Year Tumble by Dayeon Auh, trans. from the German by Tim Mohr (NorthSouth)
Wind Watchers by Micha Archer (Penguin/Paulsen)
