These are the best books of 2019 for kids and young adult readers

EARLY PICTURE BOOKS (0-5)

Books for the young encourage interaction, show simple problems, satisfactory resolutions and role models to admire.

▪ “This is Baby,” Jimmy Fallon (Feiwel and Friends): The late-night host does it again! This time he uses playful rhyming schemes to reveal the joy of babies from noses to toes.

▪ “Astro Girl,“ Ken Wilson-Max (Candlewick): Astrid loves the stars. Not only is she suited up for space travel, her loving papa swings her as if she’s circling Earth and throws her in the air as if she’s in zero gravity. Does her mother give the same kind of support? The ending reveals all!

▪ “One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller,” Kate Read (Peachtree): This fabulous book — a mash-up of mystery and counting — pits a “famished” fox who stalks “three plump eggs” with “five snug eggs.” Will he be successful? A wild ride keeps readers on the edge of their seat until the final twist.

▪ “Small in the City,” Sydney Smith (Neal Porter Books): In a perfect balance of words and images, a small boy travels through the city by bus and speaks of being small. Who is he speaking to? Himself? Ultimately, visual cues make it clear he is speaking to his lost cat. Final pictures stimulate children’s imagination and point to a happy resolution.

▪ “The Scarecrow,” Beth Ferry (HarperCollins): Strong rhythms and a brisk meter avoid sentimentality in the story of a lonely scarecrow who nurtures a crow by holding near his “heart of hay.” Illustrations by the Fan Brothers increase the story’s power.

OLDER PICTURE BOOKS (AGES 5-10)

These books have more sophistication in writing and thought, deal with more complex issues and are perfect for sharing and generating family conversations.

“Going Down Home with Daddy,” Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Daniel Minter. (Peachtree): Strong similes and imagery set an emotional tone as Lil Alan and his family travel to a family reunion. They leave “when the sky is still dark with sleep,” and Lil Alan smiles until he sees his hands “as empty as the road in front of us.” He has nothing to mark the celebration until finally stories from the past lead to him finding and sharing symbols of home, family, and dreams.

▪ “Home in the Woods,” Eliza Wheeler (Penguin): Six-year-old Marvel’s father “lives with the angels,” so the family of seven moves into a rundown tar-paper shack. Right away they see the riches of root cellar, dark soil, jewel-like berries, and the comfort of working together. Issues of poverty and struggle are present, but family love is the stronger theme.

▪ “Lubna and the Pebble,” Wendy Meddour (Dial): Lubna finds a pebble on the beach, the night they “arrived,” before “she fell asleep in Daddy’s salty arms” and woke to find she’d landed in a “World of Tents.” In this emotive refugee story, the author is rooted in the child’s perspective and focused on the hope this pebble-friend brings. She writes sensitively about Lubna’s past fears, present worries, and ability to find peace.

▪ “The Fate of Fausto: A Painted Fable,” Oliver Jeffers (Philomel): This fable’s anti-hero is Fausto who believes the world belongs to him and tells each thing, “You are mine!” When he decides to own the sea, he has some surprises. This great conversation starter about the power of greed has poignant pictures that have as much to discuss as the words.

▪ “What is Given from the Heart,” Patricia McKissack (Schwartz & Wade): The author’s last book speaks to how kindness transcends poverty as a young boy escapes his own sadness and feelings of scarcity to help another child who is less fortunate.

PICTURE THESE NONFICTIONS (AGES 2-10)

For young and old, these books inspire curiosity and intriguing discussions.

▪ “Who Am I? A Peek-Through-Pages Book of Endangered Animals,” Tim Flach (Abrams; ages 1-3): A short description accompanies just a small view of part of an endangered animal. Guessing fun precedes gorgeous photographs and more information revealed by a page turn.

▪ “Our House is On Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call To Save the Planet,” Jeanette Winter (Beach Lane; ages 5-8): Dramatic illustrations accent the biography of the young girl who is uniting young people all over the world. Greta felt alone and invisible until she learned of global warming and her sad days and outrage turned to activism.

▪ “The President Sang Amazing Grace: A Book About Finding Grace After Unspeakable Tragedy,” Zoe Mulford (Henry Holt; ages 8 to adult): This emotional picture book should be read before sharing with young ones. The book is based on a song by the author, which was motivated by President Barack Obama’s response to the 2015 shootings at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Painfully, the book recalls the murders. In counterpoint, pictures, and words showing the gentleness, healing, and grace the President brought.

▪ “The Undefeated,” Kwame Alexander (Versify; ages 8-adult): This astounding picture book is based on a poem originally penned by the author and well-matched with illustrations by Kadir Nelson. It remembers people and events of history, because to “truly know who we are as a country, we have to accept and embrace all our woes and wonders.” Illustrations and words honor those who are unforgettable, those “who survived America by any means necessary. And the ones who didn’t.”

▪ “Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice,” Debbie Levy, illustrated by Whitney Gardner (Simon and Schuster; ages 8-12): Graphic novel format accents the tones and moods of Ginsburg’s early childhood amid prejudice, the loss of her mother who loving urged independence, and how these and other events influenced her path to the Supreme Court.