{"id":7051189,"date":"2026-08-29T20:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/the-best-picture-books-of-2023\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T20:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:07:32","slug":"the-best-picture-books-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7051189","title":{"rendered":"The Best Picture Books of 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
<\/p>\n

\n

1. The Skull<\/h2>\n

Written and Illustrated by Jon Klassen<\/h3>\n

The Skull<\/em> got a lot of very well-deserved attention this year – even sparking a widespread conversation about the current quality of children\u2019s literature, and the apparent hesitance for US publishers to take chances on weird books for kids. Let the kids get weird indeed, because The Skull<\/em> is the best picture book of the year.<\/p>\n

The Skull<\/em> defies picture book conventions so much that I even waffled on including it on this list. I even put out a poll asking if people considered it a picture book, and 100% of responses said yes. It\u2019s longer, it\u2019s broken into acts, and it even has the smaller dimensions of a chapter book. But there are pictures on every page, and it\u2019s similar in structure to Klassen\u2019s previous picture book The Rock from the Sky<\/em> in every way except the dimensions.<\/p>\n

But, let\u2019s be clear, once I decided once and for all that The Skull<\/em> has to count as a picture book, there was no doubt about it. This simply had to be the best one of the year. It\u2019s phenomenal. It\u2019s spooky. It\u2019s different. It\u2019s exciting. It\u2019s gorgeous. It\u2019s an original adventure and absolutely everything that\u2019s good about stories for kids.<\/p>\n

Otilla runs away from home (why, we don\u2019t really know), and finds a new home with a skull that lives in a castle. Now how can you not love a crazy plot like that right off the bat? But the story really gets good when the skull tells her about the headless skeleton that comes every single night<\/em> to try and take him away. It\u2019s just the right amount of scary.<\/p>\n

And in the end it\u2019s a story about friendship and standing up for the ones you love. And I personally think it might be about Otilla reaching her breaking point (a nod to why she ran away from home?) and snapping, and standing up not just for her friends but for herself, and saying you will not treat us this way. But perhaps that\u2019s neither here nor there. Because at the end of the day it\u2019s just a spectacularly entertaining, fun, and memorable book.<\/p>\n

For more about The Skull<\/em>, make sure to read our featured article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n