One of the great pleasures and/or advantages to working in a bookstore is getting to see the New York Times Book Review a week early. This particular week that pleasure was doubled for me, though, as I was SO truly, TRULY pleased with the selections for the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2008!! Many of them are books I’ve been raving about for months and it’s so gratifying to see them receive this level of recognition.

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)
You regular ShelfTalker readers have already heard me state my opinions on the stunning illustrations Melissa Sweet created for this book. The more times I read this book, the more I appreciate its bright pictures, its playful sensibility, its richness of content and color.

The Black Book of Colors
illustrated by Rosana Faría, written by Menena Cottin (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press)
I’ve been book-talking this title to teachers on every possible occasion because I think it’s so original, so striking, and so wonderfully primed to prompt interesting discussions on everything from descriptive language to physical disabilities. Spot lamination has never served so useful a purpose as it does here.

A Is for Art: An Abstract Alphabet
written and illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman)
Like his book Alphabet City, this new book of Johnson’s entices readers to start noticing the "accidental" letterforms that can be found in our everyday world, if we only think to go looking for them. This book, though, does double-duty — it also introduces its audience to bold and surprising artists and art forms.

Wabi Sabi
illustrated by Ed Young, written by Mark Reibstein (Little, Brown)
The range of of Ed Young’s talents seems to be neverending. He seems to be capable of evoking all range of emotions with just the flick of a brush or the right scrap of paper. The cut and torn paper effects he achieves in this particular book are both startling and beautiful — two things I’ve come to expect from his work.

We Are the Ship
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)
For years I wondered why Kadir Nelson was getting passed over for major awards and it’s been so gratifying to see that tide turning in the past few years. Look back at his illustrations for Ellington Was Not a Street (2004) or The Village That Vanished (2002) or Big Jabe (2000). His talents were overwhelmingly evident even then — I think it took entirely too long for the book world at large to notice. Just look at how the light hits one of the beautifully modeled biceps in this book or illuminates the folds of a jersey. Now notice the emotion that flows from this man’s paintings. Nothing short of remarkable.

Ghosts in the House!
written and illustrated by Kasuno Kohara (Roaring Brook)
Fresh and fun, the illustrations in this book are perfectly suited to an audience of preschoolers. You wouldn’t think a black, orange, and white palette would work this well, but such visual simplicity allows these ghosts to float right off the page — in only the friendliest of fashions.

Wave
written and illustrated by Suzy Lee (Chronicle)
I adore this picture book and think it’s one of the best wordless ones I’ve seen. Playful, joyful, surprising and fun — it captures all the cheekiness and joy of a small child coming face to face with the incoming tide. The only flaw I see in this book is is a design one — FAR too much of the art is lost in the book’s gutter! (Bad, bad, bad!!)

The Little Yellow Leaf
written and illustrated by Carin Berger (Greenwillow)
From the time I first received the f&g for this book (sometime last spring) I’ve been carting around my copy, toying with the idea of framing any one of its pages, wishing I could own one of Berger’s original pieces of art, which on these pages forms the best possible example of "elegant simplicity." Clean, crisp, and bold — the pictures on this book feel very much like autumn does.

Pale Male
illustrated by Meilo So, written by Janet Schulman (Knopf)
Bless Meilo So. I was so surprised to see that she’d never won this award before, as her watercolors are always so bright and light and airy — making them the perfect style with which to capture a bird’s soaring flight over a busy city. Her splashes of color against an urban gray showcase the city’s startling touches of beauty.

Skim
illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki (Groundwood Books/House of Anansi)
When my rep first showed me a sample page from this book, months ago, I immediately fired off an e-mail to Gareth with a link to Jillian Tamaki’s website, knowing the artist in him would be just as awed by her brushwork as I am. Art-wise this book is easily one of the most beautiful graphic novels I’ve seen.

And with those short observations, I tip my hat to the panel of judges for this year’s NYT Best Illustrated Awards AND to the illustrators of these fine, fine books, which we’re all so fortunate to have on our shelves this year.