Favorite Picture Books of 2015

We're getting ready to wrap up 2015, and my son and I wanted to share some of our favorite pictures books that came out this year!
Imaginary Fred is a sweet book about how much imaginary friends can really mean to a child. After being forgotten and re-imagined by many children, Fred is worried he'll never find a true friend. The illustrations in the book are simple, but beautiful, true to Oliver Jeffers' style. Check out more about this book in my short review: A BOOK A MINUTE.

Red is a funny yet meaningful book about being true to yourself. Red is a blue crayon trapped in a red wrapper. Everyone treats him like he's red, yet every strawberry he draws looks like a strange blueberry. When he tries to mix with yellow to make orange, they get a very different result. My son loved this book for the colorful illustrations, and I loved the sly jokes slipped in with the colors' names.

The Day the Crayons Came Home is yet another book starring colorful crayons! This book is the follow-up to the wildly popular The Day the Crayons Quit, by the same author-illustrator duo. In the second installment, the crayons send postcards from destinations where they have been left behind. Pea Green Esteban is sure to charm readers of all ages. My son loved this book (again) for the color illustrations, I loved it because it was really witty, and the group of adults with disabilities I read it to loved guessing which color wrote what.

Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise is a book I've posted about before because I really love it. Hoot Owl is hungry for dinner, but he can't catch any food. He tries disguising himself as a carrot to catch a rabbit...will it work? This is another book I loved because the ending was so clever, it genuinely made me laugh out loud. My son seems to love the animals' big eyes and the repetitive rhyme of Hoot Owl's quest.

Edmund Unravels is a very cute story about Edmund, a ball of yarn who loves to explore. Edmund pushes his limits, going further and further and unraveling with each new exploration. The illustrations are bold and adorable, which pleased both my son and me!


Read them for yourself!
Colfer, Eoin. Imaginary Fred. Illus. Oliver Jeffers. New York: HarperCollins, 2015. Print.
Hall, Michael. Red. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2015. Print.
Daywalt, Drew. The Day the Crayons Came Home. Illus. Oliver Jeffers. New York: Philomel Books, 2015. Print.
Taylor, Sean. Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise. Illus. Jean Jullien. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2015. Print.
Kolb, Andrew. Edmund Unravels. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015. Print.