Another year of reading is inching its way to an end! All around, I would say that it has been a pretty solid year of reads: from brilliant and moving picture books, to gems in young adult, children’s and adult fiction, there have been a number of winners.

In no particular order, here are my picks for best in picture books, children’s fiction, and children’s graphic novels:

Enormous Smallness: A Story of E.E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
Hoot Owl: Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien
The Specific Ocean by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Katty Maurey
Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Julie Morstad
Whimsy’s Heavy Things by Julie Kraulis
Bunnies!!! by Kevan Atteberry
Mr. Squirrel & the Moon by Sebastian Meschenmoser
A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Lenny & Lucy by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
This Is Sadie by Sara O’Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad
Bug in a Vacuum by Mélanie Watt
Night Animals by Gianna Marino
Emily’s Balloon by Komako Sakai
Some Things I’ve Lost by Cybele Young
The Cow Who Climbed a Tree by Gemma Merino
The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton
Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett
Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley
Tell Me What to Dream About by Giselle Potter
Pool by JiHyeon Lee
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
The Memory Tree by Britta Teckentrup
Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff
The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth (Book 1) by Judd Winick
We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Little Robot by Ben Hatke
The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands
Something Wiki by Suzanne Sutherland
Beyond the Laughing Sky by Michelle Cuevas, pictures by Julie Morstad
The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) by Maryrose Wood
First Class Murder (Wells & Wong Mystery #3) by Robin Stevens
Unicorn on a Roll (Heavenly Nostrils #2) by Dana Simpson

*Some titles may not have been published in 2015; the books are titles I read over the last year. Some titles may have been gifted from publishers in exchange for honest reviews; this had no impact on placing in this list.