Editor’s Pick: New Children’s Picture Books

In many ways, all good children’s literature is a reduction, not in the minimizing sense of the term (although it often does have fewer words than adult literature) but in the sense of cooking off the extra liquid to get down to the strong, flavorful part. As we grow, we want and need deep, nuanced explorations of careful thought, but there’s still something bracing about reading the words of authors who have already wrestled these thoughts down into small packages. Picture books can be like those hidden microchips in old spy movies that appear as simple items—pens, shoes, or shirt...