· 2011: A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead (Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)
· 2010: The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown and Company)
· 2009: The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson (Houghton Mifflin Company)
· 2008: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic)
· 2007: Flotsam by David Wiesner (Clarion)
· 2006: The Hello, Goodbye Window Illustrated by Chris Raschka, written by Norton Juster (Michael di Capua/Hyperion)
· 2005: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollinsPublishers)
· 2004: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook Press/Millbrook Press)
· 2003: My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook Press/Millbrook Press)
· 2002: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin)
· 2001: So You Want to Be President? Illustrated by David Small; text by Judith St. George (Philomel Books)
· 2000: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (Viking)
· 1999: Snowflake Bentley, Illustrated by Mary Azarian ; text by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Houghton)
· 1998: Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky (Dutton)
· 1997: Golem by David Wisniewski (Clarion)
· 1996: Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (Putnam)
· 1995: Smoky Night , illustrated by David Diaz; text: Eve Bunting (Harcourt)
· 1994: Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say; text: edited by Walter Lorraine (Houghton)
· 1993: Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully (Putnam)
· 1992: Tuesday by David Wiesner (Clarion Books)
· 1991: Black and White by David Macaulay (Houghton)
· 1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young (Philomel)
· 1989: Song and Dance Man , illustrated by Stephen Gammell; text: Karen Ackerman (Knopf)
· 1988: Owl Moon , illustrated by John Schoenherr; text: Jane Yolen (Philomel)
· 1987: Hey, Al , illustrated by Richard Egielski; text: Arthur Yorinks (Farrar)
· 1986: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton)
· 1985: Saint George and the Dragon , illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman; text: retold by Margaret Hodges (Little, Brown)
· 1984: The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice & Martin Provensen (Viking)
· 1983: Shadow , translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown; original text in French: Blaise Cendrars (Scribner)
· 1982: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton)
· 1981: Fables by Arnold Lobel (Harper)
· 1980: Ox-Cart Man , illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: Donald Hall (Viking)
· 1979: The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble (Bradbury)
· 1978: Noah's Ark by Peter Spier (Doubleday)
· 1977: Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions , illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: Margaret Musgrove (Dial)
· 1976: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears , illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon; text: retold by Verna Aardema (Dial)
· 1975: Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott (Viking)
· 1974: Duffy and the Devil , illustrated by Margot Zemach; retold by Harve Zemach (Farrar)
· 1973: The Funny Little Woman , illustrated by Blair Lent; text: retold by Arlene Mosel (Dutton)
· 1972: One Fine Day , retold and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian (Macmillan)
· 1971: A Story A Story , retold and illustrated by Gail E. Haley (Atheneum)
· 1970: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig (Windmill Books)
· 1969: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship , illustrated by Uri Shulevitz; text: retold by Arthur Ransome (Farrar)
· 1968: Drummer Hoff , illustrated by Ed Emberley; text: adapted by Barbara Emberley (Prentice-Hall)
· 1967: Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt)
· 1966: Always Room for One More , illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian; text: Sorche Nic Leodhas, pseud. [Leclair Alger] (Holt)
· 1965: May I Bring a Friend? illustrated by Beni Montresor; text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (Atheneum)
· 1964: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Harper)
· 1963: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking)
· 1962: Once a Mouse , retold and illustrated by Marcia Brown (Scribner)
· 1961: Baboushka and the Three Kings , illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov; text: Ruth Robbins (Parnassus)
· 1960: Nine Days to Christmas , illustrated by Marie Hall Ets; text: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida (Viking)
· 1959: Chanticleer and the Fox , illustrated by Barbara Cooney; text: adapted from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cooney (Crowell)
· 1958: Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey (Viking)
· 1957: A Tree Is Nice , illustrated by Marc Simont; text: Janice Udry (Harper)
· 1956: Frog Went A-Courtin' , illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky; text: retold by John Langstaff) (Harcourt)
· 1955: Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper , illustrated by Marcia Brown; text: translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown (Scribner)
· 1954: Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
· 1953: The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward (Houghton)
· 1952: Finders Keepers , illustrated by Nicolas, pseud. (Nicholas Mordvinoff); text: Will, pseud. [William Lipkind] (Harcourt)
· 1951: The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous (Scribner)
· 1950: Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi (Scribner)
· 1949: The Big Snow by Berta & Elmer Hader (Macmillan)
· 1948: White Snow, Bright Snow , illustrated by Roger Duvoisin; text: Alvin Tresselt (Lothrop)
· 1947: The Little Island , illustrated by Leonard Weisgard; text: Golden MacDonald, pseud. [Margaret Wise Brown] (Doubleday)
· 1946: The Rooster Crows by Maud & Miska Petersham (Macmillan)
· 1945: Prayer for a Child , illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: Rachel Field (Macmillan)
· 1944: Many Moons , illustrated by Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber (Harcourt)
· 1943: The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton (Houghton)
· 1942: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (Viking)
· 1941: They Were Strong and Good , by Robert Lawson (Viking)
· 1940: Abraham Lincoln by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire (Doubleday)
· 1939: Mei Li by Thomas Handforth (Doubleday)
· 1938: Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book , illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop; text: selected by Helen Dean Fish (Lippincott)
