Wilde Awards go to picture books

\ Picture books are the present you can open again and again; they provide bright moments on dark days. Coming next month: the Wilde team's awards for longer books.

Best Concept Books

"Machines Go To Work," William Low (Holt, 3-5)

Foldout pages, bold impressionistic illustrations of six machines and lots of noise to encourage the passion of vehicle-lovers.

"Birds," Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 3-6)

Numbers, colors, shapes and sizes weave themselves into a lyrical look at birds.

Best Young Read-Alouds

"We're All in the Same Boat," Zachary Shapiro and Jack Davis (Putnam, 4-6)

Noah's animals are restless and ugly until they cooperate. Word play and humor unite with a rhythm that rocks like the Ark.

"Epossumondas Plays Possum," Coleen Salley and Janet Stevens (HMH, 4-8)

Southern voice, repetitions, noises and suspense fill the story of a possum led by curiosity into the swamp of the loup-garou.

"Duck! Rabbit!" Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld (Chronicle, 4-6)

Open the gates of wonder and introduce optical illusion as two narrators view clouds differently.

Best Books for Life's Bumps

"The Odd Egg," Emily Gravett (Simon and Schuster, 3-6)

Duck is determined to hatch the enormous spotted egg he found, despite teasing from others.

"Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed," Mo Willems (Hyperion, 5-7)

Wilbur, the naked mole rat, is a fashionista who bucks the buck-naked status quo by asking "why?" Simple line drawings bring complex issues to light.

Best Pop-up Books

"Big Frog Can't Fit In," Mo Willems (Hyperion, 3-7)

Only Mo Willems would come up with such a fitting premise for a pop-up - an overlarge frog who can't be contained by book pages.

"The Little Prince: Pop-up," Antoine de Saint-Exupery (HMH, 10 and older)

These paper constructions are as thoughtful as the original, unabridged text.

Funniest Picture Books

"Guess Again!" Mac Barnett and Adam Rex (Simon and Schuster, 4 and older)

Pictures and rhyming lead you to believe you know what will be revealed, but you'll guess again.

"Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue," Jon Agee (Hyperion, 6 and older) Words and laughter unite in 30 poems that will beg for a re-read if you can stop your giggle fits and untangle your tongue.

Best (Near) Wordless Book

"The Lion and the Mouse," Jerry Pinkney (Little Brown, 4-6)

Golden tones predominate as large illustrations stretch across pages to describe jungle panoramas and size differences. Only animal noises serve as text in Aesop's tale of a tiny mouse who rescues an immense lion.

Younger Nonfiction

"Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar!" Bob Barner (Chronicle, 4-7)

Young dinosaur lovers (and their parents) learn an amazing fact - butterfly ancestors once flitted by T-Rex! Colors and text are alive as the species who outlasted dinosaurs.

"Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and the Three Cups of Tea," Greg Mortenson and Susan Roth (Dial, 6-10)

The story that wowed adults comes to children as the author tells of his connection with Pakistani villagers. Roth's collages are bright and textural.

"Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life," Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm (Blue Sky Press, 5-9)

Vibrant illustrations illuminate children's understanding of photosynthesis, as does text that's a conversational chat with the sun.

"Redwoods," Jason Chin (Roaring Brook, 6-9)

A straightforward text description of redwoods has illustrations that show a young boy's subway ride through time and space.

Best Older Nonfiction

"The Anne Frank Case: Simon Wiesenthal's Search for Truth," Susan Goldman Rubin and Bill Farnsworth (Holiday House, 10 and older)

The powerful biographies of Wiesenthal and Frank described in the context of his quest to prove her existence.

"The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust," Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaix (Holiday House, 10 and older)

Illustrations stress the beauty of architecture, text accents the stories of men and women who worked together to protect Parisian innocents.

Best Retellings

"Chicken Little," Rebecca and Ed Emberley (Roaring Brook, 3-6)

Bright, bold collages retell the silly story of a foolish chicken who's hit on the head with an acorn and stirs up his poultry friends to flee.

"Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales," Lucy Cousins (Candlewick, 3-6)

Big illustrations, simple text and a careful selection of favorite tales.

Best Biographies:

"Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal," Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie (Carolrhoda, 7-10)

This African-American lawman, too long left out of the history books, comes alive again with compelling writing and fascinating stories.

"The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak," Tomek Bogacki (FSG, 9 and older)

The biography of a man who devoted his life to children, even comforting young Jewish orphans as they went from the Warsaw Ghetto to trains headed to Treblinka.

"Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson," Sharon Robinson and Kadir Nelson (Scholastic, 8-10)

Personal and professional risk-taking unite in story that describes the emotions, era, man and his tender relationships.

Best Older Read-Aloud

"14 Cows for America," Carmen Agra Deedy (Peachtree, 8 and older)

Powerful true story of the Masaai's response to 9/11.

"January's Sparrow," Patricia Polacco (Philomel, 8 and older)

This long picture story book is based on the true events of a fugitive slave family searching for a home. A happy ending, but some horrific events.