This is not an exhaustive list, just some notes on picture books I loved and others that didn't do it for me. I'm considering turning this into a regularly updated blog. If you'd be interested, let me know!

Yes	No
Detective LaRue, by Mark Teague: Only the title canine understands the true story behind his neighbor's mischievous "stolen" (read: runaway) cats and the town's mysterious canary thefts, and as the story unfolds through his letters to his vacationing owner and newspaper articles, Ike LaRue proves himself to be a great detective. I loved the dog's determination and spunk and the evil cats that only Ike could see through, along with the playful illustrations.	Walter the Farting Dog, by William Kotzwinkle: In this formulaic story, Walter's unbearable, unstoppable farts eventually save the day. The plot left me bored and the illustrations were an off-putting mix of computer art and collage, with none of the characters or settings attractive.
Beegu, by Alexis Deacon: The cutest alien ever, a short, glowing yellow critter with several long ears, gets lost on Earth, and tries to make friends with rabbits, leaves, puppies, and children (where she at last has success, until being turned out by an adult), until she finds her parents. This is a wonderfully sweet story without being saccharine, and the words are sparse and just right.	When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry..., by Molly Bang: I like how when Sophie gets angry, she runs and runs, and cries, and climbs a tree, and feels better, and comes home. But the childish, strangely proportioned, clashingly colored artwork did nothing for me; the cover image is the only one that drew me in.
Zen Shorts, by Jon J. Muth: My favorite detail of this book is probably the "slight panda accent" with which a talking giant panda tells zen stories to three children. The illustrations are joyful and also peaceful, and the stories are intriguing rather than didactic, asking more questions than they answer.	Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems: While I loved Willem's pigeon (the one you're not supposed to let drive the bus), worldless, gap-toothed Trixie did not draw me in, and the story was too slight and mundane to interest me. You may have to be a toddler or the parent of one to appreciate this story (which is the picture book market, I understand, but still.)
The Red Book, by Barbara Lehman: In this surreal, beautifully illustrated book without words, children on opposite sides of the earth connect with each other through a red book each finds on the ground.	Little Pea, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal: With such a slight plot, this is really a one-joke book, but the artwork is adorable and I can't wait to see what first-time illustrator Jen Corace does next.
Some other picture books without words I've enjoyed: Zoom, by Istvan Banyai (each turn of the page is a shock, as nothing is as it appears); Full Moon Soup, by Alistair Graham (strange happenings unfold on each new page in a cutaway view of a hotel, with dozens of changing details to find and follow); Sector 7, by David Weisner (a quiet, breathtaking story of a child who gets whisked away to discover the place where clouds are designed and produced, and inserts more original designs into the machinery to help out the bored clouds); Yellow Umbrella, by Jae Soo Liu (an overhead view shows children meeting and traveling to school through rainy-day streets, the children's colorful round umbrellas contrasting with the soft, gray world).	Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy?, by Jason Alexander: In this ego-trip of a story, Jason Alexander says: Here's this really clever story I made up to answer my kid's question about the tooth fairy, in which I promised to answer truthfully yet implied that fairies are just as real as dinosaurs, and then knocked off the famous "yes, Virginia" letter with a line like "the tooth fairy is real as long as you believe in her." Includes fairies illustrated with no ethereal qualities whatsoever.

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