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The 2022 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books

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The 10 winners of The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award are chosen each year by a rotating panel of three expert judges.

On the 2022 panel were Emily Jenkins, a prolific children’s author; Maggie Craig, a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library; and Raúl Colón, an award-winning illustrator of many acclaimed picture books (and a two-time recipient of this award).

As they’ve done since 1952, when The Times began presenting the award, the judges consider every illustrated children’s book published this year in the United States.

Inspired by the ruins of a falling-down farmhouse where 12 children once lived, Blackall imagines a family home through richly detailed cross sections that evoke the feeling of peering inside a dollhouse. By layering cutouts of her artwork against bits of wallpaper, curtains and newsprint scavenged from the ramshackle house, she assembles vivid scenes of family life and calls to mind the layers of stories embedded inside an old home. From the leaf-littered basement to the attic cluttered with boxes, this engrossing treasure trove of illustration invites readers to pore over each page and ponder the process of the book’s creation. — Maggie Craig.

A boy named Bo Willie wakes up one morning to find his “yellow dog” has fled and embarks on a desperate journey to find him in the Mississippi Delta. Duncan enriches the tale by quoting classic lyrics from soulful blues songs. Raschka creates his own visual melody with fabric paint, embroidery thread and vivid colors. His art reminds us that the blues can be sad, fun and cathartic. Sort of like real life. — Raúl Colón.

The night lunch cart arrives. Nocturnal creatures, busy and hungry, big and small, can eat a decent meal. Thanks to the mysterious night owl cook, Fox gets pie, Badger gets a sandwich and moths get eggs, sunny-side-up. Fan weaves a nighttime spell of a story about kindness and sharing; Seiferling delivers a dreamlike world in beautiful sepia tones and textures, an idyllic atmosphere of light and shadows. — Raúl Colón.

Rodari’s raucous text is basically a conversation: A grandpa tells the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” all wrong, giving the heroine a yellow hood, the wrong mission, an encounter with a giraffe and so forth. His granddaughter passionately corrects him while thoroughly enjoying each fresh deviation from the classic tale. Alemagna’s textured, inviting marker drawings provide many punch lines of their own, and the pictures become a joyful celebration of on-the-fly storytelling. — Emily Jenkins.

Deeply comforting and joyful, this bedtime story features a wiggly toddler whose patient, playful mom takes him through his nighttime routine by indulging his imagination at every step. Johnsen, whose vivid, chaotic drawings represent Bo’s inner life and home life, resists tropes and shows the way children really perceive creative play: Sometimes, you fully turn into a sea otter in the wide ocean, but other times you’re just a kid who is also a sleepy python. — Emily Jenkins.

A melancholy but ultimately hopeful fable becomes both apocalyptic and celebratory in Zhang’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations. The pictures take a lonely boy through open-air markets, ruins and deserts, from palm trees to cherry trees to an apple tree. By blurring the lines between waking and dreaming, Zhang creates a landscape full of feeling and surprise. Younger children will simply enjoy the rhythms of Barr’s text and the beauty of the images, but teachers and students in classroom contexts will find much in Zhang’s artwork to analyze and unpack — parallels and symbols, echoes and resonant details. — Emily Jenkins.

Drawn in a bouncy, kid-friendly style that recalls 1960s-era pop art, an eager rooster begins work at a hotel where his job is to wake the residents each morning. Trouble is, the hotel is full of international animal clients who don’t understand “cock-a-doodle-doo.” Rooster cries are different in German, Italian, Mandarin and Japanese! Alexander’s bold primary palette belies the complexity of her work: On nearly every page, the images show elements of story and character that her jolly but understated text does not. The panache of this indefatigable bird will brighten any morning. — Emily Jenkins.

What do dogs think about? What do they think about you? “Ugh, he writes all the time,” the French bulldog in this book complains. “I think he needs someone else.” In warm earthy tones and precise, flowing lines, Barengo brings Cali’s words to life. (The dog’s face seems both bemused and exasperated.) By the end, we learn that even a dog can change its mind. — Raúl Colón.

In this poignant, playful picture book, Marwan retraces her family’s immigration to New Mexico from Kuwait. Her ink-and-watercolor illustrations invite readers into whimsy-inflected recollections of her childhood, lending a lightness to the often heavy topics of displacement and separation. From the sun-washed blues and greens of the Kuwaiti seaside, to a doting trio of aunties all dressed in black, to bright balloons floating across the Albuquerque sky, Marwan’s dreamlike artwork grounds her tale in the wistful warmth of memory. — Maggie Craig.

A mother and child sit by a frozen stream watching beavers make tracks in the snow; a family stands together on a hillside, stargazing under a wintry night sky; two children run hand in hand as birds fly overhead. In this moving celebration of a worldview grounded in nature and community, Flett’s vibrant artwork accompanies lyrics by the Cree singer-songwriter Sainte-Marie to capture how the cycle of seasonal change reflects the ache of goodbyes and the joy of reunions. From summer flowers and grazing buffalo to the stillness of snow-covered fields, the stunning landscapes come to life through the people who inhabit them.

MIAMI

Software investors must (re)learn these 3 ideas before getting into deep tech

Last year, The Information proclaimed the software investing playbook has gone from an exclusive recipe amongst VCs to common knowledge amongst all investors. That, in addition to cheap money, has turned software investing into a low-margin finance game.

Yet, traditional VCs are still stuck with their now low-margin businesses, unable to move forward and invest in the next big thing: deep tech.

But perhaps that’s for the best. After all, unless software investors can unlearn their own playbook, they’ll continue struggling with the innovator dilemma while they slowly go extinct alongside the companies they’re so eager to fund.

In other words, the software playbook is dead, not just doomed to fail. Here are three things software investors must relearn before investing in deep tech.

The market is king. Your founder has no power here
Software investors’ founder-first mantra is simply wrong in the world of deep tech. This type of magical thinking is exactly why their software playbook is doomed to fail.

Deep tech takes decades to bear fruit, not years, and it is virtually impossible for deep tech companies to do a hard pivot. Expecting founders to overcome physical and technological constraints is downright bad investing, especially in an era where cheap money tends to evaporate.

If you’re a software investor looking to invest in deep tech, you need to understand that the market is king here. A charismatic founder cannot be relied upon to “figure it out” along the way and a company’s team is only as good as its ability to exist inside its market.

With pivots out the window, a deep tech company needs to get the market right from day one. A half-baked, superficial hypothesis about product-market fit and go-to-market strategy is child’s play in the world of deep tech.

MIAMI

At 100 years old, I’m the ‘world’s oldest practicing doctor’—5 things I never do to live a long, happy life

When I was born in 1922, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 58 years old for men, and 61 years old for women.

So as a 100-year-old practicing medical doctor and neurologist, patients often ask me for tips on how to stay healthy, happy and mentally sharp.

Good genes and a bit of luck can give you a head start, but here are some lifestyle rules I have lived by over the past century:

1. I don’t spend my days retired.
I’ve been working for more than 75 years, and was even named as the world’s oldest practicing doctor by the Guinness World Records. Sara, my wife of 65 years, also still practices psychoanalysis and psychiatry at age 89.

During the pandemic, I treated patients for five or six days a week. Then I switched to teaching medical residents for up to three days a week. (My hospital just shut down, so I’m currently doing medical legal review work while I look for another role.)

When I’m not working, I like spending time with my four children and 10 grandchildren, snowshoeing, and watching Cleveland sports.

If you’re blessed to have a career you enjoy and are still able to work, consider delaying retirement. Many people who retire and become inactive in their day-to-day routine are at an increased risk of cognitive decline.

2. I don’t let myself get out of shape.
Swimming, jogging, hiking and skiing well into my late-80s has kept me strong and healthy.

While I no longer ski and am not quite as active as I once was, I try to get in at least three miles on my treadmill at a brisk pace most days of the week. Watching Turner Classic Movies in the background helps curb some of the boredom.

Studies have found that something as simple as a 15-minute walk outside could lower your risk of premature death by almost 25%.

3. I don’t smoke.
When I was in high school in the 1930s, I told my father that I wanted to take up smoking. He said, “That’s alright with me. But why would anyone want to put anything but fresh air into his lungs when life is so short as it is?”

That immediately took the fun and excitement out of tobacco for me.

I remember attending medical meetings where doctors would, with a cigarette dangling from their mouths, tell patients to take up smoking because it would “curb your appetite and quiet your nerves.”

Today, we know that cigarette smoking leads to cancer, stroke, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, and other pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.

4. I don’t restrict myself.
Moderation allows us to live life to the fullest while also keeping us from going overboard and impacting our health in the long run.

I’ll have a martini and New York strip steak occasionally, but not every day. Sara is an excellent chef, and she’s helped me maintain a healthy and varied diet. We have salad with every meal, and enjoy greens like bok choy, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

The real secret to longevity is that there are no secrets. But we live daily and die once, so we must make the most of the time we have.

5. I don’t let my knowledge go to waste.
Having practiced neurology for over seven decades, I’ve witnessed medicine evolve from lobotomies to the latest computerized imaging techniques.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching my medical residents and students, and I learn a great deal from them as well.

I have also been participating in upcoming documentary about my life. It’s been a joy to share stories from my long career with the next generation.

Dr. Howard Tucker is a neurologist from Cleveland, Ohio and was named the ”Oldest Practicing Doctor″ by Guinness World Records. He received his law degree and passed the Ohio Bar Exam in his late 60s, and served as chief of neurology of the Atlantic fleet during the Korean War. A feature documentary about Dr. Tucker is in the works. Follow him on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

MIAMI

Jury deliberates fate of businessman accused of Miami murder-for-hire plot involving MMA fighters, gang member

MIAMI – After having to stare at gruesome photos for hours, the jury started to deliberate Wednesday afternoon on the fate of Manuel Marin, a Cuban-American businessman accused of a murder-for-hire plot targeting Camilo Salazar, a romantic rival.

Assistant State Attorney Jonathan Borst showed photos of Salazar’s bruised and partially burned body while Dr. Emma Lew, the Miami-Dade medical examiner who performed the victim’s autopsy over a decade ago, testified in court. She also stood up and held up a photo for the jury to see.

“He had two cuts across the front of his neck,” Lew said adding that Salazar, a 43-year-old father from Coconut Grove, had suffered bone fractures and burns in his genital area, and he was still alive when someone slit his throat without hesitation.

A poster-size photo on an easel facing the jury showed Salazar, as detectives found him with his hands bound on June 1, 2011, in a desolated area along Okeechobee Road, while Assistant State Attorney Justin Funck delivered his closing statement.

“Manuel Marin is the match that lit the fire. Manuel Marin started striking that match on March 15. He set that fire and let it burn. He let Camilo Salazar burn,” Funck said referring to Marin’s first call to Isaac in March 2011. “His ego, his pride, his machismo — that was the gasoline.”

Detectives identified the trio who abducted and tortured Salazar before killing him as Roberto Isaac, a Latin Kings gang member; and MMA fighters Alexis Vila Perdomo and Ariel Gandulla.

Salazar, a married interior designer, vanished on June 1, 2011, after dropping off his baby girl at his wife’s office in Coconut Grove. Detectives said his family and friends later found his car in the office’s parking lot, as they frantically searched for him.

Funck cited cell phone and SunPass records as “direct evidence” of Marin’s involvement in Salazar’s murder. He also listed Marin’s bank and property transfers before the murder as evidence that there was a premeditated plan.

Attorney Jose M. Quiñon, who defended Marin, argued there was insufficient evidence to find Marin, a former Presidente Supermarkets partner, guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder.

You are not guilty simply because you may be in some place or you may associate with someone who commits a crime,” Quiñon said.

Vila Perdomo, who was Marin’s friend because they were both Cuban and shared an interest in MMA, “is the one who decides that he is going to help his friend,” Quiñon said during his closing statement later adding, “The plan was to scare Salazar.”

Quiñon said Isaac, who is the “violent” gang member, was the one who decided to kill Salazar — without Marin’s knowledge. He also said Isaac was the one who smelled like gasoline and not Marin, who he described as a hardworking father and doting husband who had hired maids and cooks to help and even bought the house next door to give his wife a second pool.

The prosecution, Quiñon said, just didn’t have enough evidence or a reliable witness to affirm with certainty that Marin had killed Salazar.

“This killing is something that took place in a place where nobody knows who really killed Mr. Salazar,” Quiñon told the jury.

Funck disagreed and argued that Marin was the one who “decided” Salazar had to die and since the plan was to kidnap him and kill him they held Salazar at Isaac’s house until Marin arrived from his family trip to Bimini, an island in the Bahamas.

Funck said Gandulla had testified that he saw Marin and the blue Mercedes-Benz.

“Marin is waiting with the hatch-up, back of the Mercedes lined in plastic,” Funck

Before the closing statements and jury instructions, Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Miguel M. de la O asked Marin if he wanted to testify even though Quiñon, a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, had advised him not to.

With the help of a court translator, Marin told De la O that he had decided not to testify. Prosecutors also mentioned during the trial that Marin vanished a few days after the murder and surrendered to authorities in 2018 at a U.S. embassy in Spain to face charges in Miami-Dade.

In 2019, a jury found Isaac guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder, and Vila Perdomo guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder. A judge sentenced Isaac to life in prison and Vila Perdomo to 15 years in prison.

As part of a plea agreement, a judge sentenced Gandulla to 36 months in prison, which he served. The Florida Department of Corrections released him on April 11, 2022. He testified in the cases of Isaac, Vila Perdomo, and most recently Marin.

Quiñon questioned Gandulla’s honesty and motives and he asked jurors to disregard his testimony. Funck asked the jury to consider Gandulla could have chosen to remain in Canada with his family, but instead he pleaded guilty to kidnapping out of remorse.

Before deliberations started, De la O decided to dismiss a juror saying he had spent most of the trial sleeping and an alternate juror took his place. If the jury unanimously agrees to convict Marin, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.