This year’s best books for children address sadness and fear while celebrating love, resilience, hope and joy. In The Big Dreaming by Michael Rosen and Daniel Egnéus (Bloomsbury), two bears are preparing for the Big Sleep, but Little Bear worries they won’t have enough dreams to last the winter. He sets out on a dangerous journey, from which he returns with stored visions of happiness, homecoming and hope. Egnéus’s light-dappled illustrations pair seamlessly with Rosen’s simple, moving text to create a picture book of sublime warmth and comfort.
