Happy New Year!
Now that we’ve closed the book on 2014, it’s time once again for our Best of the “Best of” Lists List — an annual roundup of all the best “best books of the year″ lists we’ve come across this year.
(As usual, we have taken the liberty of loosely defining the the word “best” to mean “demonstrating good sense and exquisite taste by featuring one or more Eerdmans titles.”)
If you happened to mention an Eerdmans book or two in your own “best of 2014″ list — and you don’t see it here — please drop us a link in the comments. We’d love to read it.
Note: Our list has now been updated several times to include additional links. We’ll continue to add new lists as we discover them.

Booklist
Editor’s Choice: Books for Youth, 2014 and
Lasting Connections: 2014
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet“Bryant’s and Sweet’s talents combine to make the lowly thesaurus fascinating in this beautifully illustrated picture-book biography of Peter Mark Roget. Intricate, joyful, and arresting collage illustrations put words appropriately on center stage.”
The Boston Globe
Best Picture Books of 2014
A Pond Full of Ink
Annie M. G. Schmidt
Illustrated by Sieb Posthuma
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
The Globe 100: The best books of 2014
Kidding around: Reviewers Frida, Phoenix and Andrew Kaufman’s 5 favourite picture books of the year
A Pond Full of Ink
Annie M. G. Schmidt
Illustrated by Sieb Posthuma
Kirkus Prize
2014 Finalists: Young Readers
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
2014 Blue Ribbons
The War within These Walls
Aline Sax
Illustrated by Caryl Strzelecki
Spirituality and Practice
The 10 Best Spiritual Children’s Books of 2014
Community
The Geese March in Step
Jean-Francois DumontGratitude
Thank You, God
J. Bradley Wigger
Illustrated by JagoHeaven
Anna’s Heaven
Stian Hole
About.com
Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2014
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina)
Wilde Awards: Susie Wilde’s Best Reads of the Year
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Huff Post Books
Best Picture Books of 2014
Best Biography (Non-Artist)
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
“The dynamic duo of Bryant and Sweet (who previously collaborated on biographies of Horace Pippin and William Carlos Williams) artfully capture the magnitude of Roget’s achievement and blows the dust off that often overlooked reference book sitting on your shelf.”
New York Public Library
100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

A Pond Full of Ink
Annie M. G. Schmidt
Illustrated by Sieb PosthumaMikis and the Donkey
Bibi Dumon Tak
Illustrated by Philip Hopman
Crazy
Linda Vigen Phillips
100 Scope Notes
Top 20 Books of 2014
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet“This beautifully illustrated story of Roget’s life is a great example of how an unusual interest can lead to something much more.”
A Fuse #8 Production
100 Magnificent Children’s Books 2014
A Pond Full of Ink
Annie M. G. Schmidt
Illustrated by Sieb Posthuma
Nerdy Book Club
2014 Nerdy Awards for Non Fiction Picture Books
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
100 Scope Notes
Children’s Literature 2014: The Year in Miscellanea
Endpapers of the Year
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet“On the back endpapers of The Right Word, Sweet embraced her inner Roget and wrote out a thousand-word list by hand. That’s dedication.”
Have we missed a “best of 2014″ list — perhaps yours? — that features one or more Eerdmans books? Please leave us a link in the comments!
Just wondering about Christian Century’s selection of From Times Square to Timbuktu as one of the best in “world Christianity”.
A unfortunate oversight on our part. We’ll be updating the post to include it shortly. Thanks for bringing it to our attention — and congrats again on the well-earned accolade!
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging and commented:
Excellent reading!
I love this great new blog. Kudos to you Ahna and Katherine! Wondering if NYPL Best Books for Teens counts! (Crazy) Thanks!
Thanks, Linda! It’s been a big team effort; I’m just dazzled by all of my awesome coworkers and colleagues! And you’re absolutely right — that accolade should be (and now is) included. Thanks for commenting, and congrats again!