2013 - Jon Klassen. This Is Not My Hat
2012 - Chris Raschka, illustrated by Erin E. Stead. A Ball for Daisy
2011 - Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead. A Sick Day for Amos McGee
2010 - Jerry Pinkney. The Lion and the Mouse
2009 - Susan Marie Swenson, illustrated by Beth Krommes. The House in the Night
2008 - Brian Selznick. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
2007 - David Wiesner. Flotsam
2006 - Norton Juster. The Hello, Goodbye Window
2005 - Kevin Henkes. Kittens's First Full Moon
2004 - Gerstein, Mordicai. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
2003 - Rohmann, Eric. My Friend Rabbit
2002 - Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs
2001 - Small, David. So You Want to Be President (Text: Judith St. George)
2000 - Simms Taback. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
1999 - Mary Azarian. Snowflake Bentley (Text: Jacqueline Briggs Martin)
1998 - Paul O. Zelinsky. Rapunzel
1997 - David Wisniewski. Golem
1996 - Peggy Rathmann. Officer Buckle and Gloria
1995 - David Diaz. Smoky Night (Text: Eve Bunting)
1994 - Allen Say. Grandfather's Journey
1993 - Emily Arnold McCully. Mirette on the High Wire
1992 - David Wiesner. Tuesday
1991 - David Macaulay. Black and White
1990 - Ed Young. Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
1989 - Stephen Gammell. Song and Dance Man (Text: Karen Ackerman)
1988 - John Schoenherr. Owl Moon (Text: Jane Yolen)
1987 - Richard Egielski. Hey, Al (Text: Arthur Yorinks)
1986 - Chris Van Allsburg. The Polar Express
1985 - Trina Schart Hyman. Saint George and the Dragon (Text: Margaret Hodges)
1984 - Alice and Martin Provensen. The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Blériot
1983 - Marcia Brown. Shadow (Text: Blaise Cendrars)
1982 - Chris Van Allsburg. Jumanji
1981 - Arnold Lobel. Fables
1980 - Barbara Cooney. Ox-Cart Man (Text: Donald Hall)
1979 - Paul Goble. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
1978 - Peter Spier. Noah's Ark (Text: Jacob Revius)
1977 - Leo and Diane Dillon. Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (Text: Margaret Musgrove)
1976 - Leo and Diane Dillon. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale (Text: Verna Aardema)
1975 - Gerald McDermott. Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale
1974 - Margot Zemach. Duffy and the Devil (Text: Harve Zemach)
1973 - Blair Lent. The Funny Little Woman (Text: Arlene Mosel)
1972 - Nonny Hogrogian. One Fine Day
1971 - Gail E. Haley. A Story--A Story
1970 - William Steig. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
1969 - Uri Shulevitz. The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (Text: Arthur Ransome)
1968 - Ed Emberley. Drummer Hoff (Text: Barbara Emberley)
1967 - Evaline Ness. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine
1966 - Nonny Hogrogian. Always Room for One More (Text: Sorche Nic Leodhas)
1965 - Beni Montresor. May I Bring a Friend? (Text: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers)
1964 - Maurice Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are
1963 - Ezra Jack Keats. The Snowy Day
1962 - Marcia Brown. Once a Mouse
1961 - Nicolas Sidjakov. Baboushka and the Three Kings (Text: Ruth Robbins)
1960 - Marie Hall Ets. Nine Days to Christmas (Text: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida)
1959 - Barbara Cooney. Chanticleer and the Fox (Text: adapted from Geoffrey Chaucer)
1958 - Robert McCloskey. Time of Wonder
1957 - Marc Simont. A Tree is Nice (Text: Janice May Udry)
1956 - Feodor Rojankovsky. Frog Went A-Courtin' (Text: John Langstaff)
1955 - Marcia Brown. Cinderella, or, The Little Glass Slipper (Text: Charles Perrault)
1954 - Ludwig Bemelmans. Madeline's Rescue
1953 - Lynd K. Ward. The Biggest Bear
1952 - Nicolas Mordvinoff. Finders Keepers (Text: Will Lipkind)
1951 - Katherine Milhous. The Egg Tree
1950 - Leo Politi. Song of the Swallows
1949 - Berta and Elmer Hader. The Big Snow
1948 - Roger Duvoisin. White Snow, Bright Snow (Text: Alvin Tresselt)
1947 - Leonard Weisgard. The Little Island (Text: Golden MacDonald [Margaret Wise Brown])
1946 - Maud and Miska Petersham. The Rooster Crows
1945 - Elizabeth Orton Jones. Prayer for a Child (Text: Rachel Field)
1944 - Louis Slobodkin. Many Moons (Text: James Thurber)
1943 - Virginia Lee Burton. The Little House
1942 - Robert McClosky. Make Way for Ducklings
1941 - Robert Lawson. They Were Strong and Good
1940 - Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire. Abraham Lincoln
1939 - Thomas Handforth. Mei Li
1938 - Dorothy P. Lathrop. Animals of the Bible