Related
ALL RELATED COVERAGE
The second-generation Cuban American author talks to SLJ about her sophomore YA novel, path to publication, and advice to aspiring teen writers.
This cadre is made up of Latinx women and non-binary creators with debut and sophomore fictional books for children and teens releasing between Fall 2018–2019.
SLJ reviews and interviews for the 10 longlist titles for the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
This is the latest in our series of quarterly seasonal roundups, this time showcasing new picture books for Halloween, Deepawali, Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Cherokee National Holiday, and Thanksgiving.
Marsh, author of the newly released Nowhere Boy, describes her experiences as an immigrant abroad and how children's literature can break down the proverbial walls
Betsy Bird looks at some of the best fictional picture books with photographic illustrations.
The YA author talks about the inspiration for her latest and what she hopes readers will take from her haunting story.
With Halloween around the corner, consider highlighting these spine-tingling and suspenseful reads from Lauren Oliver, Nova Ren Suma, Courtney Summers, and more.
Courtney Summers discusses how her latest YA subverts the “woman in danger” trope and more.
These picture books address the sights, sounds, and seeming magical things that happen when night falls.
Check out these picture books that feature the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Teens who enjoy reading extended fight scenes and want immersion in an extraordinary world will enjoy Kornher-Stace’s second act. A strong choice for speculative fiction shelves.
An intense and enlightening historical fiction title that’s highly recommended for all libraries.
Three titles with music-themes perfect for booktalking, displays, and programs.
Four fiction and nonfiction titles bring Jane Austen to children of all ages and reading levels.
We check in with Sabaa Tahir, author of the “Ember Quartet” and keynote speaker at our August 15 event on all things teen.
PREMIUM
A Bevy of Board Books
The very best in recent titles for babies and toddlers, from engaging interactive stories to snuggly bedtime tales, curated by the SLJ reviews team.
Gr 4 to 8 –T’Challa is the prince of Wakanda. He grew up with his father, Black Panther. When things heat up at home, his father sends him to America for safety with his friend M’Baku.
A bilingual book on bullying opens important conversations; quirky Spindrift must solve her late parents' mysterious quest; Vrabel's newest "Dork" offering.
Gr 5-8 –It’s 1486, and orphan Lambert Simnel is eking out an existence as a kitchen scullion at Tackley’s Tavern in Oxford, England.
Gr 3-6 –Nora’s life changed forever when she lost her father and home in a fire.
Gr 4-7 –Summertime in small-town Indiana only heightens 10-year-old Caleb’s frustrations with feeling ordinary.
Gr 3-6 –The Knights of the Round Table share a secret: they spend most of their time fighting with each other for the fun of it because the kingdom has too few dragons to battle.
Gr 9 Up –Somewhere in medieval Europe, deep in a gray land by the gray sea, at the top of a craggy tower, a prince conquers a dragon and rescues a damsel.
Gr 9 Up –Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a math prodigy. Math permeates everything in his life, including helping him deal with his almost-daily panic attacks.
Gr 9 Up –This collaboration with We Need Diverse Books features 13 standalone stories from award-winning and best-selling authors including Melissa de la Cruz, Sara Farizan, Eric Gansworth, Malinda Lo, Daniel José Older, Jason Reynolds, Aminah Mae Safi, Gene Luen Yang, and Nicola Yoon.
Four devilishly good teen titles address the darker side of paranormal fiction.
Gr 5-8 –Felix Knutsson lived in four different homes before calling a van his home.
Gr 4-7 –This middle grade story, set in Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, pulls together important themes of family, identity, bilingualism, friends, and bullying.
These summer-themed picture books focus on getting outdoors, nurturing imaginations, and savoring time spent with family and friends.
The 25 books here have received glowing reviews from SLJ throughout the previous year.
25 summer-themed titles for tweens and teens for reading all year 'round.
Gr 7 Up –Most girls have to select which outfit to wear on their first day of high school. Quinn McAvoy, who has the autoimmune disorder alopecia, must decide which wig to choose.
From the SLJ blog "The Classroom Bookshelf," a lesson plan for The Night Diary written by Veera Hiranandani (Dial Books; Grades 4- 8). Includes teaching ideas, text sets, and recommended resources.
Gr 8 Up –Donovan “Turn” Turner is in a coma after being critically injured in a hit-and-run. Bee, Turn’s girlfriend, is by his side and determined to figure out what happened.
We rounded up picture books, middle grade novels, and YA titles from the past year that either center the Caribbean American experience or are written by authors of Caribbean descent.
Gr 5-8 –Amal is an inquisitive young girl living with her family in a Punjabi village in rural Pakistan.
Gr 10 Up –In her latest, which cleverly combines multiple perspectives, Peñaflor provides a psychological study in how the shallow and the profound coexist within the human psyche to foster self-deception.
Gr 8 Up –Brynn Harper had a cute girlfriend and a spot on the school newspaper, both of which she loved, but she began having troubles concentrating on either after her brother died.
Did you catch our behind-the-scenes live video chats with book creators during Book Expo? In case you missed them, we've rounded up some of our recent talks with Kwame Alexander, Eoin Colfer, Ngozi Ukazu, and more.
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge By M.T. Anderson Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin Candlewick Press $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-9822-5 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 25th In my job I read a lot of books written for kids and middle schoolers. To guide this reading I take into account a lot of professional reviews from sources […]
PREMIUM
That's MY Blanket, Baby!
Bella's special blanket has become "sparkly, muddy, painty, smelly" from their adventures together...
PREMIUM
Wolfie Paints the Town
Readers get a tour of Little Wood, "the tiniest town around," during which they meet the all-animal citizenry, including Mayor Owl and local artist Wolfie...
PREMIUM
Little Iffy Learns To Fly
Little Iffy, a young griffin, prefers to be "down" on the ground rather than "up" in the sky...
Yuyi Morales closed out School Library Journal's Day of Dialog with this keynote address.
Gr 9 Up –At eight years old, Emilia DeJesus survived a brutal attack on the playground by a teenager with special needs who lived at the group home next to her school.
Publisher’s description From the New York Times bestselling author of Rump, comes the true story behind another unlikely hero: a grumpy dwarf who gets tangled up in Snow White’s feud with the wicked queen. Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed “Grump”) has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home […]
Dummie the mummy makes a friend and starts life anew in this month's middle grade Xpress.
A quirky best friend gets her time to shine in Albertalli's latest; zombies put a lively twist on familiar historical fiction tropes; Jackson's powerful novel addresses loneliness, abuse, and the importance of female friendships; and more in this month's YA Xpress.
Gr 4-7 –It’s 1940, the beginning of the Blitz, and 13-year-old Kenneth Sparks is selected to go to Canada as part of a program to send British children to the safety of the U.K.’s overseas dominions
Publisher’s description A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling Hope Larson. Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he’s off to soccer camp for a month, and he’s been acting […]
Gr 9 Up –Sadie seems to have it all: loving parents, a supportive boyfriend, and a best friend. But she’s only going through the motions.
Gr 9 Up –“You simply couldn’t out-jerk a jerk like me.” Clara Shin, the protagonist in Goo’s latest, delivers this line with pride.
Four refreshing new additions to the world of YA sports fiction, with complex female protagonists.
Messner discusses the real-life inspiration behind Breakout and how she collaborated to craft thoughtful, authentic characters.
You can’t really peg Vera Brosgol to one type of book; she has such a variety of titles on her resume. While Anya’s Ghost has been a staple in my library’s graphic novel collection for a few years, her newest full-length graphic novel doesn’t fall into the same genre. Rather, librarians, booksellers, and teachers might […]
Gr 5-7 –Thirteen-year-old Gus is a white boy from Nowhere. Literally. Nowhere, AZ: population depressed, poverty-stricken, and stagnant.
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl By Stacy McAnulty Random House Books for Young Readers $16.99 ISBN: 9781524767570 Ages 9-12 On shelves now The world would have us believe that the left brained and right brained amongst us can never see eye-to-eye. Think about it. How many times have you heard a perfectly intelligent person say […]
Not all kids see the police as community stewards, but picture books do.
Gr 9 Up –In the wake of her younger sister Alex coming into her powers as an Encantrix, everything Lula thought she knew about herself and magic seems less certain.
With My Hands: Poems About Making Things Written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater Illustrated by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson Published in 2018 by Clarion Books ISBN 978-0-544-31340-8 Grades PreK – 3 Book Review “I am making / something new / with my hands/ my head / my heart. That’s what makers do.” The act of […]
PREMIUM
Great Books: Things That Go!
Peruse these recently published selections to rev up your picture book shelves, create an attention-grabbing display, or put together a fun-packed storytime.
Gr 9 Up –What is the appropriate response to the death of a grandparent? What about when the grandparent was your best friend?
Looking for titles to highlight in May for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? These 20 works, from recent award winners to debut middle grade outings, cover a diverse array of genres, time periods, and formats.
A spy novel set during the Holocaust, a feminist Peter Pan, and more Alexander Hamilton.
From furry creatures to quirky tales, these works for the youngest of readers will delight and charm.
A mix of genre fiction and stirring realistic tales for middle grade readers.
Gr 9 Up –Fifteen-year-old Alice does not communicate the way most girls her age do. Because of a physically and emotionally traumatic injury, she must find alternative ways to express herself.
Gr 7 Up –Exotic animals have been released by the owner of a local zoo, moments before he shoots himself dead in the small town of Makersville, IN. This is probably the last thing that teenager Ronney needs in his neighborhood.
Grace for Gus Written and illustrated by Harry Bliss Published by Katherine Tegen Books, 2018 Book Review At Midtown Elementary School in New York City, Grace’s class is raising money for the Gus Buddy Fund. Gus, the class guinea pig, spends most of his day in a cage and needs a friend. Spending much […]
Gr 9 Up –A glimpse into the lives of teens who are dealing with issues surrounding academic excellence and parental pressure.
Gr 9 Up –Jude Duarte, her twin sister Taryn, and her half-fey, half-human sister Vivienne are taken to be raised in Faerieland by Vivienne’s father, Madoc, after he kills their parents.
Today in our YA A to Z series, new librarian Amanda Perez joins us to talk about Historical Fiction in YA Lit. Historical Fiction authors go through a great deal of research in order to present their readers with an accurate window into history. The final product presented to teen readers is often a masterful […]
The Parker Inheritance By Varian Johnson Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-94617-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. The other day I was asked to come up with ten children’s book equivalents to Claudia Rankine’s book Citizen (which, should anybody ask you, is not for kids). To do this, I wanted […]
Gr 9 Up –When the first Being crashed to Earth in December, it was brushed off as a hoax.
Gr 9 Up –It’s nearly the end of summer before senior year, and introspective David Bowie fan Noah Oakman feels stuck.
Gr 10 Up–Olga was always the good girl. She stayed home after high school, got a job as a receptionist, took classes at the local college, and always helped her family—until she died in a car crash.
Gr 4-6 –Lou Bulosan-Nelson’s dream is to build a tiny house—a structure of only 100 square feet—on a plot of land that she inherited from her deceased father, who passed away before she was born.
A House That Once Was By Julie Fogliano Illustrated by Lane Smith Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $18.99 ISBN: 978-1-62672-314-6 Ages 4-7 On shelves May 1st When I was growing up there was an empty house across the street. A melancholy, haunted structure that seemed to wear its sadness like a badge. No […]
Gr 4-7 –Byx has always thought of herself as last: last-born sibling, the youngest in her whole family, and least adept at all the skills valued by the caninelike “dairnes.”
Titles to introduce environmental themes, nurture an appreciation of nature, and launch creative projects.
A Place to Start a Family: Poems About Creatures That Build Written by David L. Harrison and Illustrated by Giles Laroche Published by Charlesbridge in 2018 ISBN 978-1-58089-748-8 Grades PK-6 Book Review Underground, on land, on water, and in the air: animals build shelter for themselves and their offspring. In their latest collaboration author David […]
Gr 9 Up –The tale of a teen struggling to define her own boundaries.
Gr 9 Up –Arthur Louis Pullman wrote one novel that became a classic. He never wrote again and shied away from the limelight.
Gr 9 Up –Galvanized by real-life accounts of black girls whose disappearances went unnoticed, the author depicts a young African American teen unwilling to let her best friend fall through the cracks.
Gr 3-6 –Five years ago, Livy left her friend Bob, who she describes as a zombielike creature, in the closet of her grandmother’s house in Australia without saying goodbye.
Gr 9 Up –Carson is a senior in high school. He loves his Chevelle, his imperfect family, and music.
A young baseball player loses his lucky charm but gains an important lesson; Smibert's magical middle grade exploration of WW II–era Appalachia.
An emotional love story centers a protagonist with an uncommon allergy; the Carnival Fantastic traps a teenager in a curse; Mulan takes an action-packed trip to the underworld.
Publisher’s Book Description: When Leo, an Italian championship swimmer, and Naomi, a science genius from California, are two of the twenty-four teens drafted into the International Space Training Camp, their lives are forever altered. After erratic climate change has made Earth a dangerous place to live, the fate of the population rests on the shoulders […]
Gr 10 Up –This exquisitely well-balanced novel-in-verse is painful to read yet almost impossible to put down.
Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery Written by Sandra Neil Wallace and Illustrated by Bryan Collier Published in 2018 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers ISBN 978-1-4814-4387-6 Grades K-5 Book Review “Ernest looked around his neighborhood. It no longer appeared ordinary. In the movement […]
Gr 4-6 –This touching verse novel begins with Jett headed to the East Coast to stay with his grandmother for the summer.
Gr 8 Up –Fifteen well-known young adult authors retell myths and legends from a variety of Asian countries and regions.
articles