Florence Simmons

These 27 picks for teens offer so much for young people pushing to define themselves--first love, fantastical worlds, betrayal, political upheaval, and more.

These six selections can boast powerful verse, calls for action, and moving imagery—and poems about animals that sip, slurp, and suck, too.

The awkward question will likely come up from a little one sooner or later. Might as well be prepared. These 6 titles explain the topic from sexual intercourse to childbirth in a way that is easy for young minds to understand.

And We Rise, Martin's evocative book-in-verse addressing the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, began as a series of poems about the Jim Crow era.
 

These 10 titles can help young children process their emotions as they go through some thrilling firsts associated with the summer holiday, whether it's flying in an airplane or jumping off a diving board.

Going through a divorce can be difficult for everyone involved. For young children, who may not fully understand why it is happening and may even feel partly responsible, it can be a particularly overwhelming time. To help little ones comprehend the situation and process their feelings, the following titles may be helpful.

Alice Faye Duncan, author of a picture book biography about the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" Opal Lee, talks about Lee’s sunshine and love, what Juneteenth means to her, and helping children become critical thinkers.

Malinda Lo’s National Book Award-winning Last Night at the Telegraph Club, the blockbuster Blackout, and Angie Thomas’s latest are just some of the 25 YA titles that made our Best Books of 2021. 

A whopping 35 books were selected for this year’s Best Nonfiction list---our longest yet. From STEM works to eye-opening historical accounts, these titles will fill all of your curricular needs.