Booklists

Add all of these essential and exceptional titles reviewed in our September 2020 issue, including new works by Cynthia Kadohata, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Sy Montgomery.

Read-alouds are usually the domain of picture books, but teens also enjoy being read to, and audiobooks are popular among all ages. Here are some read-aloud videos of YA titles—classic, new, and upcoming books—from publishers, authors, and librarians.

The year 2020 marks a century since women gained voting rights in the United States. While all of the books in this list tackle voting rights, they do so in myriad ways, from biographies of radical individuals like Frederick Douglass to novels about young activists to works of nonfiction that shed light on lesser-known narratives, such as the racism of the suffragists.

#Fakenews is a growing epidemic. In an interview recorded for this year’s SLJTeen Live!, Peter Adams, the News Literacy Project’s senior vice president of education, said, “The belief that all information is somehow tactical—is out to manipulate us in some way, has an ulterior motive, is against us—is something we’re all vulnerable to.”  

This booklist for upper-elementary, middle, and high school students offers the tools to develop a critical eye and thoughtfully evaluate news sources.

When the world feels heavy, when the days are full of restless energy, it feels great to sink into a book that can elicit some laughs. These teen titles explore complex topics with humor.

The need for engaging books for the very youngest children has seldom been higher. From small-format, wordless books to those filled with fascinating details, recent board books allow children to investigate the world around them without leaving familiar surroundings.

Longtime favorite authors dominated the lists of checkouts in the first half of June, according to Follett's Students' Choice data.

A PBS documentary, a picture book about his boyhood aspirations to become a preacher, and his own graphic memoir trilogy invite young readers into the life and battles of the late, beloved John Lewis.

The United States Census reported that the Hispanic population accounted for almost 20 percent of the U.S. population in 2020. However, only five percent of children’s books feature Latinx characters or subjects. Thankfully, more picture book biographies are being published about groundbreaking Latinx luminaries every year. These are some must-add choices for your collections.