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Part of We Are Kid Lit Collective's 2023 Summer Reading selections, this list features early chapter books, graphic novels, and other transitional books for emerging readers.

ABCs. 123s. The first year of school has come to an end, and it’s graduation time. These seven titles are the perfect picks for celebrating this monumental milestone.

SLJ and NCTE have revealed the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections. The following seven works will deepen young readers’ understanding of the historical context of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 and inspire them to connect its social justice themes to present-day issues. 

SLJ and NCTE have revealed the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections. Use these multimodal recommendations to contextualize and extend the messaging of Virginia Hamilton's acclaimed Black folklore collection The People Could Fly.

Linda Sue Park's Newbery Award–winning middle grade novel A Single Shard tells the story of Tree-ear, an orphan in 12th-century Korea. The boy's heart and courage resonate with readers, and these multimodal picks are great way to expand on the novel's themes and world.

SLJ reviews the latest addition to the Gale suite of databases, this one aimed toward educators. 

It's just not summer if teenagers aren't pocketing S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, with its iconic gang members, dusty American landscape, and exquisitely crafted life lessons; this year, SLJ and NCTE reveal the 2023 round of “Refreshing the Canon” selections, where multimedia suggestions enrich The Outsiders and so much more.

Black Boy, published in 1945, is Richard Wright's memoir about growing up in the South during the Jim Crow era. Pair it with these books, movies, and art pieces to translate Wright's experience to modern day.

SLJ asked librarians and educators to weigh in on which classics should remain on summer reading lists. Inspired by the most popular titles that emerged, SLJ editors and members of NCTE’s Build Your Stack® Committee have curated this year’s round of “Refreshing the Canon” suggestions.