Reviews+

"But though I’ve been deeply indoctrinated by the white imagination, I don’t invest in it." Junauda Petrus, author of the Coretta Scott King Honor Book The Stars and the Blackness Between Them (Dutton; Gr 8 Up), discusses the power of speculative fiction, removing racist statues, and navigating whiteness.

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.

Debut novelists Kiku Hughes, Jordan Ifueko, Syed M. Masood, and Christina Hammonds Reed talk about constructing their books with food, folklore, and family stories.

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

Sophia Thakur, a performance poet and author of Somebody Give This Heart a Pen (Candlewick; Gr 9 Up), discusses the power of poetry, her artistic journey, and the five #OwnVoices works that have inspired her. 

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.

In quarantine, read-alouds remain a powerful way to engage young readers and support their long-term reading growth.

Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O'Connell, and Raina Telgemeier earned multiple awards at the annual comic industry awards. 

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.