Reviews+

Should teachers and librarians back away from SEL to avoid the political heat? Parents broadly support schools teaching SEL-related skills, or “life skills,” to use the more politically neutral term. And publishers continue to see the ever-increasing value of SEL themes and to prioritize them in their publishing programs.

The titles by Jack Wong, Angeline Boulley, and Jarrett J. Krosoczka earned the annual award in the picture book, fiction and poetry, and nonfiction categories, respectively.

Teen readers looking to the adult shelves will find much to enjoy in these recent releases that include fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels.