56 Must-Have Works by Sergio Ruzzier, Dhonielle Clayton, and More | Starred Reviews, July 2021

SLJ's top July titles include the blockbuster Blackout by six uber-talented YA authors, Cynthia Leitich's reworking of Peter Pan, a slew of board books, and David LaRochelle's latest beginning reader.

I Is for Immigrants (Alko) ©2021 by Selina Alko

Picture Books

Alko, Selina. I Is for Immigrants. Holt/Christy Ottaviano. 

Allen, Jimmie. My Voice Is a Trumpet. illus. by Cathy Ann Johnson. Flamingo.

Allenby, Victoria. Listen Up! Train Song. Pajama Pr.

Baker-Smith, Grahame. Wild Is the Wind. Candlewick/Templar.

Bigwood, Kira. Secret, Secret Agent Guy. illus. by Celia Krampien. Atheneum.

Brown-Wood, JaNay. Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep. illus. by Elissambura. Charlesbridge.

Clarke, Maxine Beneba. When We Say Black Lives Matter. Candlewick.

Elmquist, Laurie. City Baby. illus. by Ashley Barron. Orca.

Feagan, Alice. The Collectors. Kids Can.

Feder, Tyler. Bodies Are Cool. Dial.

Gold, Tracy C. Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby. illus. by Adèle Dafflon. Familius.

Hill, Pilar Winter. A Neighborhood Walk, A Musical Journey. illus. by Olivia Duchess. Albert Whitman.

LaRochelle, David. See the Dog: Three Stories About a Cat. illus. by Mike Wohnoutka. Candlewick.

Larsen, Reif. Uma Wimple Charts Her House. illus. by Ben Gibson. Penguin/Anne Schwartz.

Milgrim, David. See Bip Grow! S. & S./Simon Spotlight.

Myers, Matt. Dino-Gro. Random House Studio.

Patricelli, Leslie. Daddy. Candlewick.

Saks, Dan. Families Grow. illus. by Brooke Smart. Penguin Workshop/Rise.

Sigwarth, Lydia M. Dear Librarian. illus. by Romina Galotta. Farrar.

Srinivasan, Divya. What I Am. Viking.

Stone, Tiffany. Wood Could. illus. by Mike Lowery. Dial.

Syliboy, Alan. Mi’kmaw Daily Drum: Mi’kmaw ­Culture for Every Day of the Week. Nimbus.

Tougas, Chris. Poem in My Pocket. illus. by Josée Bisaillon. Kids Can.

 

Middle Grade

Bowman, Akemi Dawn. Generation Misfits. Farrar.

Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Being Clem. Holiday House.

Ewing, Eve L. Maya and the Robot. illus. by Christine Almeda. Penguin/Kokila.

Johnson, Daisy May. How To Be Brave. Holt.

Lucas, Chad. Thanks a Lot, Universe. Abrams/Amulet.

McGee, Joe. The Haunted Mustache. illus. by Teo Skaffa. S. & S./Aladdin.

Mandanna, Sangu. Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom. Viking.

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Sisters of the Neversea. Heartdrum.

 

YA

Abike-Iyimide, Faridah. Ace of Spades. Feiwel & Friends.

Arash, Jawad & Trent Reedy. Enduring Freedom. Algonquin.

Clayton, Dhonielle & others. Blackout. HarperCollins/Quill Tree

Keil, Michelle Ruiz. Summer in the City of Roses. Soho Teen..

Lim, Elizabeth. Six Crimson Cranes. Knopf.

Moore, Cath. Metal Fish, Falling Snow. Text.

 

Graphic Novels

Harper, Charise Mericle. Bad Sister. illus. by Rory Lucey. First Second.

Ruzzier, Sergio. Fish and Sun. HarperAlley. p. 54.

Steinkellner, Emma. The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow. S. & S./Aladdin.

Vandorn, Kaeti. Monster Friends. Random/Graphic.

 

Nonfiction

Finkelstein, Norman H. The Shelter and the Fence: When 982 Holocaust Refugees Found Safe Haven in America. Chicago Review.

Holub, Joan. I Am the Shark. illus. by Laurie Keller. Crown.

Ketchum, Liza & others. Begin with a Bee. illus. by Claudia McGehee. Univ. of Minnesota.

McCann, Jackie. If the World Were 100 People: A Visual Guide to Our Global Village. illus. by Aaron Cushley. Crown. 

Maraniss, Andrew. Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke. Philomel.

Marcus, Leonard S. You Can’t Say That! Writers for Young People Talk About Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell. Candlewick. 

Morris, Sandra. North and South: A Tale of Two Hemispheres. Candlewick.

Pringle, Laurence. Elephants! Strange and Wonderful. illus. by Meryl ­Henderson. Boyds Mills.

Robbins, Dean. The Fastest Girl on Earth! Meet Kitty O’Neil, Daredevil Driver! illus. by Elizabeth Baddeley. Knopf.

Viña, Rose. Alicia Alonso Dances On. illus. by Gloria Félix. Albert Whitman.

Weintraub, Aileen. We Got Game! 35 Female Athletes Who Changed the World. illus. by Sarah Green. ­Running Pr.

 

Audio

Boulley, Angeline. Firekeeper’s Daughter Macmillan Audio.

Park, Linda Sue. The One Thing You’d Save. Listening Library.

Summers, Courtney. The Project. Macmillan Audio.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Before the Ever After. ­ Listening Library.

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