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Children's Books
Watercress by Andrea Wang is an autobiographical picture book and the winner of a Caldecott medal. While on a drive a young girl's Chinese immigrant parents spot watercress growing on the side of the road. They stop the car in order to gather as much of it as they can. This provides an opportunity for the girl to learn about her mother's family and what life was like living in China.
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom is another recent Caldecott medal recipient. This picture book is told from the perspective of a Native American child who is learning about the importance of defending Earth's natural resources.
Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba is a paranormal novel originally published in Japan and is the winner of the Batchelder Award. One night, Kazu sees a strange figure sneak out of his house. The next day at school, the same person is sitting in his class and all of his friends are convinced that the ghost/girl has been their friend for years. He also learns that his house is in the same spot as an ancient temple that could bring the dead back to life. Kazu sets out to discover what happened to the temple and unwittingly draws unwanted attention from his neighbor and the mysterious new classmate.
Telephone Tales by Gianni Rodart is another recent Batchelder Award winner. This collection of short and surreal stories told by a traveling salesman to his daughter over the phone was originally published in Italian.
Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisternos is a middle grade novel and winner of the Pura Belpre Award. The story follows Efren Nava as he cares for his siblings after their mother is deported.
See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog by David LaRochelle is a book for beginning readers and is a winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award. What happens when the book gets things wrong? This book keeps instructing readers to "see the cat." However, Max is a dog!
Stop! Bot! by James Yang is another recipient of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award. This picture book follows a little boy and a kind doorman as they run up to each floor of the building trying to catch the boy's bot.
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming is a work of nonfiction detailing the life of a typical worker bee. It is also the winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal.
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera is the winner of the John Newbery Medal. This novel follows Petra who wakes hundreds of years after Earth is destroyed to discover that she is the only person who remembers Earth.
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller is also the winner of the John Newbery Medal. Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother. While there, Lily traps a magical tiger out of her grandmother's folktales. She is offered a deal to restore her grandmother's health. Deals with tigers are never what they seem, and it is up to Lily, her sister, and her friend Ricky to face the tiger once and for all.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio is a New York Times Bestselling novel. Auggie Pullman was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to live. The stories follows him as he stops home schooling and enters a private middle school where he must learn to endure taunts, fear, and misunderstanding from his classmates while trying to be like any other student.
Refugee by Alan Gratz is another New York Times Bestseller. This novel follows Josef, a Jewish boy in Nazi Germany, Isabel, a Cuban girl in the 1990s, and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in the 2010s. All three face unimaginable dangers, and surprising connections will bring their stories together in the end.
Young Adult Books
Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez is a winner of the Pura Belpre Award. The novel centers on Camila Hassan, a rising soccer star. She dreams of playing professionally against her father's wishes and at the risk of a new romance.
If These Wings Could Fly by Kyrie McCauley is a winner of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Leighton's hometown is overrun by thousands of crows which is not any stranger than living in a home that repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things. Her focus is not on the crows but on finishing school and leaving for her dream college. However, this dream may mean abandoning her sisters.
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a winner of the Michael L. Printz Award. This novel tells the story of Daunis Fontaine as she struggles to fit in with residents of her hometown as well as on the nearby Ojibwe reserveration. Daunis witnesses a murder that thrusts her into an FBI investigation of a lethal drug. She agrees to go undercover to try and track down the source. The search for the truth is more complicated than she could have imagined.
Everything Sad is Untrue (A True Story) by Daniel Nayeri is a Michael L. Printz and Pura Belpre Award winner. This autobiographical novel is about Khosrou, who everyone calls Daniel. At the center of this book is Daniel's story of how his family became refugees.
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus is a New York Times Bestselling novel. It tells the story of a high school student who mysteriously dies in front of four other students. All four students become suspects, and it is up to them to solve the murder.
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is another New York Times Bestselling work. Julie was in love with Sam and had planned to go to college with him, but Sam died. Julie is struggling to move on and is desperate to hear his voice one more time, so she calls his phone expecting his voicemail. However, Sam answers and their phones become the connection between them and Julie finds it impossible to let go.
