Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic & Chris Park Touch the Sky Vern longs to be one of the kids who swoop until their toes touch the sky. He heads to the swings and desperately tries to pump his legs, but he just can’t get it. A chance encounter with precocious (and hilarious) Gretchen gives him just…
Award-winners
Giselle Clarkson Omnibird – An Avian Investigator’s Handbook This highly illustrated, playful field guide to common international birds brings the art of observology to the science of ornithology, showing the many ways these familiar creatures are remarkable if you take time to look. Have you seen a bird today? Probably, unless you’re reading this in…
G. D. Falksen The Secret Life of Kitty Granger London, 1967 Sixteen-year-old Kitty Granger has always known that others consider her peculiar. She hates noise and crowds, tends to fixate on patterns, and often feels acutely aware of her surroundings even as she struggles to interpret the behavior of people around her. As a working-class…
Shafaq Khan Zeyna Lost and Found In 1970, twelve-year-old Zeyna has grown up in London but has never quite felt like she fits in. Her monotonous life is suddenly interrupted when Zeyna’s parents decide to visit their native Pakistan―where Zeyna feels she doesn’t fit in either. But then her parents disappear, leaving behind a string…
Beth Mills Ella McKeen, Kickball Queen In her debut picture book, Beth Mills offers a pitch-perfect look at recess, friendship, and being a good sport. First grader Ella McKeen is the undisputed kickball queen until a new girl named Riya shows up—and shows her up at recess. How does Ella handle losing? By throwing herself on the…
Jennifer Mason-Black Sometimes the Girl Eighteen-year-old Holiday needs to sort her life out. She’s still shaken from her brother’s recent suicide attempt; still pining over her ex, Maya; and still struggling to write again after a long dry spell. To earn enough money for a rebalancing trip with Maya, Holi gets a short-term job: organizing…
Lyn Miller-Lachmann Torch Three teens struggle to carve out futures for themselves under a totalitarian regime. Czechoslovakia, 1969 Seventeen-year-old Pavol has watched his country’s freedoms disappear in the wake of the Soviet Union’s invasion. He’s seen his own dreams disappear too. In a desperate, fatal act of protest against the oppressive new government, he sets…
Lyn Miller-Lachmann Eyes Open Portugal, 1967. Sónia thinks she knows what her future holds. She’ll become a poet, and together she and her artist boyfriend, Zé Miguel, will rise above the government restrictions that shape their lives. The restrictions on what Sónia can do and where she can go without a man’s permission. The restrictions…
Dr. Rebecca E. Hirsch & Eugenia Nobati A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants – Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds “Should you encounter any of the plants in this book, do not treat them lightly. They can kill you. Or cause you unbearable agony. Or land you in jail. Consider yourself warned.” Explore the strange and…
Kao Kalia Yang & Jiemei Lin The Rock in My Throat At first, no one noticed when I stopped talking at school. In this moving true story, Kao Kalia Yang shares her experiences as a young Hmong refugee navigating life at home and at school. Having seen the poor treatment her parents received when making…
Bob Raczka & Simone Shin Niko Draws a Feeling Niko loves to draw his world: the ring-a-ling of the ice cream truck, the warmth of sun on his face. But no one appreciates his art. Until one day, Niko meets Iris . . . This imaginative and tender story explores the creative process, abstract art,…
Laura Purdie Salas & Jaime Kim If You Were the Moon What would you do if you were the moon?Do you think you would rest quietly in the night sky? Oh, no. The moon does so much more than you might imagine! It spins like a twilight ballerina, plays tug-of-war with the ocean, and lights a…
Laura Purdie Salas & Violeta Dabija Water Can Be … Water is water, puddle, pond, sea. But now can you guess what else it can be? Water can be a . . .thirst quencher, kid drencher, cloud fluffer, fire snuffer. Find out about the many roles water plays in this poetic exploration of water throughout…
Chris Monroe Monkey with a Tool Belt Inspiration for the Netflix series Chico Bon Bon! Whether you need a beebersaw or a chisel, Chico Bon Bon’s your monkey. He can build or fix just about anything—from a dock for the ducks to a clock for the Clucks, even a small roller coaster for local chipmunks….
Meghan Doherty How Not to Be a Dick – An Everyday Etiquette Guide On the one hand, nobody wants to be a dick. On the other hand, dicks are everywhere! They cut in line, talk behind our backs, recline into our seats, and even have the power to morph into trolls online. Their powers are…
Clara Thomasset Dream Days Self-empowerment between time and dreams The picture book Dream Days was created in collaboration with the young Belgian artist Clara Thomasset – an artistic and philosophical, yet wonderfully light and luminous story for children about time as an inner space and wealth and the great power of dreams. Little Milla glides…
Marta Azcona & Anna Font Misadventures of a Giant Pig at the National Library On a cold and stormy day, Doña Socorro, the librarian, is forced to leave the library because of a headache. She leaves the books in the care of a pig. But, suddenly, a troup of animals coming from a wine tasting…
Will Gmehling & Jens Rassmus The Star Lake When the four friends looked at the lake from the 11th floor of their tower block, they could see that it had jagged edges like a star. The ‘Star Lake’ made them proud of their neighbourhood, which was otherwise rather bleak. In January, the lake froze over…
Kathrin Schrocke Freak City Welcome to the world of silence When Mika meets Lea, his life is turned upside down. She is direct, lively – and beautiful. But Lea has been deaf since birth and lives in a world that Mika finds difficult to access. Does their love stand a chance? Kathrin Schrocke’s award-winning and…
Joy Cowley & Gavin Bishop Twigs and Stones A funny, warm and wise picture book by world-renowned Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop that captures the essence of friendship and nudges us to notice the power of the words we choose. Snake and Lizard live together in a hole under a rock. They are such good…