The Young Adult Library Services Association has selected their list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens. The list includes nonfiction and fiction graphic literature. A top ten was selected; here are those titles:
Marie learned to make Ukrainian decorated eggs with the Baba in Ukraine. They used beeswax and sketched stories on the eggs which were then painted in colors created from local plants. Marie followed her brothers when they moved to North America. Marie lived in Minneapolis after discovering her favorite uncle was there. When spring came, Marie longed to make pysanky and slowly found a way to create the colors and tools she needed. Marie married and her tools grew better thanks to her husband. Eventually, Marie started to sell tools and teach people how to create this art. Her Ukrainian Gift Shop became the largest supplier of pysanky kits in the world and her eggs were displayed at the White House. All a tribute to her heritage and her Baba.
This dynamic tale mixes tradition with new opportunities. Throughout the book, Marie is shown as a woman with her own ideas, her own way of approaching things and an undying connection to her Ukrainian heritage and culture. The book shares just enough information about creating pysanky to give young readers a sense of the detail and skill that go into each one. The art by Turk is amazing given that it uses resist, just like pysanky does, for the art. The result is an Easter egg of a book that has a rustic and colorful feel.
A bright inspiring look at a female entrepreneur who used her heritage to create a business that speaks on behalf of Ukrainian heritage. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
To raise awareness of the problem of hunger in America, Dick Gregory pledged to run 3,500 miles across the United States from Los Angeles to New York City in two and a half months. At first, there were journalists, famous people and others cheering. But soon there was just the quiet of the road. He ran 50 miles a day, seeing America in a new way. At every stop Gregory spoke about why he was running. Running farther, Gregory was joined by local people who met him to run with him for a bit, supporting his cause, even Muhammad Ali came along. There was pain, so much effort and finally success as he entered New York on the Fourth of July.
Told in second person, this book invites you to experience the decisions that went into Gregory’s run as well as the run itself. The text is near poetry, flowing across the page in stanzas that have rhythm that begs to be read aloud. It shares information clearly and with a particular point of view that insists that you look and think about what was accomplished. The art by Morrison is marvelous, filled with the long legs of runners, the vibrancy of brown and Black skin, and playing with perspectives to make the art sing along with the words.
A thrilling and inspiring look at activism in action. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Every February, gray whales travel from Baja California to the Arctic. The trip is 6,000 miles and takes them 2 months. In their midst are 12 whales with a different plan. All of them eat almost nothing along the trip and some die along the way. When they reach Washington State, the 12 whales change course and head to the Salish Sea. The whales must wait for the tide to rise so they can reach the mudflat safely. Still, the water is very shallow where they must forage for the ghost shrimp to help them survive their journey. They stay for days, devouring the shrimp and leaving whale-sized divots in the sand. They set out on their trip north again, heading to the rich Arctic waters and then traveling back to California again to have their calves. Perhaps those calves too will take the dangerous detour to the Salish Sea.
Nickum has created a nonfiction picture book that reads beautifully, welcoming children to the story of these brave animals as they find a new way to survive a dangerous migration. The prose is presented almost like poetry on the page, offering beautiful moments of wonder at what the whales can do when they turn off and then eat in such shallow waters. MacKay’s art is incredible. She uses paper, ink, colored filters and light to create images that shine on the page. Each of the images is amazing, but I’ve never seen anything like what she has created to show the whales in shallow water. Incredible.
Breathtaking story and illustrations make this a journey worth taking. Appropriate for ages 4-8.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has selected over 60 titles for its Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. This is one of my favorite lists every year, since it often includes books that did not gather attention during the previous year but that teens will check out and use in our library. The books are selected for ages 12-18. A top ten list is part of the selection. Here are those titles:
As Little Fox follows her mother into the cold winter morning, she knows that the sun won’t appear now for weeks. At the same time, a child joins her mother to help photograph the Arctic. Both mothers clean up their children and then start exploring. The moon stays in the sky, reindeer head to the mountains to graze, then a polar bear arrives. The families explore the ice floes and meet a narwhal and a whale. As they play, a storm begins to brew, sending icy snow and brisk winds. The two little ones are lost together until their mothers find them both. That night, after the storm, the northern lights fill the sky.
The combination of the fox family and human families exploring the Arctic setting near one another works particularly well in this enticing picture book. Just right for winter storytimes, children will love seeing the animals while also seeing the beauty of the landscape. The mixed media illustrations are marvelously angular and dramatic, showing the ice ridges, the glow of the northern lights and the merry adventurers in the epic space.
A cold and gorgeous Arctic adventure. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Bread Is Love by Pooja Makhijani, illustrated by Lavanya Naidu
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
ISBN: 9781250906885
Mama bakes bread every weekend and the young narrator and her little sister help. Bread is only made of four ingredients: flour, water, salt and starter. The starter is sourdough, gloopy, alive and sour smelling. Everyone helps with mixing the ingredients together. Then they must wait for the bread to rise. It takes patience to make bread. Once risen, the dough is shaped into bread. But it must rest again overnight, just like the children. Sometimes the bread will come out beautifully but other times it isn’t quite right. This time it deflated, but it still tastes good!
I’m a dedicated sourdough bread maker and also make bread every weekend, so this book spoke to me. I love the family working together to make bread but best of all I appreciate the fact that the loaf doesn’t turn out quite as they may have dreamt it would. That’s part of bread making that simply has to be embraced. The entire process teaches children about patience, imperfection, and the joy of being able to eat the results. The illustrations in this book are wonderfully welcoming and warm. They feel like a warm loaf of bread straight from the oven.
A yummy love-letter to bread making. Appropriate for ages 1-4.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced their list of the best fiction for teens. The list covers books written for 12-18 year-olds that “incorporate outstanding literary quality and effectiveness of presentation, as well as appeal to the personal reading tastes of the teens.” The list includes over 60 titles with a top ten list. Here are the top ten titles:
A very grumpy Lion lived near a village. He did not like noise of any kind except for when he used his own voice to shout about no one else making noise. Nani lived in that village and loved to drum. She could make her drum sound like all sorts of animals or use the rhythm to get people dancing. But the others were afraid of Lion and told her to stop drumming. Nani tried moving farther and farther out to play her drum, and eventually Lion followed her back home. No one knew what to do when Lion roared at them about noise. Nani knew what to do, playing a Lion rhythm on her drum that captured his grumpiness and grandness. She got Lion dancing to his own beat until he was too tired to dance any longer and agreed to no longer menace the village about noise.
With the natural rhythm of a traditional tale, this picture book and its African setting are ideal to share aloud. Children given their own rhythm instruments at a story time can work to make their own music with Nani and lull Lion into submission. The book takes the concept of the angry neighbor who complains and crafts a tale where the community wins out. The art by Cunha reflects that same traditional feel with a modern vibe. The playful animals in the jungle are done in pinks, maroon and orange while other pages are filled with deep blues and teals. Lion himself is dazzling as he fills the page with his protests and then his dance.
A picture book full of music and rhythm. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Yulu’s Linen by Cao Wenxuan, illustrated by Suzy Lee, translated by Helen Wang
Publisher: Atheneum
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
Reviewed from copy sent by publisher
ISBN: 9781665931199
Yulu wanted to be an artist and her father supported her, even getting her tutors when she was eight. Then he decided that she was ready to try making a self-portrait and purchased her a piece of yu-la-ma linen, the highest quality. Yulu loved the linen and Yulu’s parents helped stretch the canvas on a frame and pick out the picture of Yulu to use. But Yulu worried about spoiling the beautiful canvas. Finally, she picked up her paints, but the paints would not stick to the canvas, running down and smearing every night. Her parents finally took away the canvas after she had tried 7 times to make her portrait. When Yulu rescued the canvas, she took one last try at making her art stick.
This picture book is filled with magical realism that speaks directly to young artists being pushed before they are ready to create works of art even when it is done with love. Readers will recognize the pressure being placed on Yulu and the way the canvas responds by rejecting the work entirely. The design of the book extends to the texture of the page, which feels like canvas as does the cover. The illustrations by Lee are primarily done in limited colors except for Yulu’s art. Readers don’t get to see her various failed attempts at a self portrait until the final successful one, which is incredibly satisfying to see.
A clever look at young artists and their artistic process. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) announced the winners of their 2026 Golden Kite Awards which celebrate the best children’s literature published in 2025. Here are the winners:
When a too-tight shoe causes a full tantrum for the little child in this picture book, it leads to screaming, flopping on the floor even if the child doesn’t really want to. Perhaps they will just live on the floor forever. They refuse to put on the shoe, hate every shoe and throw the shoe, and then their mother loses her temper too, and gets the shoe and everyone apologizes for the yelling. Then, it’s time for hugs and knowing that nothing, even a shoe tantrum, will change their love for one another.
Fogliano captures the entire life of a tantrum in this clever picture book about modern parenting. The voice, using second person, works really well here so that a small child listening to the book hears the love throughout. I particularly appreciate that the mother loses her temper too, as one does, and there is no shame, just apologies and moving on. The illustrations by Frazee are done in her signature style. Here, she plays with color seeping away from the page as the tantrum rages, only to return to rich color as it resolves. The twist at the end is a delight too.
A terrific read for tantrum-prone toddlers and parents. Appropriate for ages 2-5.
The Sweater by Larissa Theule, illustrated by Teagan White
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
ISBN: 9780593528945
When Holly the Raccoon finds a little bird who seems to be needing some care and shelter, she lets him find his own spot and then heads off to make the rounds. Everyone gave what they could and then Holly headed home to knit a gift to welcome the bird to the community. The next morning, snow came and the sweater that everyone had contributed to fit the little bird perfectly. Everyone helped him shore up his home to keep the wind and snow out. Soon all of the animals were forced to take shelter for the winter in their various dens and homes. Then one morning, the little bird knew exactly what he could share with them to give his thanks: his voice.
This book could have been overly sweet but manages to not be thanks to its focus on giving and community and sharing the fact openly that life can sometimes be hard and that support from others can be helpful if done with care. The text is filled with small touches like the various small items donated and how each animal spends their winter hours in their dens. The art picks those details up and creates a vibrant community of animals who all support one another. They are a delight of color and cozy feels.
A book to snuggle up with. Appropriate for ages 3-6.
We Need Diverse Books has announced the winners of the 2026 Walter Dean Myers Awards. They are given in two age categories. Here are the winning books and honor books:
Waking Brain Cells 