SLJ has announced their list of the Best Books 2020. The lists cover picture books, chapter books, middle grade, YA, nonfiction and graphic novels. You can explore the list via the link in the first sentence or there is also a pdf version done in a really attractive format, if you prefer.
What a joy to see so much diversity represented in a Best Books list! Definitely an impressive collection of titles worth discovering and sharing.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
The 25 best children’s books of 2020 – New York Times
American Indians in Children’s Literature Best Books of 2020 – AICL
Best children’s and teens books of 2020 – The Guardian
Canadian illustrator Julie Flett’s books reveal the truth about modern Indigenous life – NBC News
Cozy up for story time with these delightful picture books – The Christian Science Monitor
Disney+’s Black Beauty: biggest differences to the book – Screen Rant
Empowering children’s books remind Black sons “They Are Every Good Thing” – My Modern Met
NPR’s Book Concierge Picks for Kids’ Books – NPR
LIBRARIES
Amazon under pressure to lift ban on e-book library sales – The Hill
As libraries fight for access to e-books, a new copyright champion emerges – Fortune
From food pantries to parking lot wi-fi, public libraries evolve during COVID-19 pandemic – Chicago Tribune
I miss libraries but most of all I miss browsing the stacks – Daily Beast
New research explores how public libraries can best combat misinformation – Public Libraries
Public libraries can help companies survive the Coronavirus crisis – Forbes
Why are Chicago Public Libraries still open amid soaring Covid rates? – Book Riot
‘Words Matter’: Why the UC Berkeley Library is embracing another term for ‘Illegal Aliens’ – Patch
PUBLISHERS
Penguin Random House to buy Simon & Schuster – Book Riot
Publishers announce plans for dozens of new imprints in 2020 – BookWeb
YA LIT
10 new YA books to put on your wishlist – Book Riot
New releases for the rest of 2020 – Rich in Color
Admission by Julie Buxbaum
Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett
It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne
The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by Robin Talley
This Is How We Fly by Anna Meriano
YALSA has announced the five finalists for the 2021 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award, which honors books published between November 1, 2019 and October 31, 2020. The winner will be announced at the Youth Media Awards on January 25. Here are the finalists:
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, written by Christina Soontornvat
The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival, written by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan
How We Got To the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure, written and illustrated by John Rocco
The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh, written by Candace Fleming
You Call This Democracy?: How to Fix Our Democracy and Deliver Power to the People, written by Elizabeth Rusch
The Dog Who Saved the World by Ross Welford
Girl Giant and the Monkey King by Van Hoang
History of the World in Comics by Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu, illustrated by Adrienne Barman
Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa de la Cruz
Pirate Stew by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell
The Smartest Kid in the Universe by Chris Grabenstein
The shortlists for the UK Costa Book Awards have been announced. The winners will be announced on January 4th with a “book of the year” prize named on January 26th. The award is the only major UK book award that is open only to authors who reside in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Here are the books named in the children’s award shortlist:
COSTA CHILDREN’S AWARD SHORTLIST
The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff
The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson
Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant
Wranglestone by Darren Charlton
The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez, illustrated by Lauren Semmer
After the Snowfall by Richard Lo
Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang, illustrated by Charlene Chua
Dear Earth…from Your Friends in Room 5 by Erin Dealey, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
Ice! Poems about Polar Life by Douglas Florian
Little Blue Truck’s Valentine by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Quiet Down, Loud Town! by Alastair Heim, illustrated by Matt Hunt
Snoozie, Sunny and So-So by Dafna Ben-Zvi, illustrated by Ofra Amit, translated by Annette Appel
A Year of Everyday Wonders by Cheryl B. Klein, illustrated by Qin Leng
The winners of the National Council of Teachers of English’s Charlotte Huck Award have been announced. The award is given for excellence in writing of fiction for children that has “the potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder.” Here are the award recipients for 2021:
WINNER
I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
HONOR BOOKS
A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner
Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar
Quintessence by Jess Redman
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom; illustrated by Michaela Goade
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Alice’s Farm by Maryrose Wood
The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story by Aya Khalil, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan
The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
Braver by Suzanne Selfors and Walker Ranson
Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
Hike by Pete Oswald
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
Waking Brain Cells 