Parents Magazine has announced their picks for the Best Books for Children & Teens 2021. 30 books for children and 10 books for teens were selected. For librarians, it’s great to see a list of books selected by others and get us out of our bubbles. There are many titles here you won’t see on other lists. Here are the winning titles:
BOARD BOOKS
Comparrotives by Janik Coat
Count to Love! by Andrea Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Drive the Fire Truck by Dave Mottram
Peekaboo: Bear by Camilla Reid, illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius
Snap! Chomp Your Jaws! by Bob Barner
Turn Seek Find: Habitats by Ben Newman
Washer and Dryer’s Big Job by Steven Weinberg
Who Needs a Hug? by Dean Hacohen, illustrated by Sherry Scharschmidt
PICTURE BOOKS
Bear Is a Bear by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Dan Santat
Bicycle Bash by Alison Farrell
Chez Bob by Bob Shea
Maybe… by Chris Haughton
Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson
The Olphabet: “O” No! An Alphabet Revolt by Jess M. Brallier, illustrated by Nichola Cowdery
Our Skin: A First Conversation about Race by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, illustrated by Isabel Roxas
Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham
Stella’s Stellar Hair by Yesenia Moises
Stick and Stone: Best Friends Forever! by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Uma Wimple Charts Her House by Reif Larsen, illustrated by Ben Gibson
CHAPTER BOOKS
The Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz
The Double Life of Danny Day by Mike Thayer
I’m On It by Andrea Tsurumi
Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly
Pawcasso by Remy Lai
Simon and Chester: Super Detectives by Cale Atkinson
Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Stamped (for Kids) Adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul from the book by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, illustrated by Rachelle Baker
That Thing about Bollywood by Supriya Kelkar
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
TEENS
Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani, illustrated by Julia Iredale
Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve
Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Minalima Edition by J.K. Rowling
Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
Love Is a Revolution by Renee Watson
Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach
Waking Brain Cells 