Month: May 2025

Teens’ Top Ten Voting Opens

| Tasha

YALSA has opened the voting for the Teens’ Top Ten which is a top ten list of the best books of the previous year voted on entirely by teens. The titles being voted on were nominated by teen book groups in 15 school and public libraries across the nation.

Here are the nominated titles:

The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney

The Getaway List by Emma Lord

The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow

The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana

If I Only Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin

It Found Us by Lindsay Currie

New Girl by Cassandra Calin

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

The Princess Protection Program by C. Alexander London

The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Secrets Never Die by Vincent Ralph

Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy

Sky’s End by Marc Gregson

Snowglobe by Soyoung Park

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang

Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

Uprising by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The Way I Am Now by Amber Smith

Indie Book Awards Shortlist 2025

| Tasha

The UK Indie Book Awards shortlist has been announced. The awards include adult fiction and nonfiction, children’s fiction and picture books. The winners will be announced in June. Here are the shortlisted children’s titles:

CHILDREN’S FICTION

Finding Bear by Hannah Gold (available in US)
Ghostlines by Katya Balen

Murder for Two by Niyla Farook
The Falling Boy by David Almond 


Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time by Salomey Doku (available in US)
Reek by Alastair Chisholm

PICTURE BOOK

Bear by Natalia Shaloshvili (available in US)
The Dinosaur Next Door by David Litchfield (available in US)

Farah Loves Mangoes by Sarthak Sinha (available in US)
The Golden Hare by Paddy Donnelly 

Invisible Dogs by Ruby Wright 
Runaway Cone by Morag Hood

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells

| Tasha

CHILDREN’S LIT

17 Joyful Picture Books to Enjoy on Summer Vacation – SLJ

Celebrating 35 years of the Children’s Books Ireland Awards – The Irish Times

Every adult should read more children’s novels. Here are the five best – MSN

How Tove Jansson’s Moomins illustrations taught us to imagine, resist and belong – The Conversation

Luck of the Draw: 5 Fabulously Funny and Adorable Picture Books – Book Riot

Mothers in children’s books: a matrix – Lit Hub

This author ‘fixed’ ‘The Giving Tree’ with a new ending. Some say it’s long overdue. – USA Today

LIBRARIES

ALA Disappointed by Senate Vote to Block Hotspot Funds – ALA

Political Attacks on Libraries Endanger Small-Town Democracy – Scientific American

States win a legal injunction against President Trump, pausing library funding cuts – NPR

YA LIT

All the New Young Adult SFF Books Arriving in May 2025 – Reactor

Judy Blume Talks Inspiration Behind Her Controversial Teen Novel Forever, and the Change Happening at Home When She Wrote It – People

Summer Love: 16 Romantic Reads for Teens – SLJ

Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin – Book Review

| Tasha

Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin, illustrated by Yu Yin, translated by Shan Chen (9781623546236)

A young boy and his family head into the Chinese mountains to pick tea together. Father usually goes on his own, and it’s a special treat for everyone to come along. They must pack extra clothes for the mountain weather and carry baskets on their backs. When they reach the mountaintop, there are the tea fields. Everyone must work together to pick the tea leaves with their sticky juice. The brothers work hard, have some fun, take a nap, and enjoy their day together as a family. The nature around the family is shown in deep greens, from the mountains to insects to birds and snakes.

This is a fascinating glimpse of Chinese culture. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Charlesbridge.

Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the Day) by Corey R. Tabor – Book review

| Tasha

Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World) by Corey R. Tabor (9780063373587)

Crow is sitting on his spot on the telephone wire and doesn’t want to play today. He KAWS Squirrel away rather than joining in creating a mess of trash, he won’t practice tricks and loops with Hummingbird, and rejects all of the other animals too. Crow seems awfully grumpy until the phone rings and he suddenly leaps into action! Children will love the sudden change from angry Crow to saving the world and then seeing Crow come back to the telephone wire and be much friendlier.

Clever and funny, this is one for those curmudgeons among us, and their friends. Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Greenwillow Books.

Aurealis Awards 2024

| Tasha

The winners of the Aurealis Awards have been announced. The awards celebrate the best of Australia’s speculative fiction. Here are the winners for the main categories. You can visit their official site here for the full list.

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble (available in U.S. in June)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Anomaly by Emma Lord

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Thoroughly Disenchanted by Alexandra Almond

BEST SF NOVEL

Temporal Boom by J M Voss (available in U.S.)

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa – Book Review

| Tasha

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa (9781338843262)

Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt to wear at an upcoming powwow, a skirt that is traditionally worn by Anishinaabe girls. Anang is two-spirit and nonbinary. While they have some concerns about wearing a ribbon skirt, they decide to follow their dreams. Helped along the way by spirits, turtles and crows, Anang steadily gathers the items they need for their skirt. Supported by their family and friends, Anang must also deal with a girl who used to be a close friend but now is more like a bully. It’s up to Anang to stay strong, follow their path and create their perfect skirt.

Mukwa is also a two-spirit Anishinaabe and this is their debut book. Written with a wry sense of humor, an honest take on support and fear, and a delight in the spirits helping, this graphic novel has a winning combination. The illustrations are bold and colorful, making the graphic novel all the more approachable for young readers.

A timely and joyful look at being nonbinary and living your dream life. Appropriate for ages 8-12. Reviewed from library copy.

Beehive by Jorey Hurley – Book Review

| Tasha

Beehive by Jorey Hurley (9781481470032)

Following her Fetch and Nest, Hurley returns with another simple picture book that invites the youngest children to explore nature. Told in single words on double-page illustrations, the bees in the book buzz, swarm, find and build their hive. They will also defend the hive and sting when a skunk gets a bit too interested in their sweet honey.

Share this as spring blossoms around us. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Simon & Schuster.

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells

| Tasha

A collection of some of the best book and library links of the week:

CHILDREN’S LIT

5 New LGBTQ-Inclusive Picture Books Explore History, Family, Feelings, and Fun – Mombian

10 Fabulous Picture Books Celebrating Neurodivergent Kids – Book Riot

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels – The Guardian

Don’t ban the book: Kids can benefit from challenging stories – Skeptic

Most parents don’t enjoy reading to their children, survey suggests – The Guardian

Top 5 board books for children, chosen by New York Times bestselling author Jon Klassen – Big Issue

LIBRARIES

How Libraries Are Faring Under the Trump Administration – Time

More than books: 10 different ways public libraries make our lives better – PBS

YA LIT

23 Canadian books for young adults to read in spring 2025 – CBC

2025 YA Trends: Bouncing Between the Dark and Light – Publishers Weekly

Rather than ban her books, Ellen Hopkins says Utah should ‘trust in young people’ – KUER