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

The finalists have been announced for the 2021 Governor General Awards, given by The Canada Council for the Arts. The awards recognize Canada’s best English-language and French-language books in seven categories. Two of those categories are specifically for young people’s literature. Below are the finalists in those categories.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE – TEXT

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

The Fabulous Zed Watson by Basil Silvester and Kevin Silvester

Firefly by Philippa Dowding

Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field by Angela Ahn

Unravel by Sharon Jennings

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE – ILLUSTRATED BOOKS

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh: This Is How I Know by Brittany Luby and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

On the Trapline by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett

Out into the Big Wide Lake by Paul Harbridge, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman and Gabrielle Grimard

The Wind and the Trees by Todd Stewart

The winners of the 2021 Canadian Children’s Literature Awards have been announced. The winners are:

TD CANADIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AWARD

The Barnabus Project by the Fan Brothers

MARILYN BAILLIE PICTURE BOOK AWARD

Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki

NORMA FLECK AWARD FOR CANADIAN CHILDREN’S NON-FICTION

Powwow: A Celebration Through Song and Dance by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane

GEOFFREY BILSON AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor

AMY MATHERS TEEN BOOK AWARD

Facing the Sun by Janice Lynn Mather

JEAN LITTLE FIRST-NOVEL AWARD

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen

The Blue Peter Book Awards celebrate the best authors and illustrators in children’s fiction and nonfiction. The award is given by BookTrust in the UK. The 2022 longlists for the awards have been announced and will be shortened to three books per category on November 11th. The winners will be selected by over 200 children from schools across the UK with the winners announced in March 2022. Here are the longlisted titles:

BEST STORY

The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones, illustrated by Natalie Smillie

Bad Panda by by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey

The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh by Helen Rutter

Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan, illustrated by Anh Cao (published in the U.S. as Danny Chung Sums It Up in September 2021.)

Dragon Mountain by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold

October, October by Katya Balen, illustrated by Angela Harding

The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell, illustrated Saara Söderlund

When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten

The Wizard in My Shed by Simon Farnaby, illustrated by Claire Powell

BEST BOOK WITH FACTS

24 Hours in the Stone Age by Lan Cook, illustrated by Laurent Kling

Climate Action by Georgina Stevens, illustrated by Katie Rewse

A Different Sort of Normal by Abigail Balfe

Good News by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illustrated by Adam Hayes

Invented by Animals by Christiane Dorion, illustrated by Gosia Herbia

Kay’s Anatomy by Adam Kay, illustrated by Henry Paker

The Magic of Sleep by Vicky Woodgate

What a Wonderful Phrase by Nicola Edwards, illustrated by Manu Montoya

Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature by Dara McAnulty, illustrated by Barry Falls

A Year Full of Celebrations and Festivals by Claire Grace, illustrated by Christopher Corr

Publishers Weekly has released their Best Books List for 2021. The top picks for children range from picture books to middle grade to young adult. Here are the books that made the list:

PICTURE BOOKS

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, illus. by Nikkolas Smith

The Big Bath House by Kyo Maclear, illus. by Gracey Zhang

Chez Bob by Bob Shea

Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins

Dad Bakes by Katie Yamasaki

Fish and Sun by Sergio Ruzzier

Have You Seen Gordon? by Adam Jay Epstein, illus. by Ruth Chan

Keeping the City Going by Brian Floca

Let Me Fix You a Plate by Elizabeth Lilly

The Longest Storm by Dan Yaccarino

Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, illus. by Christian Robinson

The Night Walk by Marie Dorléans

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, illus. by Christian Robinson

The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art by Cynthia Levinson, illus. by Evan Turk

The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen

Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham, illus. by C.G. Esperanza

Thank You, Neighbor by Ruth Chan

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illus. by Jason Chin

MIDDLE GRADE

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illus. by Sophie Blackall

Black Boy Joy edited by Kwame Mbalia

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Shutdown by Steve Sheinkin

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen

How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable, illus. by Stephanie Yue

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Playing the Cards You’re Dealt by Varian Johnson

The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book by Kate Milford, illus. by Nicole Wong

Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz, illus. by Fahmida Azim

Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds, illus. by Raúl the Third

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Too Small Tola by Atinuke, illus. by Onyinye Iwu

YOUNG ADULT

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo

Himawari House by Harmony Becker

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Let’s Talk about It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

The Other Merlin by Robyn Schneider

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

The An Post Irish Book Awards 2021 Shortlists have been announced. These Irish book awards include awards for top bookshops and poetry as well as fiction and nonfiction for adults and juvenile titles. Here are the shortlisted titles for the two children’s awards and the teen awards.

CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR (SENIOR)

Aldrin Adams and the Cheese Nightmares by Paul Howard, illustrated by Lee Cosgrove

Lily’s Dream: A Lissadell Story by Judi Curtin, illustrated by Rachel Corcoran

The Little Bee Charmer of Henrietta Street by Sarah Webb, illustrated by Rachel Corcoran

Mr Spicebag by Freddie Alexander, illustrated by Helen O’Higgins

The Shadows of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny, illustrated by Edward Bettison

The Summer I Robbed A Bank by David O’Doherty, illustrated by Chris Judge

CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR (JUNIOR)

Evie’s Christmas Wishes by Siobhán Parkinson, illustrated by Shannon Bergin

A Hug For You by David King, illustrated by Rhiannon Archard

Maybe… by Chris Haughton

Puffling and the Egg by Erika McGann & Gerry Daly

There’s a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers

Up on the Mountain by Peter Donnelly

TEEN/YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR

Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

The Legend of Valentine Sorrow by Caroline Busher

The New Girl by Sinéad Moriarty

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

What Love Looks Like by Jarlath Gregory

The 2021 PM’s Literary Awards Shortlist has been announced. The book awards celebrate the best in Australian books of the year. The awards are given to adult and juvenile titles. Winners will be announced in December. Here are the shortlisted titles for the children’s and teen awards:

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Fly on the Wall by Remy Lai

How to Make a Bird by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Matt Ottley

The January Stars by Kate Constable

The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty, illustrated by Kelly Canby

The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks

YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell

The F Team by Rawah Arja

Loner by Georgina Young

Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore

When Rain Turns to Snow by Jane Godwin