Booklist has announced their Top of the List, a list that features one single top pick for seven categories. Four of those categories are for books for youth! Here are those winning titles:
YOUTH NONFICTION
Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science behind Your Favorite Monsters by Carlyn Beccia
YOUTH FICTION
This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews
YOUTH PICTURE BOOK
Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler
YOUTH AUDIOBOOK
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
You can also check out their video:
The National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council have released their annual lists of the best science and STEM books. The Outstanding Science Trade Book list has been around since 1973 and features the best science book published in that year for K-12. The Best STEM Books list is in its fourth year. It features the best book with science, technology, engineering and math content.
The links above go directly to the pdfs of the 2020 lists.
The winners of the 2019 GoodReads Choice Awards have been announced. It’s great to see that two YA titles took non-YA categories. Here are all the awards that went to books for youth and teens:
BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
BEST POETRY
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
BEST YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott with Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis
BEST YOUNG ADULT FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
The Wicked King by Holly Black
BEST MIDDLE GRADE & CHILDREN’S
The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan
BEST PICTURE BOOK
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers, illustrated by Luke Flowers
YALSA has announced the 2020 finalists for the Nonfiction Award which “honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.” Here are the finalists:
Free Lunch by Rex Ogle
The Great Nijinsky: God of Dance by Lynn Curlee
A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust by Albert Marrin
A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein
Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children’s Ship” by Deborah Heiligman
The 2020 Indie Book Awards Longlist has been announced. The awards celebrate the best books from Australia every year. They include books in a variety of categories, including ones for young people. Here are the youth books on the longlist:
YOUNG ADULT
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
I Am Change by Suzy Zail
Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard
It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
Land of Fences by Mark Smith
Monuments by will Kostakis
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
This Is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield
Weapon by Lynette Noni
CHILDREN’S
The Glimme by Emily Rodda, illustrated by Marc McBride
How to Make a Movie in 12 Days by Fiona Hardy
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals by Sami Bayly
Into the Wild: Wolf Girl Book 1 by Anh Do, illustrated by Jeremy Ley
Mr. Chicken All Over Australia by Leigh Hobbs
The Painted Ponies by Alison Lester
Tilly by Jane Godwin, illustrated by Anna Walker
The Tiny Star by Mem Fox & Freya Blackwood
A Trip to the Beach by Gwyn Perkins
Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
The William C. Morris YA Debut Award honors a book for teens that is published by a first-time author. The winner will be announced during the ALA Youth Media Awards in early 2020. Here is the 2020 shortlist of five titles:
The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
Chicago Public Library has published their 2019 Best of the Best Books lists. They range from adult through board books.
There are lists dedicated to teens, including fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels and manga. Lists for children’s books include board books, picture books, fiction and informational books.
There are lovely surprises to be found in these lists, which include books that you may not see in other lists of the best of the year. Definitely worth exploring!
School Library Journal has named their best books of 2019. The 92 books are broken into six categories: picture books, transitional chapter books, middle grade, YA, nonfiction and graphic novels. You can also download the list in a handy PDF format.
The winners of the An Post Irish Book Awards for 2019 have been announced. More than 115,000 votes were cast by the public to select the winners. Here are the winners in the youth categories:
TEEN & YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR
Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR – SENIOR
Shooting for the Stars: My Journey to Become Ireland’s First Astronaut by Norah Patten, illustrated by Jennifer Farley
CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR – JUNIOR
123 Ireland! by Aoife Dooley
Waking Brain Cells 