Host Scott Tong gets suggestions for this year’s best kids books from Juanita Giles, director of the Virginia Children’s book festival.
Traci Thomas, creator and host of the podcast “The Stacks,” shares her ideas for books to give to adults.
Juanita Giles’ booklist
Board books:
- “The Night is Deep and Wide” by Gillian Sze and Sue Todd
- “RAinbowZ” by Michael Arndt
- “Where’s Brian’s Bottom?” by Rob Jones
- “B is for Baby” by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank
Picture books:
- “A New Day” by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Dan Santat
- “Way Past Jealous” by Hallee Adelman, illustrated by Karen Wall
- “The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess” by Tom Gauld
- “What Happened to You” by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George
Early readers:
- “Cat Kid Comic Club” by Dav Pilkey
- “Egg Marks the Spot” by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Jon Klassen
- “Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister?” by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun
- “Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend” by Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Tara Audibert
Upper elementary:
- “Stuntboy, in the Meantime” by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Raul the Third
- “The Beatryce Prophecy” by Kate Dicamillo, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
- “Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom” by Sangu Mandanna
- “Bad Sister” by Charise Mericle Harper, illustrated by Rory Lucey
- “The Monsters of Rookhaven” by Padraig Kelly
- “Liars’ Room” by Dan Poblocki
Middle grade:
- “Huda F Are You?” by Huda Fahmy
- “Pony” by R.J. Palacio
- “Black Boy Joy” edited by Kwame Mbalia
- “The Genius Under the Table” by Eugene Yelchin
Young adult:
- “Passport” by Sophia Glock
- “Beasts of Prey” by Ayana Gray
- “You’d Be Home Now” by Kathleen Glasgow
- “Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley
- “House of Hollow” by Krystal Sutherland
- “Instructions for Dancing” by Nicola Yoon
Traci Thomas’ booklist
Nonfiction:
- “Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” by Patrick Radden Keefe
- “A Little Devil in America Notes in Praise of Black Performance” by Hanif Abdurraqib
- “Seek You: A Journal Through American Loneliness” by Kristen Radtke
- “Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future without Policing & Prisons” by Colin Kaepernick
- “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019” by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
Fiction:
- “Yolk” by Mary H.K. Choi
- “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev” by Dawnie Walton
- “Detransition, Baby” by Torrey Peters
- “Seven Days in June” by Tia Williams
For even more book recommendations from NPR, click here.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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