The following book lists are wonderful resources for the classroom or the home. We hope they help.
ALSC Notable Children's Books 2024
Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways.
ALSC Summer Reading Lists
ALSC's Quicklists Consulting Committee has compiled lists to keep children engaged in reading throughout the summer. Four Summer Reading book lists are available for Birth-Preschool, K-2nd, 3rd- 5th and 6th-8th grade students.
BCALA and ALSC Social Justice Reading List
Community, Connecting, Cultivating & Constructing Conversations Through Literacy is a list developed by members of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and ALSC's Quicklists Committee. This list is intended to support conversations about dismantling systems of racial injustice.
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature - CSMCL Best Books
Each year a committee of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL) identifies the best in multicultural books for preschool through middle school. According to the CSMCL criteria, "best" is defined as: worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, and outstanding. As applied to books, best should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels that reflect and encourage the interests of children and youth in exemplary ways.
Children's Book Council - Favorites Lists
Children’s, Young Adults’, and Teacher’s Choices will now be called Children’s Favorites Award, Young Adult Favorites Award, and Teacher Favorites Award. We have also added the Librarian Favorites Award. The ILA and CBC co-coordinated the Choices program since 1974. The program was paused in 2020 and now the CBC has agreed to run the program in full. Each year, young people from Kindergarten to 12th grade, teachers, and librarians across 50 states read newly-published children’s and YA books and vote for the ones they like best. 80 review teams across the country work so that kids and educators read and select books. These Favorites Award lists, selected from hundreds of titles submitted by publishers, can be counted as books children, young adults, teachers, and librarians really enjoy reading!
Día Reading Lists
The 2024 Día booklists provide great stories representing a variety of cultures and backgrounds to share with children from birth through 8th grade.
Embracing Gender Identities
Embracing Gender Identities is an ALSC booklist created to help support conversations about gender identity and expression. This list, which is divided into books for 0-5 year-olds, elementary school students and middle schoolers, includes recommended informational picture books, as well as works of fiction and non-fiction that challenge gender norms and explore the wide spectrum of gender identity. It includes additional resources for parents.
LEE & LOW BOOKS is the largest multicultural children's book publisher in the country. We are also one of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the United States. Founded in 1991, we have always been family-owned and independent, which means we publish what we want and aren't afraid to take risks. Our books have won major awards including the Coretta Scott King Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the NAACP Image Award, and many more. LEE & LOW BOOKS is committed to publishing diverse books that are about everyone, for everyone. We are dedicated to cultural authenticity, and we make a special effort to work with new authors and illustrators of color. We publish multicultural children's books for every age, including leveled books for beginning readers, picture books, early chapter books, middle grade, and young adult books. We also publish a wide selection of bilingual and Spanish language books.
The NCTE recognized the books in this list as the best of the best for poetry and novels in verse for children.
Books selected for this bibliography are written primarily for children in grades K-12. The selection committee looks for books that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text. Each book is read by several reviewers, and books are included on the list by committee assent; annotations do not necessarily reflect the judgment of the entire committee.
Outstanding International Books List
Beginning in 2006, USBBY has selected an honor list of international books for young people. The USBBY Outstanding International Books List is published each year in the February issue of School Library Journal and as a bookmark. The Outstanding International Books (OIB) committee is charged with selecting international books that are deemed most outstanding of those published during the calendar year. For the purposes of this honor list, the term "international book" is used to describe a book published or distributed in the United States that originated or was first published in a country other than the U.S.
The Rainbow Book List, now in its 16th year, is an annual annotated bibliography consisting of quality LGBTQIA+ literature intended for readers from birth to age 18. This resource guide is meant to assist librarians, educators, parents, and others to ensure that everyone from babies and children to tweens and teens have access to selecting quality books with significant content regarding inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and all that extends throughout the Rainbow spectrum.
The RISE formerly know as the Amelia Bloomer Project, is a committee of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table, compiles the RISE Book List, an annual annotated book list (or bibliography) of well-written and well-illustrated books with significant feminist content, intended for young readers (ages birth through 18).
From Picture Books, to Middle Grade books all the way to YA books and nonfiction titles. School Library Journal with the help of several committees have put together what they think are the best books of 2023.
There are a lot of books out there and so many opportunities year round to bring books into your classroom or library plans. To help you discover, curate, and plan, we’ve created thematic booklists for readers grades PreK-12.