BOOKLISTS

19 Exceptional Titles, Including the Graphic Novel Adaptation of 'Tuck Everlasting' | Starred Reviews, July 2025

This month, a poetry collection by Margarita Engle, a new middle grade novel from Dan Gemeinhart, and a nonfiction title about the Erie Canal stand out, along with other great books.

BLOGS

GOOD COMICS FOR KIDS

Detectives These Days Are Crazy!, vol. 1 | Review

TEEN LIBRARIAN TOOLBOX

Trans History: A Graphic Novel: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett

TEEN LIBRARIAN TOOLBOX

DIY Teen Makerspace: Beaded Fish Keychain

PEARL'S & RUBY'S

14 YA & MG Books & Graphic Novels with Disability Representation

21 Notable Transitional & Decodable Books | SLJ 2025 Stars So Far

More Books & Reviews

BOOKS & REVIEWS

14 YA & MG Books & Graphic Novels with Disability Representation

21 Notable Transitional & Decodable Books | SLJ 2025 Stars So Far

SPONSORED

SPONSORED

Celebrating Diversity and Cultivating Empathy with Hà Dinh, Author of Ly-Lan and the New Class Mix-Up

SPONSORED

Social Media Program Helps Students Learn About Jobs and Careers in High Demand

SPONSORED

Celebrating Diversity and Cultivating Empathy with Hà Dinh, Author of Ly-Lan and the New Class Mix-Up

SPONSORED

Social Media Program Helps Students Learn About Jobs and Careers in High Demand

EXPLORE SLJ

BOOKLISTS

21 Notable Transitional & Decodable Books | SLJ 2025 Stars So Far

SLJ Reviews, Jul 07, 2025

New readers will feel proud of their ability to read these fun, outstanding stories on their own.

BOOKLISTS

9 Spanish-Language Nonfiction About Latinx Trailblazers, Identity, and Brujería

SLJ Reviews, Jun 26, 2025

Margarita Engle’s collection of poetry heralds Latinx heroes and Juana Martinez-Neal’s latest celebrates a Peruvian scientist. A sprinkling of self-help titles round out the list.

BOOKLISTS

42 Stellar Middle Grade & Hi-Lo Titles | SLJ 2025 Stars So Far

SLJ Reviews, Jul 07, 2025

From rollicking fantasy to heartbreaking realism, these excellent additions to the middle grade and hi-lo genres will have something for every tween to enjoy.

BOOKLISTS

19 Standout Nonfiction Books for Middle and High School | SLJ 2025 Stars So Far

SLJ Reviews, Jul 07, 2025

Our starred middle and high school nonfiction offerings for the first half of 2025 are sure to keep readers engaged and informed.

More Editors' Picks

INDUSTRY NEWS

Spend It if You Can | SLJ 2024 Budget Survey

Marlaina Cockcroft, Apr 04, 2024

With budgets mostly flat, book challenges and rising costs pose hurdles for school librarians.

ELEMENTARY

New Trends in Transitional Books

Marlaina Cockcroft, Sep 27, 2024

Early chapter books? Easy readers? Whatever you call them, transitional books are key for young students, librarians say.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Sora Report: Digital Reading Increases with Double-Digit Growth in Comics and Graphic Novels

SLJ Staff, Apr 03, 2024

The State of K-12 Digital Reading breaks down the data for the 2022-23 school year, showing the popularity of comics and graphic novels in the digital format plus regional differences in reading habits.

INDUSTRY NEWS

From a Young Age, Children Tune in to Audiobooks | Survey

Marlaina Cockcroft, Jan 04, 2024

Children are eager listeners—of audiobooks, according to a new Library Journal / School Library Journal survey. Libraries are keeping up with the demand as formats evolve.

CENSORSHIP

Nearly a Quarter of School Librarians Have Experienced Harassment Over Books | SLJ Censorship Survey

Kathy Ishizuka, Sep 30, 2023

Twenty-four percent of school librarians have been harassed this past year over books or displays in their library. That’s according to a recent SLJ survey, which found the rate even higher among high school librarians, 30 percent of whom have experienced harassment.

BOOKS & MEDIA

Graphic Novels, Manga Explode in Popularity Among Students | SLJ Survey

Marlaina Cockcroft, Oct 03, 2023

If graphic novels are flying off the shelves at your library, that reflects a remarkable trend: The format’s popularity has shot up at over 90 percent of school libraries in the last few years, according to a new SLJ survey.

INDUSTRY NEWS

SLJ, NCTE Launch Survey to Remake Summer Reading Lists

SLJ staff, Jan 19, 2022

Those dreaded summer reading lists. For eons, teachers have been handing out assigned reading, mostly comprised of old “classics.” With this survey, SLJ and NCTE invite teachers and librarians to choose the titles you’d like culled from required reading and those books you would urge students to read instead.

BOOKS & MEDIA

Time to Refresh the Canon: Here Are Our Picks

Shelley Diaz, May 10, 2022

SLJ and NCTE collaborated to create 18 booklists of titles to replace, or use as a companion to, canon "classics."

INDUSTRY NEWS

Under Pressure: Survey Provides Insight into Librarians' Job Satisfaction

Marlaina Cockcroft, Feb 21, 2023

More librarians find their work challenging, but most still love what they do, the latest LJ/SLJ Survey shows.

CENSORSHIP

Censorship Attempts Will Have a Long-lasting Impact on School Library Collections, SLJ Survey Shows

Kara Yorio, Sep 08, 2022

In the past year, school librarians have faced coordinated, hate-filled censorship campaigns that impact available books and collection development decisions. Here, they share their stories.

More Research

AWARDS

Caldecott Medal Honors 5 Picture Books with Distinguished Illustrative Excellence | ALA Youth Media Awards 2025

SLJ Reviews, Jan 27, 2025

The SLJ reviews editors rounded up our reviews of the books lauded at the 2025 Youth Media Awards. Here, the reviews of the Caldecott Medal and Honors winners.

AWARDS

Stonewall Book Awards Celebrate 10 Titles Centering LGBTQIA+ Youth | ALA Youth Media Awards 2025

SLJ Reviews, Jan 27, 2025

The SLJ reviews editors rounded up our reviews of the books lauded at the 2025 Youth Media Awards. Here, the reviews of the Stonewall Book Award and Honors winners.

AWARDS

Pura Belpré Awards Honor Outstanding Books Celebrating the Latino Cultural Experience | ALA Youth Media Awards 2025

SLJ Reviews, Jan 27, 2025

The SLJ reviews editors rounded up our reviews of the books lauded at the 2025 Youth Media Awards. Here, the reviews of the Pura Belpré Award and Honors winners.

BOOKLISTS

9 Middle Grade & YA Graphic Novels About the Holocaust

SLJ Reviews, Jan 22, 2025

Every year on January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the 1945 liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. This year marks the 80th anniversary. Share these graphic novels with young readers leading up to the day and all year long.

AWARDS

Asian/Pacific American Awards Highlight 8 Stellar Titles | ALA Youth Media Awards 2025

SLJ Reviews, Jan 27, 2025

The SLJ reviews editors rounded up our reviews of the books lauded at the 2025 Youth Media Awards. Here, the reviews of the Asian/Pacific American Award and Honors winners.

AWARDS

'I Know How to Draw an Owl' Wins 2025 Charlotte Zolotow Award

SLJ Staff, Feb 04, 2025

Author Hilary Horder Hippely's title earned the annual award given for outstanding writing in a picture book.

INDUSTRY NEWS

BCALA, SLJ Announce 2025 Winners of the Children & Youth Literary Awards

Kathy Ishizuka, Feb 19, 2025

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc. and School Library Journal have revealed the winning titles in the 2025 Children & Youth Literary Awards, which celebrate the diversity of the Black experience.

AWARDS

Stonewall Book Awards Celebrate 10 Titles Centering LGBTQIA+ Youth | ALA Youth Media Awards 2025

SLJ Reviews, Jan 27, 2025

The SLJ reviews editors rounded up our reviews of the books lauded at the 2025 Youth Media Awards. Here, the reviews of the Stonewall Book Award and Honors winners.

AWARDS

2025 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck Award Winners Announced

SLJ Staff, Dec 09, 2024

NCTE has announced Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of American Indian Boarding Schools by Dan SaSuWeh Jones and The Last Stand by Antwan Eady, illus. by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey, as the 2025 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck award winners, respectively.

CENSORSHIP

18 More Reviews of Banned Classics | Defending the Canon

SLJ Reviewers and NCTE, Sep 23, 2024

In time for Banned Books Week, NCTE and SLJ have partnered again to provide professional reviews of banned curriculum staples. We highlight 18 acclaimed works by celebrated authors, including Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

BOOKLISTS

Best Nonfiction Elementary 2024 | SLJ Best Books

Kimberly Olson Fakih, Vi Ha, Mary Lanni, John Scott, Nov 22, 2024

The blossoming ranks of stellar biographies for young readers continue to crowd the shelves. Japanese athletes hit their summits in two vastly different ways, an author attempts to right the record on Rosalind Franklin, and a forgotten sports hero at last gets his due. And that's just the start of the Best Books in the category of nonfiction for the elementary grades. Come have a look.

AWARDS

Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Announces 2025 EJK Award Winners

SLJ Staff, Feb 20, 2025

The 2025 Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award went to Breanna J. McDaniel for Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller. X. Fang won the Illustrator Award for We Are Definitely Human.

BOOKLISTS

Native Voices: A Curated List of 2024 Titles Featuring Native American Stories | Great Books

SLJ Reviews, Oct 28, 2024

This roundup of 2024 books centering Native American stories offers something for every reader to enjoy this November and all year long.

BLOGS

And Now Some Books I’m REALLY Excited for in 2025!

Betsy Bird, Jan 02, 2025

For this one time only, please enjoy this list of some of the 2025 Children's Books I Am Most Excited To See.

AWARDS

YMAs Reveal Top Titles in Young Adult Nonfiction, Informational Books | ALA Youth Media Awards 2025

SLJ Reviews, Jan 30, 2025

SLJ reviews of YALSA's Excellence in Nonfiction Award titles and the winner and honor books of the 2025 Robert F. Sibert Informational Award, administered by ALSC.

BOOKS & MEDIA

8 Titles of Resilience and Hope for Holocaust Remembrance Day

SLJ Reviews, Jan 23, 2024

January 27 is designated as a day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Share these stories of resilience and hope about people of various ages, races, nationalities, and more with young readers today and throughout the year.

BOOKLISTS

19 Books Featuring Incarcerated Family Members for Young Readers of All Ages

Rachel Owens, Jun 05, 2024

Stories of children with parents behind bars are as diverse as the millions of real-life kids familiar with the experience. These 19 fiction and nonfiction titles may offer an empathetic, metaphoric hand for young readers to hold.

BOOKLISTS

81 Exemplary Picture Books | SLJ 2024 Stars So Far

SLJ Reviews, Jul 08, 2024

Get your purchase list out and make sure you include these picture books; we've found dozens of contenders for this year's Best Books collection.

More Classroom & Curricula

NEWS & FEATURES

Romantasy Manga: Whirlwind Tales of Love and Adventure | Mondo Manga

Brigid Alverson, Mar 13, 2025

It’s romance! It’s fantasy! It’s romantasy: A fan favorite category for manga. Here are seven recent romantasy manga releases.

BOOKLISTS

Best Manga 2024 | SLJ Best Books

Jasmine Amiri, Rachel Forbes, Joe Pascullo, Lisa Rowland, Sara Smith, Nov 19, 2024

As the medium continues its meteoric rise, 2024 marked the debut of SLJ's first-ever Best Books committee dedicated exclusively to manga. From shock-charged action and celestial fantasy to eco-horror and edutainment, these 22 standout titles offer something for readers of all ages and interests, redefining what belongs on K–12 shelves—and why.

BLOGS

Arree Chung Talks about his Debut Graphic Novel: Don’t Cause Trouble

Colby Sharp, Mar 17, 2025

COLBY: I had a whole lot of fun talking to Arree Chung about his new (and first ) graphic novel, Don’t Cause Trouble. I hope you enjoy our conversation! Subscribe below to catch every episode of The Yarn: iTunes Spotify Stitcher

BOOKLISTS

9 Middle Grade & YA Graphic Novels About the Holocaust

SLJ Reviews, Jan 22, 2025

BOOKLISTS

Best Graphic Novels 2024 | SLJ Best Books

Jasmine Amiri, Angie Jameson, Rosemary Kiladitis, Andrea Lipinski, Allison Tran, Nov 21, 2024

Cozy fantasies, immigration stories, and reimagined classics—2024’s Best Graphic Novels list isn’t just a collection of 25 unforgettable reads, it’s a showcase of comics that push storytelling to new heights.

BLOGS

How to Draw a Secret | Review

J. Caleb Mozzocco, Mar 05, 2025

In cartoonist Cindy Chang's fictionalized childhood memoir, the young Cindy learns a secret that will transform her conception of her own family on a trip to Taiwan.

BLOGS

Underground, vol. 1 | Review

Renee Scott, Mar 06, 2025

In this much acclaimed manga, a fighter must battle fierce opponents and a life-threatening illness in his quest for revenge.

BOOKLISTS

32 Superb Graphic Novels | SLJ 2024 Stars So Far

SLJ Reviews, Jul 15, 2024

From early reader to YA titles, these starred graphic novels showcase the very best of the comics medium so far in 2024. Use the downloadable spreadsheet to ensure your collection includes these superb graphic novels.

BOOKLISTS

Funny Animal Comics, from 'Barkham Asylum' to 'The Unpetables' | Stellar Panels

Brigid Alverson, Jan 22, 2025

These selections combine witty dialogue, incongruous situations, goofy characters, and silly plots to keep young readers entertained.

BOOKLISTS

16 Fiction and Nonfiction Titles for Young Readers in the Wake of the Los Angeles Wildfires

SLJ Reviews, Jan 16, 2025

These books—which share stories of real and fictional people and animals who have endured wildfires—can provide information and comfort to children and teens.

BLOGS

Exclusive: Return to ‘Hollow’ with ‘The Woman in White’ | News

Brigid Alverson, Feb 20, 2025

The creators of Hollow return with a new Washington Irving-inspired queer romance, The Woman in White.

BLOGS

Weirdo | Review

J. Caleb Mozzocco, Feb 11, 2025

Writer Tony Weaver Jr. and artists Jes and Cin Wibowo tackle tough subject matter in a fictionalized memoir about becoming yourself in the face of relentless bullying and mental health challenges.

BOOKLISTS

Mighty Manhwa! | Stellar Panels

Brigid Alverson, Mar 27, 2024

Korean and Chinese comics reach English-language readers.

OPINION

Turning a Page: SLJ will turn 70. How can we best serve readers? | From the Editor

Kathy Ishizuka, Oct 15, 2023

The editors are planning for 2024, SLJ's 70th anniversary year.

More Graphic Novels

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OPINION

10 Things I Hate About Starred Reviews | Opinion

Kimberly Olson Fakih, Mar 13, 2025

Starred reviews have a big problem. And it begins and ends with the 10 points in this list.

INDUSTRY NEWS

SLJ Is Quitting X. Here’s Why. | From the Editor

Kathy Ishizuka, Mar 14, 2025

The platform no longer serves our mission or reflects our values.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Finding Our Way: How We Navigated the Chaos and Challenges of COVID-19 | 5 Years On

SLJ Staff, Feb 28, 2025

SLJ asked librarians, authors, and illustrators to reflect on their pandemic experience: the impact on them, their students, and readers; the innovations that stuck; the memories that linger; and the lessons we learned.

NEWS & FEATURES

“He Looks Like a Guy Who Would Defund Libraries" | Feedback

SLJ staff, Mar 09, 2025

Readers weigh in on Arkansas legislator “Book Ban Dan.”

BLOGS

Important Update: Deep Cuts Proposed to the IMLS are a Further Erosion to Education and Democracy

Karen Jensen, MLS, Mar 17, 2025

In the News: New Executive Order proposed to end IMLS funding and a call to support your local public library

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bearing Witness was an Act of Patriotism Then, and so Necessary Today. Tell Your Story. | From the Editor

Kathy Ishizuka, Feb 28, 2025

She was a bit shaky at first but persevered through nerves and emotion to tell her story. My mother's testimony bore witness to injustice. Stories matter.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Kelly Yang: Stories Bond Us | 5 Years On

Kelly Yang, Feb 28, 2025

Author Kelly Yang shares her unique COVID-19 experience, which reminded her of the power of stories, which "give us hope and light when our tank is empty."

INDUSTRY NEWS

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. Now More Than Ever. | From the Editor

Kathy Ishizuka, Jan 29, 2025

Given the current backlash, with anti-DEI legislation and sentiment festering, we risk losing ground on fairness and equality when we need it most.

BLOGS

“This one’s for me.” a Guest Post by Dev Petty

Travis Jonker, Mar 18, 2025

Today we have a guest post from author Dev Petty, explaining the unique dedication in her latest book . . .

BLOGS

Book Review: Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights edited by Ashley Hope Pérez

Amanda MacGregor, Mar 13, 2025

This light in the darkness is an inspiring call to action and an essential addition to all collections.

INDUSTRY NEWS

A Rainbow Collection: The Day Shelves Got Colorful

Benjamin Ludwig, Feb 19, 2025

When educator Benjamin Ludwig missed one day of school, a group of fifth graders reorganized the books—not by genre, but with ROYGBIV.

BLOGS

A Conversation Worth Reading: Kyle Lukoff Discusses His Work and A World Worth Saving

Betsy Bird, Mar 07, 2025

An amazing amalgamation of thoughts, themes, and ideas that could have ended up an unholy mess and, instead, work. Today, I talk with Kyle Lukoff about his Jewish/trans/epic fantasy latest.

More Opinion

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Headline

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BLOGS

19 Exceptional Titles, Including the Graphic Novel Adaptation of 'Tuck Everlasting' | Starred Reviews, July 2025