Williams, Alicia D

SLJ's 2024 best middle and high school nonfiction selections run the gamut from insightful memoir; thoughtful explorations of cultural, biological, and environmental phenomena; to unrelenting exposures of dark times in our world's sociopolitical history—and the crucial lessons we must learn from the past.

A quietly stunning novel in verse about grief and learning to accept yourself. Recommended for all middle grade collections.

These 28 middle grade and YA nonfiction titles invite readers to delve into different facets and figures of history, science, social justice topics, and more. With a range of titles from a graphic memoir by Jerry Pinkney to a logbook-style look at an Arctic expedition to a history of the Scopes Monkey Trial that ties to contemporary censorship, there's much to explore and consider.

Stellar research, unexplored histories, scientific breakthroughs, and heartbreaking truths loom large in this whopping list of 52 choice nonfiction works.

This powerful picture book about race, family, and growing up is an essential purchase for every library’s collection, putting words to an impossible and necessary conversation, and giving children whose families don’t have “the talk” a window for understanding and an opportunity for compassion and change.

Librarians may feel they have enough books on Chisholm’s life but this volume should be considered as more than an additional purchase.

A welcome addition to any picture book biography collection; Williams deftly underscores the value of perseverance and education while highlighting the achievements of an influential Black female author.

This is a sensitive and nuanced portrayal of a girl grappling with hard truths about her family and her own feelings of self-worth. A must for all collections.