Best Of

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.

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.

The best poems educate with their facts and inspire with their beautiful flow of words. These 11 titles contain poems that do both exceptionally for young readers of all ages. 

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.

Mythology and animal stories compose a large part of this early reader and chapter book list, alongside contemporary tales of young protagonists staying true to themselves and the things they love while figuring out how to act among peers. These titles will help children learn how to read as well as model ideas for how they can be authentically themselves.

Gripping fantastical journeys, family secrets, unbridled joy, and inconceivable loss: in these pages, tweens are facing it all. These 26 middle grade titles are exemplars across genre of the power of truth telling and embracing one's authentic self, even when it seems impossible. 

Among this year’s outstanding listens—with publication dates from November 2023 to October 2024—are two picture books, two volumes of a graphic trilogy (they count as one entry), a head-smack must-read history, and several laugh-out-loud novels. 

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.

The curation of this list is evidence of the gigantic community working together, no questions asked, to campaign for literacy and an educated republic, by inviting young readers into the pages of a book. We’d love to know what you think of our 193 selections.