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Of the 15 titles on the Heavy Medal Book List, Candace Fleming's THE ENGIMA GIRLS is the only nonfiction entry. Will this riveting historical story measure up to this year's other Newbery contenders?
For this one time only, please enjoy this list of some of the 2025 Children's Books I Am Most Excited To See.
Teen librarian Cindy Shutts shares how to make mini book shelves
Travis: Colby Sharp and I got on a video call to talk about children’s literature in 2024. A lot happened. In this special extended episode, we discuss our favorite books, memorable moments, the joys of pickleball, and many other topics. We hope you enjoy this episode: Subscribe below to catch every episode of The Yarn: iTunes […]
Teen Librarian Karen Jensen shares 5 of her favorite YA reads for 2024, and 2 Printz Award predictions
Today's Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist is THE COLOR OF SOUND by Emily Barth Isler, a title about a young neurodivergent musician, with a little bit of time-travel involved.
Our final list! Enjoy what is inarguably a lovely list of books. And thank you for reading my lists this month!
The author of Witches of Brooklyn returns with another fantasy-tinged coming-of-age story.
We kick off our official Heavy Medal Mock Newbery discussion with a poetry collection- BLACK GIRL, YOU ARE ATLAS by Renee Watson.
A handful of 2024 releases and a bunch of 2025 releases round out this final book mail post of the year.
Come and enjoy this eclectic collection of some of the most memorable fiction for older readers out in 2024.
On today's podcast episode we discuss Australian armor-clad bushrangers, which of these sheep is the most impressive skill-wise, and whether or not this is just Hippos Go Bezerk with sheep.
By Guest Writer Kavita Mohan* for EveryLibrary As we previously discussed in Politics in Practice (May 2023), U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) entered into a Resolution Agreement with the Forsyth County School District in Georgia following its investigation into whether the District’s removal of certain books from schools created a hostile […]
As with any list of longer titles, I have to say right off the bat that what you'll find here is more of a representative sample of the great older fiction of 2024 than what was actually the "best".
COLBY: A couple of months ago Jerzy visited the elementary school that I teach in for an author visit. He was amazing! In this episode of The Yarn my co-host Travis Jonker chats with Jerzy about his new graphic novel The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue. I hope you enjoy […]
I consider these the best of the best. The ones you cannot miss. See if you can find one you missed before now.
Inspired by Greek myth, Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky's thrilling adventure features a young girl taken to Hades as part of a greater plot to reignite an old war between rival nations.
Today we start with a practice discussion of OLIVETTI by Allie Millington, a title not on the Heavy Medal book list but one that still received 12 Mock Newbery nominations.
INTRODUCTION Sea Legs: A Graphic Novel (Sea Legs #1) by Jules Bakes, Niki Smith (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781338835861 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 02/04/2025, Ages 8-12) Set sail for adventure! Dive in to this hilarious and moving middle grade graphic memoir about friendship, growing up, and life at sea. Janey’s family is about to set sail […]
Wrapping up the year with a handful of the graphic novels that have been on my TBR! All descriptions from the publisher. Sea Legs: A Graphic Novel (Sea Legs #1) by Jules Bakes, Niki Smith (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781338835861 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 02/04/2025, Ages 8-12) Set sail for adventure! Dive in to this hilarious […]
The Blueberry Awards are given to, "honor children’s literature that strengthens kids’ connections with nature and fosters action for the planet." Essentially these are nature and climate books with an eye to instilling a love of the natural world
Are you trying to figure out how to plan your reader's advisory topics for 2025? We have some calendars to help you do just that.
This may look like an ample list, and it is, but all thirty of these individuals are just a small slice of the pie that was biography in 2024. Read them in good health.
Today, consider this post my present to all those nonfiction and informational book fans out there. It's just FULL of titles that won't really get their day in the sun unless we promote the bloody heck out them.
Two teens, one with diabetes and the other a newly turned vampire, help each other deal with their conditions in Sarah Winifred Searle's graphic novel.
Teen librarian Karen Jensen discusses EPIC: THE MUSICAL, a new(ish) musical famous on TikTok that maybe we should know about
Consider this one for the kiddos. If it's gross, it's gonna be here.
Author Alyson Gerber discusses the classic THE WESTING GAME and how it influenced her mystery series, THE LIARS SOCIETY
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under featuring Blake Laser Volume 1 from Harper Alley and Digital Lizards of Doom Volume 3: Level 3 Dana Deathly from Papercutz.
They can be some of the most creative books of the year (and are a nightmare to catalogers everywhere). Take a gander at books that meld fact and fiction with aplomb.
Today's title was never really intended to be a children's book. It's a series of poems that were adapted into a book format instead. How well does it hold up? We intend to find out.
Here are some books with a distinctive fantasy feel that stood out to me in 2024. Read 'em! Enjoy 'em! Love 'em!
Today, I celebrate what little science fiction there is. And, interestingly enough, the bulk of it this year seemed to come in the form of picture books. What are we to make of that? Not sure, but it's kinda cool.
In this month's Newbery Author Spotlight, we look back at some memorable Newbery Medal acceptance speeches and invite readers to share their own experiences.
Sometimes the simple act of adding some books to my own personal endless TBR stack or list is all it takes for me to want to do a Take Five list.
Over the next two weeks I’ll be sharing the 10 most popular 100 Scope Notes posts during the past year.
On today's list you'll discover a wild mix of nonfiction, poetry, comics, novels, and more. Just sit back and enjoy the array!
Announcing the winners of the 2024 Endies Endpaper Awards.
Ah, this is a big one. There are only a couple topics including in the 31 Days, 31 Lists series that take significantly more time and energy than the others. With today's list we start tackling books for older readers this month. Comics just make for a natural starting place.
Meet the 13 members of the 2025 Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC). Every one of them is committed to reading all 15 titles on our Heavy Medal Book List, then discussing each one, starting December 30th.
If you’re looking to foster a love for fantasy that’s sure to last a lifetime, here are six spectacular, inclusive (and more or less recent) middle grade fantasy books to gift this holiday season.
Whatever you might call them, today's books are the titles that transition children into first reading on their own, and then into reading on their own for pleasure.
Mike Kunkel's Herobear and the Kid, a longtime favorite and award-winning kids' comic, has found a new home at Papercutz.
Check out these 25 middle grade titles coming out in 2025!
Announcing the winners of the 2024 Undies Case Cover Awards!
Some books today could easily be called "weird" but you're also going to see a number of titles that upset our conceptions of what a children's book published in America can even be. That might mean the subject matter, the narrative style, the art, or some other aspect is "unconventional".
Check out this week's list of new comics, manga, and graphic novels for readers 12 and under, featuring Alligator Loki Holiday Special #1 from Marvel Comics and Surfside Girls The Clue in the Reef from IDW Publishing.
Teen librarian Karen Jensen looks at the PEW Research findings on teens, social media and technology for 2024.
Our discussion of 15 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery titles begins in two weeks. Here's a complete schedule of titles and discussion dates, along with other Heavy Medal activities in store as we approach the announcement of the 2025 Newbery Medal.
Dive in to a delicious array of poetry for children. Poetry. It ain't just for April anymore.
Unfamiliar with today's book? Maybe it deserves classic status as an undiscovered gem. Today we discuss Gremlins, tiny demons, and so much more.
Today, I'm giving you the books in 2024 that hadn't a word of narration to spare. And they're not all picture books either! See if you can spot the graphic novel hiding in their ranks.
Today's list combines the best parts of traditional storytelling and modern mores. Come and enjoy the old and the new together.
The X-Men get the manga treatment in this retelling of the animated series.
Take a look at the 15 titles that made the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Book List for 2025. We will discuss these titles in depth- Dec. 28- Jan. 14th.
Today we're giving a shout out not simply to the translated books that make to American shelves, but also to the hardworking translators who are so good at what they do.
Here's a look at the graphic novels that publishers have been acquiring, and when we can expect to see them.
Being vulnerable on the page hasn’t been easy. Opening myself up to judgement—both good and bad is terrifying.
I LOVE photography. I feel it's the great unsung, untapped genre of children's books and is vastly deserving of more attention. 2024 had some true photographic beauties and we're going to experience them firsthand, right now!
In celebration of Taylor Swift's birthday on December 13th (iykyk), Teen Librarian Cindy Shutts shares her Taylor Swift themed Escape Room
Today we have a preview of the final arc of James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas' fantasy tale Wynd.
Author Sabrina Moyle discusses her graphic novel, ASTRID AND STELLA COMET TOGETHER
Several journals and libraries have announced their "Best Children's Books of 2024." How do their choices compare to the possible Newbery contenders on our Heavy Medal nominations list?
A behind-the-scenes look at how THE LAST ZOOKEEPER was made.
This year, we're going to talk about the usual slew of "message" books, while also taking some time to consider those titles that look at social and emotional learning.
This sweet graphic novel about a girl with dyslexia will help readers understand not only their own challenges, reading or otherwise, but also those that their friends may be facing.
Math! It's beautiful, isn't it? The perfection of it. Its logic. Cadences. Sublime applications. Today we celebrate it when it's put into children's books brilliantly. Don't be scared. Math is for everyone.
It’s time to take a look back at the year that was in children’s lit miscellanea.
What do you do when four million wasps invade your town? Make 'em a sandwich, of course! Kate and I discuss this 1972 publication and determine whether it ranks as a "classic".
Teen librarian Karen Jensen discusses the end of the Eras Tour and what libraries can learn from Taylor Swift
View the final nomination list of 57 Mock Newbery contenders and vote in a poll to help determine our final book list.
Enjoy both books where two different languages appear in the same title, and books of translation from one language to another. It's a celebration of all things bilingual today!
Make your voice heard by voting for the 2024 Undies Case Cover Awards.
While from a sales perspective picture book reprints are risky things, today we are highlighting those rare titles that get a second chance at life.
What precisely is a "Caldenott"? Any book where the illustrator is inconveniently from a country other than America. Today, we look beyond rigid classifications to celebrate artists deserving in every possible way save location.
Here's a look at the graphic novels that publishers have been acquiring, and when we can expect to see them.
Are you a serious children's book reader who loves to discuss the best of the best? Now's your chance to volunteer for the Heavy Medal Award Committee. Participants will take part in in-depth book discussion and a live webcast leading to the selection of our Mock Newbery winner. Apply online by December 12th.
As always, the one thing that makes life tolerable is escaping into fiction. And for all my hatred of actual winter, I love books set in winter. Here are a few you might like, too!
Can you guess the children’s book by its scathing one-star review on Goodreads?
Funny books? They're difficult to create. Today we look at a slew of books that are doing it right. From parrotfish and hilarious Iranians to science fiction, nonfiction, and more, there's something here for every humor lover on your list!
The friendship of two stray cats is explored in this adorable, yet realistic, manga.
If you need a holiday gift for that childhood friend you always traded books with, look no further.
Here are twelve books I read, loved, and didn’t review in 2024.
Today we celebrate the successful rhymers! These are the books that scan beautifully and give us good reasons for loving that particular type of tricky verse.
Save the date for our 2025 Mock Newbery webcast Friday Jan 24th at 1 pm EST.
TLT Contributor Riley Jensen shares some December YA releases on her TBR, and one from January because it's her post and she can do what she wants
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