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The Youth Media Award Winners are announced. Sparking Fire Out of Fate by Brigid Kemmerer leads holds this week. Wonder by R.J. Palacio tops the NYT Children’s Middle Grade Hardcover Bestsellers list after 526 weeks on the list; new to the list are The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller at No. 6 and Basket Ball by Kadir Nelson at No. 10. The United States Board on Books for Young People releases its 2026 Outstanding International Book List.

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller leads holds this week. The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, illustrated by Cynthia Yuan Cheng, enters the NYT Children’s Middle Grade Hardcover Best Seller list at No. 1. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine announces Beth Is Dead as the inaugural pick for its new Sunnie Reads Book Club, which is run “by and for Gen-Z readers.”

Sweet Valley Twins: Three’s a Crowd by Francine Pascal, illustrated by Claudia Aguirre and adapted by Nicole Andelfinger, leads holds this week. “Teen Librarian Toolbox” features their most anticipated YA books of 2026, two of which come out this week: Beth Is Dead, a thrilling reimagining of Little Women, and 16 Forever, about a teen who repeats his 16th year while the rest of the world moves on. Kate DiCamillo and Kelly Yang announce their new podcast, StoryKind.

SLJ chats with the Pura Belpre–winning artist about the creative process for this year’s December Best Books cover.

The YA author shares how laughter through tears is a survival tactic employed by her protagonists—and Indigenous people—to get through difficult times.

In these five titles for new readers, pairs of friends share in adventures and have twice the fun.

The author/illustrator's work shines a light on Latinx icons who haven't always appeared in our history books. Here we celebrate Menéndez's illustrations in the Spanish and English editions of the excellent poetry collection Hopeful Heroes by Margarita Engle.