38 Exceptional Works by Nina LaCour, Kadir Nelson, and More | Starred Reviews, January 2026

A creepy YA focusing on Edgar Allan Poe's descendant, a nonfiction title honoring Black basketball players, and board book and audiobook offerings appear on the first starred list of 2026.

 

A Celebration of You (Funk) ©2026 by Kip Alizadeh

 

Board Books

Rajan, Rekha S. This Is Hip-Hop: And Other Street Dances. illus. by Chris Park. Penguin Workshop/Rise.

Wehner, Eleni Tassopoulos. My Dinosaur Shoes. illus. by Danamarie Hosler. Barefoot.

Wildish, Lee. My First Milestones: Ready to WalkWorkman.

 

Spanish

Ruiz, Delia. Las maneras en que papi dice te quiero. tr. from English by Delia Ruiz.

––––. Ways Papi Says I Love You.

ea vol: illus. by Carlos Vélez Aguilera. Charlesbridge.

 

Picture Books

Florian, Douglas. Thank You, SunS. & S./Beach Lane.

Funk, Josh. A Celebration of You. illus. by Kip Alizadeh. Bloomsbury.

Gutta, Razeena Omar. Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj. illus. by Bassent Dawoud. Barefoot.

Kurpiel, Sarah. More than a Tree. Penguin/Rocky Pond.

Mooradian, Rebecca Rose. Rose by the Sea: An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope. illus. by Myo Yim. S. & S./Atheneum.

 

Transitional

LaCour, Nina. Ella Josephine and the Perfectly Imperfect Day. illus. by Sonia Albert. Chronicle.

Strandberg, Mats. Frank the Monster. illus. by Sofia Falkenhem. Gecko.

 

Middle Grade

Alston, B.B. Amari and the Metalwork Menace. HarperCollins/Storytide.

Haydu, Corey Ann. The Ordinary and Extraordinary Auden GreeneHarperCollins/Quill Tree.


YA

Baguchinsky, Jill. May the Dead Keep You. Little, Brown.

Coffindaffer, Becca. The Bloody and the Damned. Roaring Brook.

Quirke, Anna Zoe. Something to Be Proud Of. little bee.

Peterfreund, Diana. Ellen Poe: The Forgotten Lore. Running Press Kids.

 

Graphic Novels

Barish, Chris. Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph. illus. by Nate Sweitzer. Abrams/Fanfare.

Cazot, Vero. Olive. illus. by Lucy Mazel. Abrams.

Dapier, Jarrett. Wake Now in the Fire. illus. by AJ Dungo. Ten Speed.

Day, Dian. Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge. illus. by Amanda White. Second Story Pr.

Garrity, Shaenon K. Steam. illus. by Emily Holden. S. & S./Margaret K. McElderry.

Kon, Adeline. Just Between Us. Dial.

 

Nonfiction

Ackerman, Sara Holly. How to Hatch: A Gosling’s Guide to Breaking Freeillus. by Galia Bernstein. Knopf.

Alonso, Nathalie. ¡Viva Valenzuela! Fernandomania Erupts in Los Angelesillus. by John Parra. Astra/Calkins Creek.

Birmingham, Maria. Left-Handed: Getting a Grip on Handednessillus. by Catherine Chan. Owlkids.

Griner, Brittney & Michelle Burford. Coming Home (Adapted for Young Adults). Random/Bright Matter.

Mirtalipova, Dinara. The Vanishing Sea: The Tale of How the Aral Sea Became the Aral Desert. Chronicle.

Nelson, Kadir. Basket Ball: The Story of the All-American Game. Little, Brown.

Robertson, Joanne & Shirley (Fletcher) Horn. Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story. illus. by Joanne Robertson. Second Story Pr.

Rosenstock, Barb. Houdini’s Library: How Books Created the World’s Greatest Magician. illus. by Mar Delmar. Knopf.

Theule, Larissa. Glass: Looking In, Looking Out. illus. by Victoria Tentler-Krylov. Candlewick.

Tonai, Minoru & Jolene Guitérrez. Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp. illus. by Chris Sasaki. Abrams. 

 

Reference

The Kingfisher Football Encyclopedia. Kingfisher.

The Kingfisher Baseball Encyclopedia. Kingfisher.

 

Audio

Henn, Sophy. I Hate Everything! narrated by Sophy Henn. S. & S. Audio.

Min, Lio. The L.O.V.E. Club. narrated by Alice Wen. Macmillan Young Listeners.

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