A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Namey, Laura Taylor Atheneum Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Jen at Introverted Reader Lila Reyes always knew she’d become head baker at her family’s panadería, but then the Trifecta happened. The woman who taught her everything about cooking—her abuela—dies, her best friend upends their plans to move in together, …

  Board Books Animals Go Vroom! by Cushman, Abi Viking Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Isabella K. Following in the footsteps of Richard Scarry, in ANIMALS GO VROOM!, Cushman illustrates a world in which animals drive cars, ride bikes, and navigate cities, all in their own unique animalistic ways. Cut-outs on solid-color pages provide a teaser for the following …

Bad Witch Burning by Lewis, Jessica Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Kim Baccellia An entrancing story of magic and the danger it can bring. Katrell’s can’t make enough to support her mom by talking to the dead to pay the bills she turns to raising the dead. The unforeseen side effects of this decision change her life. …

by Ireland, Justina Balzer + Bray Nominated by: Darshana Khiani After a white mob kills her father and burns their home, Ophie and her mother leave the Jim Crow south of the 1920s for Pittsburgh and both find work at the huge home of a wealthy family. It is a house full of ghosts, and Ophie can see and communicate …

Elementary Nonfiction Bartali’s Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy’s Secret Hero by Hoyt, Megan, illustrated by Bruno, Iacopo Quill Tree Books Nominated by: Julie Rowan-Zoch Gino Bartali won the Tour de France in 1938 and became an international hero, however he always insisted he was not a hero, simply a cyclist. However, in the years to come he …

  A Place to Hang the Moon by Albus, Kate Margaret Ferguson Books Nominated by: AGW It’s 1940 and Anne , Edmund and Will have just lost the only family they have. With no one left to take care of them they join hundreds of other kids in England evacuating from the war into the country side. The hope is …

Elementary/Middle Grade  Borders by King, Thomas, illustrated by Donovan, Natasha Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Reshama Borders written by Thomas King and Illustrated by Natasha Donovan is a simple yet important story of identity, culture, survival, history and modern politics. It touches on how politics create problems for indigenous people like the blackfoot who have lived on …

Easy Reader Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf (The Real Chicken Little) by Wedelich, Sam, illustrated by Wedelich, Sam Scholastic Nominated by: Julie Williams Chicken Little may be called little but she’s the smartest, most scientific chicken in the barnyard. At first, she’s frightened of the big bad wolf, but when the other chickens in the barnyard choose flight …

Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Smith, Colby Cedar Andrews McMeel Publishing Nominated by: Alyssa Colman Call me Athena is an enchanting verse novel in multiple voices that captures the reader into the tumultuous time period of the 1930s in Detroit as well as World War I. The different time periods and voices are woven together with lyrical and …

  Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition by Treuer, Anton Levine Querido Nominated by: Deb Nance at Readerbuzz Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask: This candid, conversational, illuminating text invites readers to ask questions and question assumptions about Native American culture, history, and lived experience. …