Youth librarians’ favorite books from the past year.
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Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett E BARNETT With a supply of yarn that never runs out, Annabelle knits for everyone and everything in town until an evil archduke decides he wants the yarn for himself. Catalog Link |
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Tweak Tweak by Eve Bunting E BUNTING While out for a walk, Mama Elephant answers her child’s questions about a monkey, a frog, a songbird, a butterfly, and a crocodile, all the while teaching about Little Elephant too. Catalog Link |
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Mouse & Lion by Rand Burkert E BURKERT Presents an adaptation of Aesop’s classic tale about an unlikely friendship between a mouse and a lion in which an act of mercy proves to be a lifesaving gesture. Catalog Link |
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Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper J DRAPER Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time. Catalog Link |
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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green TEEN GREEN Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Catalog Link |
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Dot by Patricia Intriago CONCEPT E INTRIAGO Pairs of circular shapes convey opposite relationships in the arc of a day. Catalog Link |
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I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen E KLASSEN A bear almost gives up his search for his missing hat until he remembers something important. Catalog Link |
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The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann SF J MCMANN In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic. Catalog Link |
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Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson HISTORY US J973.0496 NEL An simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama. Catalog Link |
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Blackout by John Rocco E ROCCO When a busy family’s activities come to a halt because of a blackout, they find they enjoy spending time together and not being too busy for once. Catalog Link |
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Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal HOLIDAY E ROSENTHAL One small act of love blossoms into something more dazzling than Little Miss could have ever imagined, in this journey about life, kindness, and giving. Catalog Link |
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Divergent by Veronica Roth SF TEEN ROTH In a future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomoly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all. Catalog Link |
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Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke by Angie Sage SF J SAGE Apprentice Septimus Heap must enter the Darke to save the Castle and the Wizard Tower from destruction, but he needs the help of many to battle the spreading Darkenesse. Catalog Link |
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Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre E SAYRE Photographs of vegetables and rhyming text celebrate vegetables in all their colorful and tasty variety. Catalog Link |
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Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick J SELZNICK Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben’s story is told in words; Rose’s in pictures. Catalog Link |
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Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman E SIDMAN Celebrates the shape of a spiral in nature, from rushing rivers to flower buds and even the shape of an ear. Catalog Link |
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The Emerald Atlas (Books of Beginning) by John Stephens SF J STEPHENS Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared to protect them, but now they learn that they have special powers, a prophesied quest to find a magical book, and a fearsome enemy. Catalog Link |
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Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet BIOGRAPHY J921 SARG Award-winning artist Sweet tells the story of the puppeteer Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America—the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Catalog Link |
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Press Here by Herve Tullet E TULLET Instructs the reader on how to interact with the illustrations to create imaginative images. Catalog Link |
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The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales / With an Introduction by Lemony Snicket by Chris Van Allsburg TEEN CHRONICLES A collection of stories based on illustrations in Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Catalog Link |
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On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells HIST J WELLS When the Depression hits in Cairo, Illinois, and Oscar Ogilvie’s father must sell their home and vast model train set-up to look for work in California, eleven-year-old Oscar is left with his dour aunt, where he befriends a mysterious drifter, witnesses a stunning bank robbery, and is suddenly catapulted onto a train that takes him to a different time and place. Catalog Link |
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Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! by Mo Willems E WILLEMS Amanda and her alligator have lots of fun together, but when Amanda’s grandfather buys her a panda, Alligator must learn to make new friends. Catalog Link |
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Should I Share My Ice Cream? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems ER WILLEMS Gerald must decide if he should share his ice cream before it’s too late. Catalog Link |
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The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China by Ed Young BIOGRAPHY J921 YOUNG Outside the walls of Ed Young’s childhood home in Shanghai, China was at war. This powerful, poignant memoir is the story of one of our most beloved children’s book illustrators and the house his baba (father) built. Catalog Link |