Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth

After telling the life stories of both Lincoln and Douglass, this well-researched and wonderfully readable book describes their first meeting in 1863, their different points of view, and their respectful, increasingly warm relationship.

This important addition to the Holocaust curriculum is one of the few histories to focus in detail on Jewish resistance across Europe. Among the meticulously documented accounts are many profiles of young people who made a difference.

The curtain rises in 1773, as colonists plan and carry out the Boston Tea Party. Period quotes bring a sense of immediacy to the clearly written narrative, while beautifully composed watercolor paintings dramatize events.

In 1917, two teenagers faked photographs of fairies using paper illustrations. Their innocent ruse went international, receiving validation by experts and belief by the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle. An unbelievable true story about the magic of true friendship. (Top of the List winner—Youth Nonfiction.)

Rhythmic text and beautiful folk-art illustrations introduce celebrated “outsider artist” Bill Traylor, who drew on memories of his childhood as a slave when he started drawing in 1939, at the age of 85.

In this companion to Traveling the Freedom Road (2009), Osborne offers another handsome, highly readable overview of African American history, focusing here on both the South and the North during the late-nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century.

Hoose turns his eye to the endangered rufa red-knot bird—specifically Moonbird, a humble fellow who has flown more than 325,000 miles in his lifetime. Despite the wealth of information, the story, like the bird, moves swiftly.

Through original interviews, a smart use of source material, and a wonderfully easygoing style, Blumenthal gives readers a full portrait of Jobs, in all his complexity.

With its focus on four young people who participated in the Birmingham Children’s March, this fascinating title offers a unique view of the role of children and teens in the civil rights era.

Illustrated with handsome photos, this informative and wholly engaging book transports readers to Maryland’s Assateague Island National Seashore, where scientists study herds of wild horses and work to improve their well-being.