ALSC names 2017 Notable Children's Books

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected its 2017 list of Notable Children’s Books. The list of titles includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry and picture books of special interest, quality, creativity and value to children 14 years of age and younger.

 

The titles include:

 

 

“Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer.” By Diane Stanley. Illus. by Jessie Hartland. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman. 

 

“Ada Twist, Scientist.” By Andrea Beaty. Illus. by David Roberts. Abrams.

 

“Before Morning.” By Joyce Sidman. Illus. by Beth Krommes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 

“Best Frints in the Whole Universe.” By Antoinette Portis. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. 

 

“Counting.” By Fleur Star. illus. DK.

 

“Coyote Moon.” By Maria Gianferrari. Illus. by Bagram Ibatoulline. Roaring Brook. 

 

“Fabulous Frogs.” By Martin Jenkins. Illus. by Tim Hopgood. Candlewick.

 

“Go, Otto, Go!” By David Milgrim. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Simon Spotlight.

 

“Good Night Owl.” By Greg Pizzoli. Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion.

 

“The Great Pet Escape.” By Victoria Jamieson. Illus. by the author. Holt.

 

“Horrible Bear!” By Ame Dyckman. Illus. by Zachariah OHora. Little, Brown.

 

“A Hungry Lion; or, A Dwindling Assortment of Animals.” By Lucy Ruth Cummins. Illus. by the author. Atheneum.

 

“The Infamous Ratsos.” By Kara LaReau. Illus. by Matt Myers. Candlewick.

 

“Leave Me Alone!” By Vera Brosgol. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook. 

 

“The Night Gardener.” By Terry Fan. Illus. by Eric Fan. Simon & Schuster.

 

“Old Dog Baby Baby.” By Julie Fogliano. Illus. by Chris Raschka. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

 

“Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! An Alphabet Caper.” By Mike Twohy. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray. 

 

“Over the Ocean.” By Taro Gomi. Illus. by the author. Chronicle.

 

“A Piece of Home.” By Jeri Watts. Illus. by Hyewon Yum. Candlewick.

 

“Puddle.” By Hyewon Yum. Illus. by the author. Farrar.

 

“Rudas: Niño’s Horrendous Hermanitas.” By Yuyi Morales. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

 

“School’s First Day of School.” By Adam Rex. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

 

“Thunder Boy Jr.” By Sherman Alexie. Illus. by Yuyi Morales. Little, Brown. 

 

“We Are Growing!: A Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Book.” By Laurie Keller. Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion. 

 

“We Found a Hat.” By Jon Klassen. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

 

“Weekends with Max and His Dad.” By Linda Urban. Illus. by Katie Kath. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 

“When Andy Met Sandy.” By Tomie dePaola and Jim Lewis. Illus. by Tomie dePaola. Simon & Schuster. 

 

“Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln?” By Kate DiCamillo. Illus. by Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick.

 

 

“The Best Man.” By Richard Peck. Dial.

 

“Dory Fantasmagory: Dory Dory Black Sheep.” By Abby Hanlon. Dial. 

 

“Full of Beans.” By Jennifer L. Holm. Random.

 

“Frank and Lucky Get Schooled.” By Lynne Rae Perkins. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow.

 

“The Girl Who Drank the Moon.” By Kelly Barnhill. Algonquin. 

 

“I Am Not a Number.” By Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer. Illus. by Gillian Newland. Second Story.

 

“I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark.” By Debbie Levy. Illus. by Elizabeth Baddeley. Simon & Schuster.

 

“Juana & Lucas.” By Juana Medina. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

 

“Ms. Bixby’s Last Day.” By John David Anderson. HarperCollins/Walden Pond.

 

“Pax.” By Sara Pennypacker. Illus. by Jon Klassen. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray.

 

“A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day.” By Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illus. by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson. Viking.

 

“Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis.” By Jabari Asim. Illus. by E. B. Lewis. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. 

 

“The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes.” By Duncan Tonatiuh. Illus. by the author. Abrams.

 

“Raymie Nightingale.” By Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick.

 

“The Secret Keepers.” By Trenton Lee Stewart. Illus. by Diana Sudyka. Little, Brown/Megan Tingley. 

 

“The Sound of Silence.” By Katrina Goldsaito. Illus. by Julia Kuo. Little, Brown. 

 

“Steamboat School.” By Deborah Hopkinson. Illus. by Ron Husband. Disney/Jump at the Sun.

 

“Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World about Kindness.” By Donna Janell Bowman. Illus. by Daniel Minter. Lee & Low. 

 

“The Storyteller.” By Evan Turk. Illus. by the author. Atheneum.

 

“The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk.” By Jan Thornhill. Illus. by the author. Groundwood.

 

“A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of the First International Flight by Balloon in 1785.” By Matthew Olshan. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Farrar.

 

“Wet Cement.” By Bob Raczka. Roaring Brook.

 

“When Mischief Came to Town.” By Katrina Nannestad. Harcourt. 

 

“When the Sea Turned to Silver.” By Grace Lin. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

 

“The Wild Robot.” By Peter Brown. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

 

 

“As Brave as You.” By Jason Reynolds. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy.

 

“The Ballad of a Broken Nose.” By Arne Svingen. Tr. by Kari Dickson. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry. 

 

“The Bitter Side of Sweet.” By Tara Sullivan. Putnam. 

 

“Blood Brother: Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights.” By Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace. illus. Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek. 

 

“Booked.” By Kwame Alexander. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 

“Brown v. Board of Education: A Fight for Simple Justice.” By Susan Goldman Rubin. illus. Holiday.

 

“Cloud and Wallfish.” By Anne Nesbet. Candlewick.

 

“Cry, Heart, but Never Break.” By Glenn Ringtved. Illus. by Charlotte Pardi. Tr. by Robert Moulthrop. Enchanted Lion.

 

“Garvey’s Choice.” By Nikki Grimes. Boyds Mills/Wordsong.

 

“Ghost.” By Jason Reynolds. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy.

 

“In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives.” By Kenneth C. Davis. illus. Holt.

 

“The Inquisitor’s Tale; or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog.” By Adam Gidwitz. Illus. by Hatem Aly. Dutton.

 

“The Lie Tree.” By Frances Hardinge. Abrams/Amulet. 

 

“Lowriders to the Center of the Earth.” By Cathy Camper. Illus. by Raul the Third. Chronicle.

 

“March: Book Three.” By John Lewis and Andrew Aydin. Illus. by Nate Powell. Top Shelf.

 

“The Only Road.” By Alexandra Diaz. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman.

 

“Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented the Wild West.” By Candace Fleming. illus. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

 

“Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story.” By Caren Stelson. illus. Carolrhoda.

 

“Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune.” By Pamela S. Turner. Illus. by Gareth Hinds. Charlesbridge.

 

“To Stay Alive: Mary Ann Graves and the Tragic Journey of the Donner Party.” By Skila Brown. Candlewick.

 

“Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience during World War II.” By Albert Marrin. illus. Knopf.

 

“We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler.” By Russell Freedman. illus. Clarion.

 

“What Elephants Know.” By Eric Dinerstein. Disney/Hyperion.

 

“Wolf Hollow.” By Lauren Wolk. Dutton.

 

“The Wolf’s Boy.” By Susan Williams Beckhorn. Disney/Hyperion. 

 

“You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen.” By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illus. by Jeffery Boston Weatherford. Atheneum. 

 

 

“Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Infographics.” By Steve Jenkins. Illus. by the author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 

“As Time Went By.” By Jose Sanabria. Illus. by the author. North-South.

 

“Daniel Finds a Poem.” By Micha Archer. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen.

 

“Du Iz Tak?” By Carson Ellis. Illus. by the author. Candlewick. 

 

“Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist.” By Susan Wood. Illus. by Duncan Tonatiuh. Charlesbridge.

 

“Freedom in Congo Square.” By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. little bee. 

 

“Freedom over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan. By Ashley Bryan.” Illus. by the author. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy.

 

“Giant Squid.” By Candace Fleming. Illus. by Eric Rohmann. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. 

 

“Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph.” By Roxane Orgill. Illus. by Francis Vallejo. Candlewick. 

 

“The Journey.” By Francesca Sanna. Illus. by the author. Flying Eye.

 

“Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood.” By F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell. Illus. by Rafael Lopez. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 

“¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! / Olinguito, from A to Z! Descubriendo el bosque nublado / Unveiling the Cloud Forest.” By Lulu Delacre. Illus. by the author. Lee & Low.

 

“Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.” By Javaka Steptoe. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown. 

 

“Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White.” By Melissa Sweet. Illus. by the author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

 

“Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds.” By Jorge Argueta. Illus. by Alfonso Ruano. Tr. by Elisa Amado. Groundwood.

 

“They All Saw a Cat.” By Brendan Wenzel. Illus. by the author. Chronicle. 

 

“The Water Princess.” By Susan Verde and Georgie Badiel. Illus. by Peter H. Reynolds. Putnam.

 

“When Green Becomes Tomatoes.” By Julie Fogliano. Illus. by Julie Morstad. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

 

For an annotated 2017 list and past Notable Children’s Books lists, visit the ALSC website. More information about all the children's notable media lists is available on the ALSC website. 

 

Members of the 2017 Notable Children's Books Committee are: Paige Bentley-Flannery, chair, Deschutes Public Library, Sisters, Oregon; Skye Corey, Meridian (Idaho) Library District; Maeve Knoth, Phillips Brooks School, Menlo Park, California; Lara Crews, Forsyth County Public Library, Kernersville, North Carolina; Benjamin Martin, Saint James School, Montgomery, Alabama; Dr. Brenda Dales, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; Kimberly Probert Grad, Brooklyn (New York) Public Library; Sharon Haupt, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo, California; Ariana Hussain, St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School, Washington, D.C.; and Maria Simon, Wood County District Public Library, Bowling Green, Ohio.