ALSC names 2019 Notable Children's Books

For Immediate Release
Mon, 02/25/2019

Contact:

Laura Schulte-Cooper

Program Officer, Communications

ALSC

lschulte@ala.org

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected its 2019 list of Notable Children’s Books. The list of titles, published in the previous year, 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:

Younger Readers

“All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah.” By Emily Jenkins. Illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. Random/Schwartz & Wade.

“Alma and How She Got Her Name.” By Juana Martinez-Neal. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

 “Baby Monkey, Private Eye.” By Brian Selznick and David Serlin. Illus. by Brian Selznick. Scholastic.

“A Big Mooncake for Little Star.” By Grace Lin. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

“Black Bird Yellow Sun.” By Steve Light. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

“Blue.” By Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.

“Bowwow Powwow / Bagosenjige-niimi'idim.” By Brenda J. Child. Illus. by Jonathan Thunder. Tr. by Gordon Jourdain. Minnesota Historical Society.

“The Day You Begin.” By Jacqueline Woodson. Illus. by Rafael López. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen.

“Don't Touch My Hair!” By Sharee Miller. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

“Drawn Together.” By Minh Lê. Illus. by Dan Santat. Disney/Hyperion.

“Dreamers.” By Yuyi Morales. Illus. by the author. Holiday/Neal Porter.

“The Fox on the Swing.” By Evelina Daciūtė. Illus. by Aušra Kiudulaitė. Tr. by the Translation Bureau. Thames & Hudson.

“Fox the Tiger.” By Corey R. Tabor. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray.

“Good Rosie!” By Kate DiCamillo. Illus. by Harry Bliss. Candlewick.

“Hello Lighthouse.” By Sophie Blackall. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

“How Raven Got His Crooked Nose: An Alaskan Dena' ina Fable.” By Barbara J. Atwater and Ethan J. “Atwater. Illus. by Mindy Dwyer. Alaska Northwest.

“I Walk with Vanessa: A Story about a Simple Act of Kindness.” By Kerascoët. Illus. by the authors. Random/Schwartz & Wade.

“Imagine!” By Raúl Colón. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman. 

“In the Past: From Trilobites to Dinosaurs to Mammoths in More than 500 Million Years.” By David Elliott. Illus. by Matthew Trueman. Candlewick.

“Islandborn.” By Junot Díaz. Illus. by Leo Espinosa. Dial.

“Jerome By Heart.” By Thomas Scotto. Illus. by Olivier Tallec. Tr. by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and Karin Snelson. Enchanted Lion.

“Julián Is a Mermaid.” By Jessica Love. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

“King and Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth.” By Dori Hillestad Butler. Illus. by Nancy Meyers. Peachtree.

“Lena's Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day-of-School Dilemma.” By Keith Calabrese. Illus. by Juana Medina. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum.

“Let the Children March.” By Monica Clark-Robinson. Illus. by Frank Morrison. HMH.

“Mommy’s Khimar.” By Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow. Illus. by Ebony Glenn. Simon & Schuster/Salaam Reads.

“My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder.” By Nie Jun. Illus. by the author. Tr. by Edward Gauvin. Lerner/Graphic Universe.

“Night Job.” By Karen Hesse. Illus. by G. Brian Karas. Candlewick.

“A Parade of Elephants.” By Kevin Henkes. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow.

“The Party and Other Stories.” By Sergio Ruzzier. Illus. by the author. Chronicle.

“The Patchwork Bike.” By Maxine Beneba Clarke. Illus. by Van Thanh Rudd. Candlewick.

“The Rough Patch.” By Brian Lies. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow.

“Saturday Is Swimming Day.” By Hyewon Yum. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.

“See Pip Flap.” By David Milgrim. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Simon Spotlight.

“Thank You, Omu!” By Oge Mora. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.

“The Wall in the Middle of the Book.” By Jon Agee. Illus. by the author. Dial.

“You and Me.” By Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Illus. by Susan Reagan. Creative Editions.

Middle Readers

“Ana María Reyes Does NOT Live in a Castle.” By Hilda Eunice Burgos. Lee & Low/Tu.

“All that Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff.” By Meghan McCarthy. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman.

“Aru Shah and the End of Time.” By Roshani Chokshi. Disney/Hyperion.

“The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge.” By M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin. Illus. by Eugene Yelchin. Candlewick. 

“Beavers.” By Rachel Poliquin. Illus. by Nicholas John Frith. HMH.

“Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery.” By Sandra Neil Wallace. Illus. by Bryan Collier. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman.

“The Book of Boy.” By Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Greenwillow.

“The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs.” By Kate Messner. Illus. by Matthew Forsythe. Chronicle.

“Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild.” By Catherine Thimmesh. HMH.

“Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship.” By Irene Latham and Charles Waters. Illus. by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko. Carolrhoda.

“Dragons in a Bag.” By Zetta Elliott. Illus. by Geneva B. Random.

“Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure.” By Torben Kuhlmann. Illus. by the author. Tr. by David Henry Wilson. NorthSouth.

“The Eye that Never Sleeps: How Detective Pinkerton Saved President Lincoln.” By Marissa Moss. Illus. by Jeremy Holmes. Abrams.

“Finding Langston.” By Lesa Cline-Ransome. Holiday.

“Front Desk.” By Kelly Yang. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 

“Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams.” By Lesa Cline-Ransome. Illus. by James Ransome. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman.

“Hammering for Freedom.” By Rita Lorraine Hubbard. Illus. by John Holyfield. Lee & Low.

“Knights vs. Dinosaurs.” By Matt Phelan. Illus. by the author. Greenwillow. 

“Louisiana’s Way Home.” By Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick. 

“Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish.” By Pablo Cartaya. Viking.

“Martin Rising: Requiem for a King.” By Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illus. by Brian Pinkney. Scholastic.

“Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968.” By Alice Faye Duncan. Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek. 

“Merci Suárez Changes Gears.” Meg Medina. Candlewick.

“No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas.” By Tonya Bolden. Illus. by Don Tate. Knopf.

“Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented.” By Tanya Lee Stone. Illus. by Steven Salerno. Holt/Christy Ottaviano.

“Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere.” By Barb Rosenstock. Illus. by Katherine Roy. Little, Brown.

“The Parker Inheritance.” By Varian Johnson. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine.

“Saving Winslow.” By Sharon Creech. HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler.

“The Season of Styx Malone.” By Kekla Magoon. Random/Wendy Lamb.  

“So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth's Long Walk toward Freedom.” By Gary D. Schmidt. Illus. by Daniel Minter. Roaring Brook.

“Stella Díaz Has Something to Say.” By Angela Dominguez. Roaring Brook.

“Tiger vs. Nightmare.” By Emily Tetri. Illus. by the author. First Second.

“Thirty Minutes over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot's World War II Story.” By Marc Tyler Nobleman. Illus. by Melissa Iwai. Clarion.

“The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle.” By Leslie Connor. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen.

“The United States v. Jackie Robinson.” By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray.

“What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.” By Chris Barton. Illus. by Ekua Holmes. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane.

“When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana.” By Michael Mahin. Illus. by Jose Ramirez. Atheneum.

Older Readers

“Amal Unbound.” By Aisha Saeed. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen.

“Apollo 8: The Mission that Changed Everything.” By Martin W. Sandler. Illus. Candlewick.

“Attucks! Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team that Awakened a City.” By Phillip Hoose. Illus. Farrar.

“Be Prepared.” By Vera Brosgol. Illus. by Vera Brosgol and Alec Longstreth. First Second. 

“Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam.” By Elizabeth Partridge. Illus. Viking.

“Children of Blood and Bone.” By Tomi Adeyemi. Holt. 

“Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America.” By Marc Favreau. Little, Brown.

“The Cruel Prince.” By Holly Black. Little, Brown. 

“The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science.” By Joyce Sidman. Illus. HMH.

“Ghost Boys.” By Jewell Parker Rhodes. Little, Brown.

“Harbor Me.” By Jacqueline Woodson. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. 

“Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction.” By Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Illus. by the author. Scholastic/Graphix.

“Hurricane Child.” By Kheryn Callender. Scholastic.

“The Hyena Scientist.” By Sy Montgomery. Illus. by Nic Bishop. HMH.

“Illegal.” By Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin. Illus. by Giovanni Rigano. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

“Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.” By Ashley Herring Blake. Little, Brown.

“Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots.” By Margarita Engle. Illus. by Rudy Gutierrez. Atheneum. 

“Lifeboat 12.” By Susan Hood. Simon & Schuster.

“The Mad Wolf’s Daughter.” By Diane Magras. Penguin/Kathy Dawson.

“March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine.” By Melba Pattillo Beals. Illus. by Frank Morrison. HMH.

“The Night Diary.” By Veera Hiranandani. Penguin/Kokila (originally Dial).

“Nowhere Boy.” By Katherine Marsh. Roaring Brook. 

“The Poet X.” By Elizabeth Acevedo. HarperTeen. 

“The Prince and the Dressmaker.” By Jen Wang. Illus. by the author. First Second.

“Rebound.” By Kwame Alexander. Illus. by Dawud Anyabwile. HMH. 

“Run for Your Life.” By Silvana Gandolfi. Tr. by Lynne Sharon Schwartz. Yonder/Restless.

“Small Spaces.” By Katherine Arden. Putnam. 

“Spooked! How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America.” By Gail Jarrow. Illus. Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek.

“Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill.” By Heather L. Montgomery. Illus. by Kevin O'Malley. Bloomsbury.

“Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York.” By Amy Hill Hearth. Greenwillow.

“They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems.” By David Bowles. Cinco Puntos.

“Tight.” By Torrey Maldonado. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen.

“The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees.” By Don Brown. Illus. by the author. HMH.

All Ages

“Imagine.” By Juan Felipe Herrera. Illus. by Lauren Castillo. Candlewick.

“We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga.” By Traci Sorell. Illus. by Frané Lessac. Charlesbridge.

For an annotated 2019 list and past Notable Children’s Books lists, visit the ALSC website. More information about all children's notable media lists is available on the ALSC website.

Members of the 2019 Notable Children's Books Committee are: Maeve Visser Knoth, chair, Phillips Brooks School, Menlo Park, California; Christopher A. Brown, Free Library of Philadelphia; Melody R. Frese, Ladue Middle School Library, St. Louis; Rose Garrett, Valdosta State University, Atlanta, Georgia.; K. T. Horning, Cooperative Children's Book Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Jennifer Knight, North Olympic Library System, Port Angeles, Washington; Amy M. Laughlin, Ferguson Library, New Haven, Connecticut; Dr. Marie A. LeJeune, Western Oregon University, Monmouth; Sada Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library; Kimberly Anne Patton, Kansas City (Kansas) Public Library; and Patty Saidenberg, New York.