Staff Favorite Books for Kids 2023

Updated November 20, 2023
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Harrison, Vashti
Paper Book
Winner of the Caldecott Medal! A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor book, a National Book Award finalist, and a New York Times bestseller! This deeply moving story shares valuable lessons about fitting in, standing out, and the beauty of joyful acceptance,...
The umbrella
Ferry, Beth
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling creators behind Stick and Stone comes an inspiring story of persistence, kindness, and curiosity--a perfect read-aloud, rain or shine. In a dreary town where it always rains, a little girl and her dog discover an unexpected way to spread...
Wrecker
Hiaasen, Carl
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Wrecker needs to deal with smugglers, grave robbers, and pooping iguanas--just as soon as he finishes Zoom school. Welcome to another wild adventure in Carl Hiaasen's Florida! Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great...
The Swifts : a dictionary of scoundrels
Lincoln, Beth
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestseller! "Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket...This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine." - Publishers Weekly...
Cat on the run. Episode 1, Cat of death!
Blabey, Aaron
Paper Book
Curlfriends. 1, New in town
Miller, Sharee (Illustrator)
Paper Book
New Kid meets The Baby-sitters Club in this graphic novel series opener about the Curlfriends, four inseparable Black girls who show us the meaning of true friendship-and being your true self. Charlie has a foolproof plan for the first day at her new middle school. Even...
Frizzy
Ortega, Claribel A.
Paper Book
Winner of the Pura Belpré Award for Children's Text Winner of the Eisner for Best Publication for Kids Indie Bestseller New York Times-bestselling author Claribel A. Ortega and star debut artist Rose Bousamra's Frizzy is about Marlene, a...
Welcome to our table
Mucha, Laura
Paper Book
Find out what children eat all around the world in this beautifully illustrated book, written by bestselling poet and author Laura Mucha, alongside trained chef and food writer Ed Smith.  From biltong to biryani, papaya to passionfruit, and ramen to roti, there are so many different dishes and...
Fox has a problem
Tabor, Corey R.
Paper Book
In his next I Can Read adventure, Fox--the hilarious trickster character featured in Geisel Award winners Fox at Night and Fox the Tiger--learns to solve a problem in an unexpected way. Fox has a problem: His kite is stuck in a tree! But every clever plan creates even more...
All are welcome
Penfold, Alexandra
Paper Book
Join the call for a better world with this New York Times bestselling picture book about a school where diversity and inclusion are celebrated. The perfect back-to-school read for every kid, family and classroom! In our classroom safe and sound. Fears are lost and...
How to write a poem
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
In this evocative and playful companion to their New York Times bestselling picture book How to Read a Book, Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander teams up with poet Deanna Nikaido and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet to celebrate the magic of discovering your very own poetry in the world...
Born reading : 20 stories of women reading their way into history
Krull, Kathleen
Paper Book
Once books kick-start their brains, girls change history. Discover the foundation of reading that empowered some of the world's most influential women in this informative and inspirational illustrated middle grade collection of twenty biographies. What do Cleopatra, Audre Lorde,...
When moon became the moon
Hodgson, Rob
Paper Book
Meet Moon! Follow along as she guides us through her origin and her purpose in this charming and humorous nonfiction picture book. Following the success of When Cloud Became a Cloud comes Rob Hodgson's next long-form picture book about the moon's origin and phases. This...
Nat the cat takes a bath
Lerner, Jarrett
Paper Book
A School Library Journal Best Transitional Book It's bath time for Nat the Cat in this second book in the hilarious, fourth wall-breaking Pre-Level 1 Ready-to-Read series about a grumpy cat and a long-suffering narrator from powerhouse creator Jarrett Lerner! ...

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