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2022 Recommendation List

Compiled by the WSRA Children’s Literature Committee

from titles published between September 2020 – December 2021

 https://sites.google.com/view/wsrachildrensliterature

  @WSRAChildrenlit

  @wsrachildrenslit

  WSRA Children’s Lit

PICTURE THIS

2022 Recommendation List

Compiled by the WSRA Children’s Literature Committee

from titles published between September 2020 – December 2021

Committee members dedicate themselves to reading widely to evaluate the newest books published each year, in order to recommend the most interesting and valuable books for educators and children to read.

Submitted and nominated titles are evaluated based on appeal for students and value for classroom use while also representing high-quality literature with a focus on diversity, authenticity, real-world awareness, thought-provoking response, engaging storytelling, and artistry of writing craft, and exemplary illustrations

30,000 Stitches: The Inspiring Story of the National 9/11 Flag 🧠

Amanda Davis & Sally Wern Comport

The inspiring story of the American flag that flew over Ground Zero, traveled across all fifty states as it was repaired, and returned to New York, a restored symbol of unity.

A Day For Rememberin': The First Memorial Day 🌍  🧠

Leah Henderson & Floyd Cooper

In Charleston, South Carolina, in 1865, ten-year-old Eli and other newly freed slaves gather to honor the memory of fallen Union soldiers, an event considered to be one of the first celebrations of what is now called Memorial Day.

A Girl Named Rosita: The Story of Rita Moreno: Actor, Singer, Dancer Trailblazer! 🌍 🧠 

Anika Aldamuy Denise & Leo Espinosa

The life of Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer Rita Moreno, from her girlhood journey to the United States to her rise as a timeless superstar.

A Girl's Bill of Rights 🌍

Amy B. Mucha & Addy Rivera Sonda

In a world where little girls must learn to stand tall, A Girl's Bill of Rights boldly declares the rights of every woman and girl: power, confidence, freedom, and consent.

A House for Every Bird 🌍 📚

Megan Maynor & Kaylani Juanita

A young artist has drawn birds and birdhouses in corresponding colors. Now it's time to match them up. The blue bird goes in the blue house, the orange bird in the orange house, and so on. But wait! The birds don't agree with the narrator's choices and, much to her distress, are rebelling by swapping houses. Can the narrator make the birds see sense? Or is it possible that you just can't tell a bird by its feathers?

A New Day 📚

Brad Meltzer & Dan Santat

After Sunday quits being a day of the week, the other days of the week try out all sorts of candidates, until an act of kindness reminds them all that a little appreciation can go a long way.

A Sled for Gabo 🌍

Emma Otheguy & Ana Ramírez González

Gabo, shy with other children and having no sled or winter clothing, yearns to go sledding and his neighbor's granddaughter, Isa, helps him find a way.

A Small Kindness 🌍 📚

Stacy McAnulty & Wendy Leach

Simple text and color illustrations show children showing kindness to each other at school.

A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night 🌍

Allison Ofanansky & Rotem Teplow

Miriam can't wait to make the traditional holiday pancakes, moufleta, for the Jewish holiday Mimouna. Miriam's neighbour Jasmine, who is Muslim, shares a sack of flour to make the delicious treat, and the new friends celebrate the holiday together.

Adelita: A Sea Turtle's Journey 🌍  🧠 📚

Jenny Goebel & Ana Miminoshvili

In 1996, a loggerhead turtle raised in a Baja California, Mexico, research center is tagged and released, then tracked by people all over the world as she crosses the Pacific Ocean. Includes a timeline and facts about the real Adelita and her rescuers.

All Because You Matter 🌍 📚

Tami Charles & Bryan Collier

A . . . story about a child of color being told by his parents how he matters.

America, My Love, America, My Heart 🌍

Daria Peoples-Riley

America, do you love me? A single question from a single child multiplies across the country with every page turn, inviting in more and more children of color--and their questions.

Amira's Picture Day 🌍

Reem Faruqi  & Fahmida Azim

Amira is excited because tomorrow is Eid with special clothes, treats, gifts, and a morning party at her mosque; but then she realizes that she is going to miss class picture day at school, something she was also looking forward to--so Amira has to figure out a way to be in two places at once.

Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon 🌍 📚

Kat Zhang & Charlene Chua

Amy loves craft time at school. But when her teacher asks everyone to make their own dragon, Amy feels stuck. After school, a story from Grandma sparks new inspiration, and Amy rounds up her family to help her.

An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America 🌍  🧠 📚

Helaine Becker & Tiemdow Phumiruk

A nonfiction picture book introduction to the history and importance of Title IX as civil rights legislature.

Bartali's Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali Italy's Secret Hero 🌍  🧠

Megan Hoyt & Iacopo Bruno

Describes how Italian cyclist Gino Bartali, winner of the 1938 Tour de France, secretly worked with the Italian resistance to save more than eight hundred Jewish men, women, and children, and others, from certain death during World War II.

Be Strong 🌍 🧀 📚

Pat Zietlow Miller & Jen Hill

Not strong enough to ascend the climbing wall at school, a discouraged child returns home and learns that there are other ways to be strong, from not giving up when working for a good cause or learning a new skill to making sure that no one sits alone in the lunchroom.

Bear Island 

Matthew Cordell

Louise and her family are sad over the loss of their beloved dog, Charlie. But on a visit to the island after Charlie's death, something strange happens: She meets a bear. At first, she's afraid, but soon she realizes that the bear is sad, too. As Louise visits more often, she realizes that getting over loss takes time. And just when she starts to feel better, it's time for Bear to bed down for the winter.

Beatrix Potter, Scientist 🧠

Lindsay H. Metcalf & Junyi Wu

Everyone knows Beatrix Potter as the creator of the Peter Rabbit stories. But before that, she was a girl of science. As a child, Beatrix collected nature specimens; as a young adult, she was an amateur mycologist presenting her research on mushrooms and other fungi to England's foremost experts. Like many women of her time, she remained unacknowledged by the scientific community, but her keen eye for observation led her to an acclaimed career as an artist and storyteller.

Becoming Vanessa 🌍

Vanessa Brantley-Newton 

Vanessa is nervous she will not fit in on her first day of school, but she hopes a special outfit will show her new classmates she is someone they should know.

Being You: A First Conversation about Gender 🌍  🧠 📚

Megan Madison & Jessica Ralli & Anne/Andy Passchier

Research shows that talking about issues like race and gender from the age of two not only helps children understand what they see, but also increases self-awareness, self-esteem, and allows them to recognize and confront things that are unfair, like discrimination and prejudice. This second book in the series begins the conversation on gender, with a supportive approach that considers both the child and the adult.

Blink! 🧠

Doe Boyle & Adele Leyris

Large eyes, small eyes, eyes that see 360 degrees, eyes that work together, eyes that swivel separately from each other, and eyes that see like telescopes. Strong graphic art and lyrical text to capture imaginations.

Bodies Are Cool 🌍  🧠 📚

Tyler Feder

Illustrations and easy-to-read, rhyming text celebrate bodies of all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors, with different kinds of hair, eyes, spots, scars, and more.

Boys Dance! 🌍

John Robert Allman & Luciano Lozano

Illustrations and rhyming text celebrate boys who dance, from their very first day of stretching at the barre while dreaming of the exciting roles they might one day play.

Branches of Hope: The 9/11 Survivor Tree 🧠

Ann Magee & Nicole Wong

The journey of the Callery pear tree rescued from Ground Zero and replanted ten years later is presented alongside a wordless story following a girl and her firefighter uncle who is a 9/11 hero.

Crossings: Extraordinary Structures For Extraordinary Animals 🧠 📚

Katy S. Duffield & Mike Orodán

A non-fiction exploration of animal crossings built by animal lovers around the world to help animals cross over, under, around, and through human construction.

Dinosaurs: Fact and Fable  🧠 📚

Seymour Simon

Scientists have dug up and uncovered many facts about dinosaurs--and in the process, they have come across many myths. This . . . book digs deep into the Age of Dinosaurs, covering topics such as fossilization, plate tectonics, dinosaur diets, paleontology, extinction theories, dinosaur relatives, and more.

Dr. Fauci: How a Boy From Brooklyn Became America's Doctor  🧠

Kate Messner & Alexandra Bye

The definitive picture book biography of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the most crucial figures in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Everything Naomi Loved 🌍

Katie Yamasaki & Ian Lender

Naomi has always loved her vibrant neighborhood but things are changing quickly so, inspired by Mr. Ray, she paints murals to preserve her favorite memories.

Eye By Eye: Comparing How Animals See 

🧠 📚

 Sara Levine & T.S Spookytooth

This playful picture book will keep readers guessing as they find out how animal eyes are like-and unlike-those of starfish, owls, slugs, and more!

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners 🌍

Joanna Ho & Dung Ho

A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self love and empowerment.

Facing Fear 🌍

Karen Lynn Williams & Sara Palacios

Enrique is a U.S. citizen--but the rest of his family isn't. When he hears a rumor of a police raid, Enrique must face the possibility of being separated from his parents and sister.

Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon 🌍  🧠

Simran Jeet Singh & Baljinder Kaur  

The inspiring true story of Fauja Singh, who broke world records to become the first one hundred-year-old to run a marathon, shares valuable lessons on the source of his grit, determination to overcome obstacles, and commitment to positive representation of the Sikh community.

Feel the Fog 🧠

April Pulley Sayre 

A photographic picture book that explores how fog is formed, how it clears away, why it feels cold, and more.

Field Trip to the Ocean Deep 🌍📚

John Hare 

In this wordless picture book, a student is accidentally left behind on a field trip to the ocean deep.

Fly, Girl, Fly! Shaesta Waiz Soars Around the World 🌍  🧠

Nancy Roe Pimm & Alexandra Bye

The story of how Shaesta Waiz became the youngest woman in history, and the first woman from Afghanistan, to fly around the world in a single-engine aircraft.

Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles  🌍  🧠

Michelle Meadows & Ebony Glenn

A lyrical picture book biography of Simone Biles, international gymnastics champion and Olympic superstar.

Grandad's Camper 🌍 📚

Harry Woodgate 

A child who enjoys Grandad's stories of his travels and adventures with Gramps persuades him to fix up their old camper and take another trip, in honor of Gramps.

Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz: : the Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States 🌍  🧠

Warren Binford

The moving stories of children in migration--in their own words.

Heartbeat  🧠

Doe Boyle & Daniel Long 

Flick-dash flick-dash! Lub-DUB. Lub-DUB. Lub-DUB. From tiny meadow mice to tall giraffes to the octopus with three hearts, each animal's heart has its own beat, in tune with its body’s needs. Strong graphic art and rhythmic text packed with interesting facts to capture imaginations.

I Am Smart, I Am Blessed, I Can Do Anything! 🌍

Alissa Holder, Zulekha Holder-Young, & Nneka Myers

Based on a viral video comes the story of one boy's positive energy and how a sunny outlook can turn everything around. It's a new day and Ayaan has woken up on the wrong side of the bed, where nothing feels quite right. What if he doesn't know the answer at school? What if he messes up? But as he sets out that morning, all it takes is a few reminders from his mom and some friends in the neighborhood to remind him that a new day is a good day because... HE IS SMART, HE IS BLESSED, AND HE CAN DO ANYTHING!

I Am the Storm 

Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Kristen & Kevin Howdeshell 

As the climate shifts, families experience weather emergencies, including a tornado, a blizzard, a forest fire, and a hurricane, finding joy in preparedness and resilience.

I Am!: Affirmations for Resilience  🧠

Bela Barbosa & Edel Rodriguez

Ten relatable emotions are each followed by a centering exercise and a positive affirmation to be recited, as a practice in mindfulness. Young readers are encouraged to find their inner strength by recognizing and addressing their emotions, instilling a sense of power and self-confidence.

I Dream of Popo 🌍 📚

Livia Blackburne & Julia Kuo

When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan to America, she leaves behind her beloved popo, her grandmother. She misses her popo every day, but even if their visits are fleeting, their love is ever true and strong.

I Talk Like a River 🌍

Jordan Scott & Sydney Smith

When a child has a "bad speech day" at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.

I Wish You Knew 🌍 📚

Jackie Azúa Kramer & Magdalena Mora

After Estrella's father is deported because he is an illegal immigrant, her teacher at school invites her and the other students to meet around an old oak tree and share the things they wished their teacher knew about their life at home.

If You Come to Earth 🌍

Sophie Blackall

A boy writes a letter to an imagined alien, explaining all the things he will need to know about Earth and the people who live here--and adding a postscript asking what the alien might look like.

In My Mosque 🌍  🧠

M.O. Yuksel & Hatem Aly

No matter who you are or where you're from, step in and discover all the rituals and wonders of the mosque, from grandmothers reading lines of the Qur'an and the imam telling stories of living as one to meeting new friends and learning to help others, mosques are centers for friendship, community, and love.

It Fell From the Sky 

The Fan Brothers

All the insects agree that the object that fell from the sky is a Wonder, but when Spider decides it is his, he risks losing all of his friends.

Josie Dances! 🌍

Denise Lajimodiere & Angela Erdrich

An Ojibwe girl practices her dance steps, gets help from her family, and is inspired by the soaring flight of Migizi, the eagle, as she prepares for her first powwow.

Jumbo: The Making of the Boeing 747 🧠

Chris Gall

For the 50th anniversary of the Boeing 747's first commercial flight, a picture book about the development of the iconic passenger plane and how it changed the history of air travel.

June Almeida, Virus Detective!: The Woman Who Discovered the First Human Coronavirus  🧠 📚

Suzanne Slade & Elisa Pganelli

A picture book biography of scientist June Almeida whose skill in using the electron microscope helped identify viruses, and when she was 34 years old, she discovered the first human coronavirus.

Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice 🌍  🧠 📚

Nikki Grimes & Laura Freeman

This is the story of how Senator Kamala Harris grew from her roots in justice to become the inspiring figure she is.

Lulu and the Hunger Monster 🌍

Erik Talkin & Sheryl Murray

When an emergency requires money that would have bought food, Lulu goes to school hungry, affecting her concentration and behavior, but she is determined to defeat the Hunger Monster.

Maryam's Magic: The Story of Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani 🌍  🧠

Megan Reid & Aaliya Jaleel

A picture book biography of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian mathematician who was the only woman ever to win a Fields Medal, the most prestigious honor in mathematics.

Meesha Makes Friends 🌍

Tom Percival

Meesha loves making things, but struggles to make friends until her mother takes her to a party where she meets Josh, a boy who wants to make friends, too.

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know 🌍

Brittany Luby & Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings.

Milo Imagines the World 🌍

Matt de la Peña & Christian Robinson

While Milo and his sister travel to a detention center to visit their incarcerated mother, he observes strangers on the subway and draws what he imagines their lives to be.

More Than Sunny 

Shelley Johannes

Throughout the year, a brother and sister, and sometimes their parents, enjoy weather that is sunny and birdy, rainy and wormy, windy and squirrelly, or cloudy and fishy.

My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around The World 🌍  🧠

Rebecca Bond & Salley Mavor

Delightful rhymes and charming hand-stitched art celebrate the many ways we sleep across the world.

My Day with the Panye 🌍

Tami Charles & Sara Palacios

A young girl in Haiti is eager to learn how to carry a basket to market in an exuberant picture book with universal appeal.

My First Day 🌍

Phùng Nguyên Quang & Kim Liên Huỳnh

This is no ordinary first journey. The raining season has come to the Mekong Delta, and An, a young Vietnamese boy, sets out alone in a wooden boat wearing a little backpack and armed only with a single oar. On the way, he is confronted by giant crested waves, heavy rainfall and an eerie forest where fear takes hold of him. Although daunted by the dark unknown, An realizes that he is not alone and continues to paddle. He knows it will all be worth it when he reaches his destination.

My Rainbow 🌍

Trinity Neal, Deshanna Neal & Art Twink

A dedicated mom puts love into action as she creates the perfect rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter, based on the real-life experience of mother-daughter advocate duo Trinity and DeShanna Neal.

Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued 🌍  🧠

Peter Sis

In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia-a story he never told and that remained unknown until an unforgettable TV appearance in the 1980s reunited him with some of the children he saved.

No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History 🌍  🧠

Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, & Jeanette Bradley 

   Joseph Bruchac, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, and others    

   present poems about young activists who have stepped

   up to make changes in their community and in the

   United States.

Opening The Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book 🌍  🧠

Keila V. Dawson & Alleanna Harris

A nonfiction picture book about The Green Book, a travel guide for African Americans during segregation, and the man who wrote it.

Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race 🌍 🧠 📚

Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, & Isabel Roxas

Research shows that talking about issues like race and gender from the age of two not only helps children understand what they see, but also increases self-awareness, self-esteem, and allows them to recognize and confront things that are unfair, like discrimination and prejudice. This book begins the conversation on race, with a supportive approach that considers both the child and the adult.

Out the Door 🌍

Christy Hale

Follow a girl through her day in a busy city as she travels to school and back again in this inviting book that teaches directional concepts like over, under, and through.

Over and Under the Rainforest 🧠

Kate Messner & Christopher Silas Neal

Under the canopy of the rainforest, hundreds of animals make their homes--from the slender parrot snake to the colorful poison dart frog. But up in the trees hides a whole other world, where toucans and pale-billed woodpeckers chatter and call, capuchin monkeys swing from the vines, and sleek-furred jaguars rule the night. . . Discover the wonder and activity that lie hidden among the roots, above the winding rivers...and under the brilliant green trees of the rainforest.

Over The Shop 🌍 📚

JonArno Lawson & Qin Leng

A lonely little girl and her grandparent need to fill the run-down apartment in their building. With their ingenuity, the little girl's big heart, and heaps of hard work, the desperate fixer-upper begins to change in lovely and surprising ways.

Prince & Knight: The Tale of the Shadow King 🌍

Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis

When a dark and mysterious Shadow King causes a fog of darkness to spread across their kingdom, the prince and the knight, now happily married, set out to find and stop him.

Ritu Weds Chandni 🌍

Ameya Narvankar

Ayesha is excited to attend her cousin Ritu's wedding. She can't wait to dance at the baraat ceremony! But not everyone is happy that Ritu is marrying her girlfriend, Chandni. Some have even vowed to stop the celebrations.

Ruby's Reunion Day Dinner 🌍 📚

Angela Dalton & Jestenia Southerland

Inspired by the rich tradition of African American reunions, a multigenerational story follows the experiences of young Ruby, who helps loved ones prepare the foods they are bringing while trying to think of a signature dish of her own.

Sam Is My Sister 🌍 📚

Ashley Rhodes-Courter & MacKenzie Haley 

Evan, Sam, and Finn fish, climb trees, and play astronauts together, but when Sam wants to have long hair and wear dresses, Evan is confused until he learns what it means to be transgender.

Send a Girl! The True Story of How Women Joined the FDNY 🧠

Jessica M. Rinker & Meg Hunt

This picture book biography tells the story of Brenda Berkman, a woman who broke an important barrier by becoming one of the first female firefighters in NYC.

Shaped by Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez 🌍  🧠

Anna Harber Freeman,  Barbara Gonzales, & Aphelandra

This inspiring story of family and creativity illuminates how Maria Poveka Martinez, a renowned Native American potter of her time, believed in sharing her love of clay and brought success and joy from her New Mexico Pueblo to people all across the country.

Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman 🌍  🧠

Sharice Davids, Nancy K. Mays, & Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

This inspiring picture book autobiography tells the remarkable story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas.

Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of The First Black Woman in Congress 🌍  🧠

Alicia D. Williams & April Harrison

In this empowering picture book biography, young readers will meet the first black woman elected to Congress and to run for president.

Sincerely, Emerson 

Emerson Weber & Jaclyn Sinquett

The true story of how the author learned that one tiny act of kindness can have a huge impact after she gives a thank you letter to her mail carrier.

Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature 🧠

Rachel Williams & Freya Hartas

All around us, nature is working wonders. Every day, hour by hour, magical transformations happen right in front of you. But it's not always easy to see them . . . Discover 50 nature stories, paused just long enough for you to watch them unfold. Then go outside and see what you find when you take the time to slow down.

Snooze-O-Rama: The Strange Ways That Animals Sleep 🧠 📚

Maria Birmingham & Kyle Reed

Discover the strange - and sometimes familiar - ways animals settle down for bed.

Someone Builds the Dream 🌍 🧠

Lisa Wheeler & Loren Long

Celebrates the skilled women and men who work to see the plans of architects, engineers, and designers brought to life.

Sometimes People March  🌍 🧠

Tessa Allen

...combines rudimentary facts about peaceful resistance with art that depicts organized actions from the 19th century through today, and endnotes reveal more specifics about each illustration, including historic figures represented.

Standing On Her Shoulders 🌍

Monica Clark-Robinson & Laura Freeman

A . . . love letter to the important women who shape us--from our own mothers and grandmothers to the legends who paved the way for girls and women everywhere.

Strollercoaster 🌍

Matt Ringler & Raul the Third

A quick-thinking father thwarts his daughter's impending temper tantrum when he transforms an everyday walk outside into an exciting strollercoaster ride through the neighborhood.

Sunday Funday in Koreatown 🌍 📚

Aram Kim

Every Sunday, Yoomi enjoys favorite foods and activities in Koreatown but when things go wrong, Daddy encourages her to try new things and she still has a wonderful day.

Survivor Tree 🧠

Marcie Colleen & Aaron Becker

The Callery pear tree standing at the base of the World Trade Center is almost destroyed on September 11, but it is pulled from the rubble, coaxed back to life, and replanted as part of the 9/11 memorial.

Ten Beautiful Things 📚

Molly Beth Griffin & Maribel Lechuga

Lily is moving into her grandmother's farm in Iowa, and she is sad about all the changes necessary in her life--but on the long drive her grandmother challenges her to find ten beautiful things that they can share together.

Thao 🌍 🧠 📚

Thao Lam

Thao is tired of her name being mispronounced all the time and decides to call herself Jennifer.

The ABCs of Black History 🌍  🧠 📚

Rio Cortez & Lauren Semmer

B is for Beautiful, Brave, and Bright! And for a book that takes a bold journey through the alphabet of Black history and culture. Letter by letter, this book celebrates a story that spans continents and centuries, triumph and heartbreak, creativity and joy.

The Beak Book 🌍  🧠

Robin Page

A non-fiction exploration of the different kinds of beaks birds have and what they use them for.

The Boy and the Gorilla  📚

Jackie Azúa Kramer & Cindy Derby

Tells the story of a tender relationship between a young boy mourning his mother and an imaginary gorilla who helps him talk to his father about the loss, and find a path to healing through their shared grief and bond.

The Color Collector 🌍

Nick Solis & Renia Metallinou

When a boy notices the new girl collecting litter on their walks home, he wants to know why. She shows him the mural she's created that reminds her of the home she left behind. They both find how wonderful it is to make a new friend.

The Cot in The Living Room 🌍 📚

Hilda Eunice Burgos & Gaby D'Alessandro

Night after night, a young girl watches her mami set up a cot in the living room for guests in their Washington Heights apartment. She resents that they get the entire living room with a view of the George Washington Bridge, while all she gets is a tiny bedroom. One night when no one comes, it's finally her chance! But is sleeping on the cot really that great?

The Day Saida Arrived 🌍

Susana Gómez Redondo & Sonja Wimmer

The new girl, from Morocco, doesn't speak. She doesn't speak English, that is. But when a classmate welcomes the girl to share her native Arabic, the two forge a forever friendship while learning about the vast wonders in the world around them.

The Doll 🌍

Nhung N. Tran-Davies & Ravy Puth 

A young girl and family arrive at an airport in a new country. They are refugees, migrants who have traveled across the world to find safety. Strangers greet them, and one of them gives the little girl a doll.

The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee 🌍  🧠

Julie Leung & Julie Kwon

A . . . picture book biography about Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese American woman to fly for the US military.

The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field  🌍  🧠 📚

Scott Riley, Nguyen Quang & Kim Lien

On a tiny Thai island without room for a soccer field, a group of resourceful teen boys gathers scraps and works together to build a floating field so they can play the game they love.

The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall's Life, Leadership, and Legacy 🌍 🧠

Kekla Magoon & Laura Freeman

Profiles the life and achievements of Supreme Court Justice and civil rights leader Thurgood Marshall.

The Midnight Fair 📚

Gideon Sterer & Mariachiara DiGiorgio

As darkness falls on the fairgrounds, the animals venture out of the woods for one magical, memorable night! An exhilarating wordless picture book.

The Most Beautiful Thing 🌍 📚

Kao Kalia Yang & Khoa Le

Drawn from Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this heartfelt picture book offers a window into the life of a family with little money and a great deal of love.

The Night Walk 

Marie Dorleans

This . . . book . . . recalls family trips and the excitement of unknown adventure, while celebrating the awe-inspiring joy of the natural world.

The Ninth Night of Hanukkah 🌍

Erica S. Perl & Shahar Kober

It's Hanukkah, and Max and Rachel’s Hanukkah box is missing. So now they have no menorah, candles, dreidels, or, well, anything! Luckily, their neighbors are happy to help, offering thoughtful and often humorous stand-in items each night. And then, just as Hanukkah is about to end, Max and Rachel, inspired by the shamash ('helper') candle, have a brilliant idea!

The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom 

Colleen A.F. Venable & Lian Cho

The band is assembled and the band director is ready to tell you all about the instruments, but an enthusiastic little drummer girl keeps interrupting.

The Passover Guest 🌍

Susan Kusel & Sean Rubin

In Washington, D.C., during the Great Depression, Muriel and her family have no money to prepare the seder meal until a mysterious stranger performs a Passover miracle.

The Song for Everyone 

Lucy Morris

A song coming from a small, high window transforms a lonely boy, a stray cat, an elderly woman, then an entire town, so when the music stops, they come together to save it.

The Tinaja Tonight 🧠

Aimee M Bissonette & Syd Weiler

Dry. Dusty. Hot. Suddenly, the water comes. Jackals, coyotes, mountain lions--they all come to the watering hole, the tinaja. Some are predators, others are prey. How do they survive?

The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation 🌍  🧠

Alice B. McGinty & Shonto Begay 

 Cody is worried when his family on a New Mexico Navajo reservation runs out of water, but Darlene Arviso, called "The Water Lady," is on the way with her tanker truck.

The Whatifs 

Emily Kilgore & Zoe Persico  

Cora, always bothered by the Whatifs, grows much more anxious before her piano recital but a fellow performer helps her imagine what could go right, rather than wrong.

This Very Tree: A Story of 9/11, Resilience, and Regrowth 🧠

Sean Rubin 

A deeply moving nonfiction picture book about the 9/11 Survivor Tree and the spirit of America.

Tomatoes for Neela 🌍 📚

Padma Lakshmi & Juana Martinez-Neal

As Neela and her mother cook together, they find a way for Neela's grandmother, who lives in India, to share in both the love and the flavors of the day. Includes tomato facts and two recipes.

Twenty-one Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 🧠

Jeff Gottesfeld & Matt Tavares

With every step, the Tomb Guards pay homage to America's fallen. Discover their story, and that of the unknown soldiers they honor, through resonant words and illustrations.

Watercress 🌍 🧠

Andrea Wang & Jason Chin

Embarrassed about gathering watercress from a roadside ditch, a girl learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage after learning why the plant is so important to her parents.

We Are Still Here! 🌍 🧠 📚

Traci Sorell & Frané Lessac  

*crossover title* see Just One More Page List

We Wait for The Sun 🌍  🧠 📚

Johnson Roundtree & Raissa Figueroa

A beautiful and uplifting non-fiction picture book about trailblazing civil rights lawyer and activist Dovey Johnson Roundtree.

What I Am 🌍 📚

Divya Srinivasan

A young narrator describes herself as many things at the same time--a girl, a granddaughter, Indian, American, both selfish and generous, mean and kind--and these seeming contradictions are precisely what makes her a unique individual.

What the Road Said 🌍

Cleo Wade & Lucie de Moyencourt

Which way do I go? That is your choice to make, said the Road. But what if I go the wrong way? The Road…said, Do not worry. Sometimes we go the wrong way on our way to the right way.

What Will You Be? 🌍 📚

Yamile Saied Méndez & Kate Alizadeh  

A young girl wonders what she will be when she grows up and looks to her grandmother for guidance.

When Lola Visits 🌍 📚

Michelle Sterling & Aaron Asis

For one young girl, summer is the season of no school, of days spent at the pool, and of picking golden limes off the trees. But summer doesn't start until her lola--her grandmother from the Philippines--comes for her annual visit. When Lola visits, the whole family gathers to cook and eat and share in their happiness of another season spent together.

When We Are Kind 🌍 📚

Monique Gray Smith & Nicole Neidhardt

Looks at how the simple act of being kind, to others and oneself, affects all aspects of a child's life.

Wild is The Wind 🌍

Grahame Baker-Smith

A story about the extraordinary path of the wind in its many guises across the world, as witnessed by a migrating swift.

Wild Symphony 

Dan Brown; illustrated by Susan Batori

Travel through the trees and across the seas with Maestro Mouse and his musical friends! Young readers will meet a big blue whale and speedy cheetahs, tiny beetles and graceful swans. Each has a special secret to share. Along the way, you might spot the surprises Maestro Mouse has left for you--a hiding buzzy bee, jumbled letters that spell out clues, and even a coded message to solve!

William Still and His Freedom: The Father of the Underground Railroad 🌍  🧠

Don Tate

A picture book biography that looks at the life African-American abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, writer, historian and civil rights activist William Still.

Yang Warriors 🌍  🧠

Kao Kalia Yang & Billy Thao

Kao Kalia Yang delivers an inspiring tale of resourceful children confronting adversaries in a refugee camp.

You'll Find Me 

Amanda Rawson Hill & Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

You'll Find Me guides young readers through the grief that naturally accompanies loss, but also something much greater - trusting in the strength of love and hope to carry us beyond the moments that we can be together.

Your Place in the Universe 🌍 🧠

Jason Chin

A non-fiction introduction to the massive scale of the known universe.

Zonia's Rain Forest  🌍

Juana Martinez-Neal

Enjoying days spent with animal friends near her home in the Amazon, young Zonia wonders what to do on a day when the rainforest calls out to her for help, in a lushly illustrated story that is complemented by back matter about the Ashaninka community.