For immediate release | January 19, 2016
ALSC names 2016 Notable Children's Books
91´«Ã½
CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), has selected its 2016 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:
Younger Readers
"An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns." By Betsy R. Rosenthal. Illus. by Jago. Lerner/Millbrook.
"The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore." By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Illus. by R. Gregory Christie. Lerner/Carolrhoda.
"Ballet Cat: The Totally Secret Secret." By Bob Shea. Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion.
"Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" By Todd Tarpley. Illus. by John Rocco. Little, Brown.
"Boats for Papa." By Jessixa Bagley. Illus. by the author. Roaring Book/Neal Porter.
"A Chicken Followed Me Home! Questions and Answers about a Familiar Fowl." By Robin Page. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane.
"Detective Gordon: The First Case." By Ulf Nilsson. Illus. by Gitte Spee. Gecko.
"Don’t Throw It to Mo!" By David A. Adler. Illus. by Sam Ricks. Penguin.
"Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music." By Margarita Engle. Illus. by Rafael López. HMH.
"Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah." By Laurie Ann Thompson. Illus. by Sean Qualls. Random/Schwartz & Wade.
"Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear." By Lindsay Mattick. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Little, Brown.
"Float." By Daniel Miyares. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster.
"Flop to the Top!" By Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing. Illus. by the authors. TOON.
"Flutter & Hum / Aleteo y zumbido: Animal Poems / Poemas de animales." Ed. by Julie Paschkis. Illus. by the author. Holt.
"Gingerbread for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution." By Mara Rockliff. Illus. by Vincent X. Kirsch. HMH.
"Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village." By Fang Suzhen. Illus. by Sonja Danowski. NorthSouth.
"The Grasshopper and the Ants." By Jerry Pinkney. Illus. by the author. Little, Brown.
"Growing Up Pedro." By Matt Tavares. Illus. by the author. Candlewick.
"Hippos Are Huge!" By Jonathan London. Illus. by Matthew Trueman. Candlewick.
"I Yam a Donkey!" By Cece Bell. Illus. by the author. Clarion.
"If You Plant a Seed." By Kadir Nelson. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray.
"Last Stop on Market Street." By Matt de la Peña. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Putnam.
"Lenny & Lucy." By Philip C. Stead. Illus. by Erin E. Stead. Roaring Book/Neal Porter.
"Leo: A Ghost Story." By Mac Barnett. Illus. by Christian Robinson. Chronicle.
"Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965." By Jonah Winter. Illus. by Shane W. Evans. Random/Schwartz & Wade.
"Mango, Abuela, and Me." By Meg Medina. Illus. by Angela Dominguez. Candlewick.
"The Moon Is Going to Addy’s House." By Ida Pearle. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Dial.
"The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea." By Brenda Z. Guiberson. Illus. by Gennady Spirin. Holt.
"Moving Blocks." By Yusuke Yonezu. Illus. by the author. Michael Neugebauer/Minedition.
"Mr. Squirrel and the Moon." By Sebastian Meschenmoser. Illus. by the author. NorthSouth.
"My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata." By Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford. Illus. by Antonio Castro L. Cinco Puntos.
"A Pig, a Fox, and a Box." By Jonathan Fenske. Illus. by the author. Penguin.
"Piper Green and the Fairy Tree." By Ellen Potter. Illus. by Qin Leng. Knopf.
"The Popcorn Astronauts: And Other Biteable Rhymes." By Deborah Ruddell. Illus. by Joan Rankin. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry.
"The Princess and the Pony." By Kate Beaton. Illus. by the author. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine.
"Raindrops Roll." By April Pulley Sayre. Illus. by the author. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane.
"Red. By Jan De Kinder." Illus. by the author. Eerdmans.
"Roger Is Reading a Book." By Koen Van Biesen. Illus. by the author. Eerdmans.
"Sidewalk Flowers." By JonArno Lawson. Illus. by Sydney Smith. Groundwood.
"The Skunk." By Mac Barnett. Illus. by Patrick McDonnell. Roaring Brook.
"Special Delivery." By Philip C. Stead. Illus. by Matthew Cordell. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.
"Supertruck." By Stephen Savage. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.
"Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova." By Laurel Snyder. Illus. by Julie Morstad. Chronicle.
"Tiptoe Tapirs." By Hanmin Kim. Illus. by the author. Holiday.
"Trombone Shorty." By Troy Andrews. Illus. by Bryan Collier. Abrams.
"Two Mice." By Sergio Ruzzier. Illus. by the author. Clarion.
"Wait." By Antoinette Portis. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.
"Waiting." By Kevin Henkes. Illus. by the author. HarperCollins/Greenwillow.
“Water Is Water: A Book about the Water Cycle.” By Miranda Paul. Illus. by Jason Chin. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.
“Who Done It?” By Olivier Tallec. Illus. by the author. Chronicle.
“Wolfie the Bunny. By Ame Dyckman. Illus. by Zachariah OHora. Little, Brown.
“The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy.” By Beatrice Alemagna. Illus. by the author. Enchanted Lion.
“Woodpecker Wham!” By April Pulley Sayre. Illus. by Steve Jenkins. Holt.
“Written and Drawn by Henrietta.” By Liniers. Illus. by the author. TOON.
Middle Readers
"28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World." By Charles R. Smith Jr. Illus. by Shane W. Evans. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter.
"Adam and Thomas." By Aharon Appelfeld. Illus. by Philippe Dumas. Seven Stories/Triangle Square.
"Adventures with Waffles." By Maria Parr. Illus. by Kate Forrester. Candlewick.
"Blackbird Fly." By Erin Entrada Kelly. HarperCollins/Greenwillow.
"The Blackthorn Key." By Kevin Sands. Aladdin.
"Echo." By Pam Muñoz Ryan. Scholastic.
"Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings." By Matthew Burgess. Illus. by Kris Di Giacomo. Enchanted Lion.
"Fish in a Tree." By Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen.
"Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass." By Doreen Rappaport. Illus. by London Ladd. Disney/Jump at the Sun.
"Full Cicada Moon." By Marilyn Hilton. Penguin/Dial.
"Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras." By Duncan Tonatiuh. Illus. by the author. Abrams.
"Fuzzy Mud." By Louis Sachar. Random/Delacorte.
"George." By Alex Gino. Scholastic.
"Gone Crazy in Alabama." By Rita Williams-Garcia. HarperCollins/Amistad.
"Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible." By Ursula Vernon. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Dial.
"Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story." By Reem Faruqi. Illus. by Lea Lyon. Tilbury.
"Lost in the Sun." By Lisa Graff. Penguin/Philomel.
"Mad about Monkeys." By Owen Davey. Illus. by the author. Flying Eye.
"Mars Evacuees." By Sophia McDougall. HarperCollins.
"The Marvels." By Brian Selznick. Illus. by the author. Scholastic.
"Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery That Baffled All of France." By Mara Rockliff. Illus. by Iacopo Bruno. Candlewick.
"My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey." By Lesa Cline-Ransome. Illus. by James E. Ransome. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman.
"My Two Blankets." By Irena Kobald. Illus. by Freya Blackwood. HMH.
"Murder Is Bad Manners." By Robin Stevens. Simon & Schuster.
"The Nest." By Kenneth Oppel. Illus. by Jon Klassen. Simon & Schuster.
"Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton." By Don Tate. Illus. by the author. Peachtree.
"Red Butterfly." By A. L. Sonnichsen. Illus. by Amy June Bates. Simon & Schuster.
"Roller Girl." By Victoria Jamieson. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Dial.
'Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU." By Cory Silverberg. Illus. by Fiona Smyth. Seven Stories/Triangle Square.
"Stella by Starlight." By Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum.
"Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America." By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. illus. HMH.
"Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower." By Greg Pizzoli. Illus. by the author. Penguin/Viking.
"Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer." By Kelly Jones. Illus. by Katie Kath. Knopf.
"The War That Saved My Life." By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Penguin/Dial.
Older Readers
"Baba Yaga’s Assistant." By Marika McCoola. Illus. by Emily Carroll. Candlewick.
"The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club." By Phillip Hoose. illus. Farrar.
"Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War." By Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine. Illus. by Claudia Dávila. Kids Can.
"Cuckoo Song." By Frances Hardinge. Abrams/Amulet.
"Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. "By Don Brown. Illus. by the author. HMH.
"Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir." By Margarita Engle. Atheneum.
"First Flight around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race." By Tim Grove. illus. Abrams.
"Goodbye Stranger." By Rebecca Stead. Random/Wendy Lamb.
"The Hired Girl." By Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick.
"The Lightning Queen." By Laura Resau. Scholastic.
"Listen, Slowly." By Thanhhà Lại. HarperCollins.
"Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War." By Steve Sheinkin. illus. Roaring Brook.
"My Seneca Village." By Marilyn Nelson. Namelos.
"Orbiting Jupiter." By Gary D. Schmidt. Clarion.
"Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip through the Motown Sound." By Andrea Davis Pinkney. illus. Roaring Brook.
"The Seventh Most Important Thing." By Shelley Pearsall. Knopf.
"The Smoking Mirror." By David Bowles. IFWG.
"The Thing about Jellyfish." By Ali Benjamin. Little, Brown.
"Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March." By Lynda Blackmon Lowery, as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley. Illus. by P. J. Loughran. Penguin/Dial.
All Ages
"Bird and Diz." By Gary Golio. Illus. by Ed Young. Candlewick.
"Counting Lions." By Katie Cotton. Illus. by Stephen Walton. Candlewick.
"Hiawatha and the Peacemaker." By Robbie Robertson. Illus. by David Shannon. Abrams.
"Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure." By Nadja Spiegelman. Illus. by Sergio García Sánchez. TOON Graphics.
"My Pen." By Christopher Myers. Illus. by the author. Disney/Hyperion.
"National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry: More Than 200 Poems with Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom!" Ed. by J. Patrick Lewis. illus. National Geographic.
"The Only Child." By Guojing. Illus. by the author. Random/Schwartz & Wade.
"Pool." By JiHyeon Lee. Illus. by the author. Chronicle.
"Sail Away." By Langston Hughes. Illus. by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum.
"Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement." By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illus. by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick.
For an annotated 2016 list and past , visit the ALSC website. More information about all of the lists is available on the ALSC website.
Members of the 2016 Notable Children's Books Committee are: Maralita (Micki) Freeny, College Park, Md., Chair; Allison Barney, Nashville (Tennessee) Public Library; Keary Bramwell, Mount Prospect (Illinois) Public Library; Paige Bentley-Flannery, Deschutes Public Library, Sisters, Oregon; 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; Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Oregon; Joyce Laiosa, University at Albany (SUNY), Albany, New York; Gwen M. Taylor, Lewis Clark State College Library, Lewiston, Idaho; and Bina Williams, Bridgeport (Connecticut) Public Library.
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