{"id":35103,"date":"2026-01-28T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=35103"},"modified":"2026-01-26T20:47:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T01:47:33","slug":"more-great-books-for-young-readers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2026\/01\/more-great-books-for-young-readers\/","title":{"rendered":"More Great Books for Young Readers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Monday was an unexpected snow day, as half the country was digging out of Winter Storm Fern, so I was lucky enough to watch the 2026 Youth Media Awards comfortably at home.  If you are anything like me, your TBR list is now out of control as you added a bunch of titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sorry!  Not helping with that today.  I\u2019m probably going to make it worse.  As someone who has been on a book committee (albeit, not for ALSC\u2014the O\u2019Dell Award<\/a>, and not this year), I know the hard work that goes into reading widely.  And I know some books you love get left off the table.  So here are a few of my own, personal honorable mentions!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Broken<\/a>,<\/em> written and illustrated by X. Fang<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This book may not have been eligible for the Caldecott Award (Canadian publisher), but there\u2019s no question you should read it.  A child breaks her grandmother\u2019s cup and tries to blame the cat\u2026who\u2019s not having it.  Realistic guilt ensues. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Cat Nap<\/a><\/em>, written and illustrated by Brian Lies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cat jumps through artwork in the Metropolitan Museum of Art\u2026and the illustrations likewise jump from medium to medium, including sculpture, stained glass, and more.  I\u2019m tired just thinking about it!<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Trouble with Heroes<\/a><\/em> by Kate Messner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a fit of grieving rage, 13-year-old Finn knocks over a headstone near his father\u2019s resting place.  Instead of traditional legal punishment, the daughter of the woman interred asks Finn to climb all 46 Adirondack High Peaks over his summer vacation.  This novel in verse also uses photos and text messages and Finn\u2019s walks through the wilderness reveal his own nature.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Winter of the Dollhouse<\/a><\/em> by Laura Amy Schlitz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, I was a child who loves dolls and felt \u201cseen\u201d with the Barbie Movie\u2026and feels seen here, too.  But Schlitz weaves a complex story of doll make-believe, blended families, finding friends, and a surprise from communist Hungary in this very readable middle-grade novel.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Under the Same Stars<\/a><\/em> by Libba Bray<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three separate stories (1940s Germany, 1980s West Berlin, and 2020 New York City) come together in surprising ways that illuminates the connections between people in protest throughout the decades. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between<\/a><\/em> by L.M. Elliott<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of the first female Senate pages, Patty has a front-row seat to the burgeoning Watergate Scandal.  To help put the book in context, each chapter begins with photos, news reports, and summaries that help explain Watergate to the modern teen reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A huge thanks to all who volunteered their time to these book committees!\u00a0 Do you<\/em> have any other books you\u2019d<\/em> like to highlight?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post addresses the core competencies of I. Commitment to Client Group and IV. Knowledge, Curation, and Management of Materials, and VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday was an unexpected snow day, as half the country was digging out of Winter Storm Fern, so I was lucky enough to watch the 2026 Youth Media Awards comfortably at home.  If you are anything like me, your TBR list is now out of control as you added a bunch of titles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":297,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1474,1],"tags":[345,3159,1425],"class_list":["post-35103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-maria-trivisonno","category-uncategorized","tag-childrens-books","tag-teen-books","tag-ymas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/297"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}