Introducing NYPL's Best Books of 2019
The New York Public Library is proud to announce its Best Books of 2019, our annual recommendations for kids, teens, and adults which are curated by NYPL's expert librarians.
This list celebrates the diversity of stories, authors, styles, and genres published in 2019. From literary fiction to fantasy, picture books to poetry, nonfiction to graphic novels, readers of all kinds and all ages will find books that inspire, engage, and surprise them.
Here you can explore the Library's top 10 books in five categories: kids, Spanish-language kids, teens, adults, and poetry. Then you can find even more outstanding recommendations in our full lists for kids, teens, and adults.
Kids
For over a century, The New York Public Library's expert children's librarians have curated a list of the noteworthy children's books published each year, ranging from picture books to middle-grade fiction and incorporating genres such as graphic novels, poetry, and nonfiction. The committee read thousands of books published from January through October in 2019 in order to select their 100 favorite.
Below are their top 10, but be sure to check out the whole list at nypl.org/kids2019. And let us know what you think in the comments below, or on social media with the hashtag #BestBooks!
Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Don Tate
Maximillian Fly by Angie Sage
The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake
Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure by Alex T. Smith
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña
The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip Hop by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Don Tate
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Pokko and the Drum by Matthew Forsythe
This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy
This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews
Los Mejores Libros para Pequeños/The Best Books for Kids
This year, the Library has selected a list of the best books for children in Spanish published in 2019, or Los Mejores Libros para Pequeños. The committee of ten Spanish-speaking librarians read a wide range of titles in order to select their favorites.
Below are their selections for the top 10 Spanish-language children's titles. Let us know what you think in the comments below, or on social media with the hashtag #BestBooks!
¿De dónde eres?, by Yamile Saied Méndez, illustrated by Jaime Kim
Empieza por A, by Félix Jiménez Moreno, illustrated by Ona Caussa Rius
La joven maestra y la gran serpiente, by Irene Vasco, illustrated by Juan Palomino
Luisa siempre va con prisa, by Timothy Knapman, illustrated by Gemma Merino
Mario y el agujero en el cielo: Cómo un químico salvó nuestro planeta, by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Teresa Martínez
Mi papi tiene una moto, by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña
La princesa Inca, by Ana Alonso, illustrated by Jordi Vila Delclòs
Señorita Mariposa, by Ben Gundersheimer, illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero
Todos Iguales: Un corrido de Lemon Grove, by Christy Hale
¡Los zombis no comen verduras!, by Megan Lacera, illustrated by Jorge Lacera
Teens
A committee of dedicated young adult specialists read (and read and read) this year's teen romances, mysteries, graphic novels, nonfiction anthologies, poetry, sci-fi, and more. Then they debated and voted on these books until they whittled it down to their 50 favorite YA books of the year.
Here are the top 10 from that list. Check out the full 50at nypl.org/teens2019. And let us know what you think in the comments below, or on social media with the hashtag #BestBooks.
As Many Nows as I Can Get by Shana Youngdahl
Birthday by Meredith Russo
Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF Venable, art by Ellen T. Crenshaw
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
SLAY by Brittney Morris
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama
Adults
Staff from across The New York Public Library system shared the titles published in 2019 that they felt represented the best books of the year. The results were as diverse and wide-ranging as our staff and collections, spanning a gripping nonfiction account of the #MeToo scandal to fiction about the bonds between mothers and daughters to a memoir of a home in New Orleans.
Below are the 10 titles that received the greatest number of votes from our staff. Check out the complete list of 100 titles and share your thoughts on social media with the hashtag #BestBooks.
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodessner-Aker
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacobs
Normal People by Sally Rooney
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom
Three Women by Lisa Tadeo
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
Poetry
While the Library has long made poetry recommendations, this year an official committee of staff members read, evaluated, debated, and discussed books of poetry published in 2019.
Here are their top 10 recommendations. Check out more titles from our Best Books for Adults or share your opinions on social media using the hashtag #BestBooks.
The Black Condition Ft. Narcissusby Jayy Dodd
The Crazy Bunch by Willie Perdomo
Deaf Republicby Ilya Kaminsky
In Her Feminine Sign by Dunyā Mīkhāʼīl
Library of Small Catastrophes by Alison C. Rollins
Lima :: Limón by Natalie Scenters-Zapico
Soft Science by Franny Choi
Some Girls Survive on Their Sorcery Alone by Thiahera Nurse
Tsunami vs. the Fukushima 50 by Lee Ann Roripaugh
The Year of Blue Water by Yanyi
About the Best Books of 2019
Explore the Best Books lists for kids, teens, and adults, or explore the Best Books lists from previous years.
Check out the library staff members behind the lists.
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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.
Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations.