Introducing NYPL's Best Books of 2022
Every year, librarians and staff at The New York Public Library select noteworthy new books for readers of all ages and recommend them as our Best Books of the Year. These lists build on the Library’s century-old tradition of recommending the best-loved titles published for children each year, and in recent years have expanded to encompass titles for teens and adults, as well as books in Spanish for younger readers. They have always sought to reflect the diversity of New York City's readership.
Here you can explore the Library's top 10 books in four categories: books for kids, books in Spanish for kids, books for teens, and books for adults. You can find even more outstanding recommendations in our complete lists for kids, teens, and adults, and discover which Best Books titles are available in accessible editions, and explore our list of book in Spanish for kids en español.
Our full lists are also available to download so you can keep track of which ones you've read:
Top 10 Books for Kids
Aviva vs. the Dybbuk
by Mari Lowe
Aviva is overwhelmed. Why? Her father's death has left her mother depressed. Aviva is stuck planning the Best Bas Mitzvah Party Ever with her ex-friend. Anti-Semitic vandalism plagues the community. To top it all off, a mischievous dybbuk haunts her home.
Beauty Woke
by NoNieqa Ramo; illustrated by Paola Escobar
A positive and affirming poem about family and community coming together to help a child celebrate being Boricua. Bright illustrations bring the NYC backdrop to life.
Blue: A History of the Color As Deep As the Sea and As Wide As the Sky
by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond; illustrated by Daniel Minter
Elegant illustrations will mesmerize younger readers, while older readers will learn something new about a familiar color—blue! A vibrant historical piece that is as poetic as it is informational.
Nothing Special
by Desiree Cooper; illustrated by Bec Sloane
Photographed textile figures made from entirely repurposed materials breathe whimsy into the everyday activities PopPop and Nana share with their grandson. Join them on a timeless summer weekend on the coast of Virginia.
Maizy Chen's Last Chance
by Lisa Yee
Maizy is dreading summer in Last Chance, Minnesota, where she'll help care for her ailing opa. But soon, Maizy is captivated by the history of her grandparents' restaurant, her family story, and how these narratives intertwine with the history of Chinese immigrants in America.
Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration
by Elizabeth Partridge; illustrated by Lauren Tamaki
An insightful look at the unjust internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II through the lenses of three important photographers.
Sir Ladybug
by Corey R. Tabor
What's all the buzz about? It's Sir Ladybug, a beetle always looking for his next heroic quest!
Swim Team
by Johnnie Christmas
Bree misses everything about Brooklyn, and Florida is lonely and overwhelming. When she winds up on the swim team even though she can't swim, it will take all of Bree's determination, a new community of friends, and even a few history lessons to keep her head above water.
Ten Blocks to the Big Wok: A Chinatown Counting Book=Man bu shi tiao jie dao Da ding fu: hua ren jie shu shu tu shu
by Ying-Hwa Hu
Young Mia and Uncle Eddy stroll through Chinatown counting all the enriching cultural items in their community that embody a Chinese American experience. Told in Mandarin and English with soft watercolor illustrations, this joyous story will leave readers hungry for some dim sum!
Wednesday and Woof #1: Catastrophe
by Sherri Winston; illustrated by Gladys Jose
Wednesday and her support dog, Woof, run a detective agency in their backyard. When Wednesday’s operatic neighbor’s cat disappears, the detectives are on the case, sleuthing around their lakeside neighborhood to collect evidence and test theories.
Top 10 libros para edades 0–12 en español
9 Kilómetros
por Claudio Aguilera; ilustrado por Gabriela Lyon
Sigue los pasos de un niño mientras camina 9 kilómetros para ir a la escuela cada día. Hay un amplio contenido al final sobre las aves que vemos en el camino y ejemplos reales de niños de diferentes países y sus caminatas a la escuela.
A veces, yo soy todo lo que necesito
por Juliana Perdomo
¡Este libro es como un cálido abrazo a ti mismo! Es estupendo disfrutar de la compañía de los demás, pero a veces tú eres todo lo que necesitas.
¡A viajar, semillas!
por Lorena Ruiz
Lee cómo las semillas emprenden su viaje para convertirse en plantas nuevas. ¡Te sorprenderá descubrir que no es tan sencillo como caer del árbol!
La casita de Esperanza
por Terry Catasús Jennings; illustrado por Raul Colón
Esperanza y su familia emigran de Cuba a los Estados Unidos. Su hogar les otorga consuelo y deciden convertirlo en un espacio seguro para otras familias necesitadas. Van y vienen, saliendo un poco más optimistas que cuando llegaron, haciéndola una verdadera casita de esperanza.
La falda morada de Leo
por Irma Borges; ilustrado por Francesco Fagnani
A Leo le encanta llevar su falda púrpura, pero duda si debe hacerlo cuando un desconocido le llama niña. Sus padres le cuentan historias de hombres de todo el mundo que llevaban y siguen llevando faldas. Con ese apoyo, Leo se mantiene fiel a sí mismo.
Las gallinas de Sonia
por Phoebe Wahl; traducido por Laura Piperno y Gema Zamorano
En esta tierna historia, la pequeña Sonia aprende a ser responsable del cuidado de sus animales y del apego que se forma a partir de ese cuidado. También llega a comprender que la tragedia es inevitable y parte del orden de la naturaleza.
Sábado / Saturday
por Jorge Garza
¡Mira cómo se prepara esta familia para la graduación de la hija mayor! En este libro cartoné inspirado en el arte y la tradición azteca, cada detalle es parte importante de la historia.
Tengo hambre
por Menena Cottin
Ilustraciones vívidas y divertidas explican la cadena alimenticia de forma directa. ¡Hace hambre y ningún animal sabe a dónde irá a parar!
Una noche sin dormir
por Micaela Chirif; ilustrado por Joaquín Camp
Es de noche y la pequeña Elisa llora y llora mientras todo el vecindario agoniza. Se encuentran sin sueño y sin solución hasta que una apestosa sorpresa les proporciona por fin alivio.
Yo no fui
por Ana Palmero; ilustrado por Alejandra Acosta
Cosas "inexplicables" suceden en la casa a diferentes miembros de la familia, aparentemente como resultado de alguna travesura. Los jóvenes lectores se verán reflejados en esta divertida historia.
Top 10 Books for Teens
All My Rage
by Sabaa Tahir
Two Pakistani teens, Salahudin and Noor, persevere through loss, trauma, and Islamophobia in their tiny California desert town in this sweeping tale of love, family, and forgiveness that spans generations.
Hell Followed With Us
by Andrew Joseph White
Trans teen Benji is on the run from the religious cult that raised him and caused the apocalypse. When Benji is saved by teens from the local LGBTQ+ youth center, he works with their leader Nick, an autistic boy with deadly aim, to fight back.
I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys
Betray and be betrayed. In 1989 Romania, Cristian is forced to become an informer for the tyrannical dictatorship that rules the country with a vicious iron grip.
I Rise
by Marie Arnold
Ayo has had enough of being an activist. But when the fight for injustice hits close to home, how much will she decide to sacrifice to stand up for what's right?
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
by Sonora Reyes
Yami is scared to come out after she falls for her ex-best friend. Now she's in Catholic school trying to look out for her little brother and all she can think is WWSGD, "What Would a Straight Girl Do?"
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American
by Laura Gao
Laura Gao paints a breathtaking visual love letter to her first home—Wuhan, China—as she discovers her own different layers.
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality
by Eliot Schrefer; illustrated by Jules Zuckerberg
This humorous and educational dive into diverse queer behavior in the animal world demonstrates that there is nothing unnatural about being queer.
So This Is Ever After
by F.T. Lukens
So, you've fulfilled the prophecy and defeated the Vile One...now what? Accidentally tie yourself to a throne you are incredibly ill-prepared for, complete with a magically backed marry-or-die curse! Can your best friend/crush help with that?
The Weight of Blood
by Tiffany D. Jackson
It all started with the rain. When Maddy is revealed to be biracial, her school becomes notorious for a string of racist incidents leading the school to host their first, yet ill-fated, integrated prom. What happened that night? All anyone can agree on is that Maddy did it.
Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend
by Alys Arden; art by Jacquelin de Leon with Sam Lotfi; lettered by Wes Abbott
Zatanna Starr is not your average NYC teen. She lives in Coney Island's Luna Park, with a giant pet bunny and a world-famous magician for a dad. But after a magic show goes wrong, she gets entangled in a dangerous rivalry.
Top 10 Books for Adults
The Genesis of Misery
by Neon Yang
If Joan of Arc and Ziggy Stardust had a baby it would be Misery Nomaki, navigating the intersection of faith, truth, and the fictions we weave for ourselves.
The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere—A Memoir
by James Spooner
James found acceptance amongst the West Coast punk scene but, as a biracial teen, still struggled to find his place in the world at large. This eye-opening memoir has the makings of an instant classic with its reflections on what it meant to be Black and punk.
A Lady For a Duke
by Alexis Hall
n this groundbreaking Regency romance, Viola, presumed dead after Waterloo, returned to England to live as her true self. But it came with the cost of losing her best friend, the Duke of Gracewood. Now, years later, they get the chance to regain what they’ve lost.
Nettle & Bone
by T. Kingfisher
After her sisters suffer for years in their domestic situation, shy princess Marra enlists the help of a reluctant fairy godmother, a fallen knight, a bonewitch, and a demon-possessed chicken to perform three impossible tasks and vanquish an evil prince.
Path of Totality: Poems
by Niina Pollari
Pollari's poems about her grief after a stillbirth are both devastatingly intimate and sweepingly universal.
Shutter
by Ramona Emerson
The dead have always called out to Rita Todacheene, but a supposed suicide sharpens the focus on this forensic photographer.
Solito: A Memoir
by Javier Zamora
A young poet reflects on his harrowing 3,000-mile journey from El Salvador to the United States, shared from the point of view of his nine-year-old self. From his observations, both naive and wonder-filled, to the deep-felt experience of how kids process trauma, this is a powerful story.
The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
With the engaging simplicity of a great teacher and the metaphors of a poet, oncologist Mukherjee once again illuminates how the body (and life itself) works, this time with a history of cells and the evolving human understanding of them.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin
by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird & Tom Waltz
In a cyberpunk future, a lone warrior is on a quest to avenge his fallen brothers. This action-packed story, authored by the comic series' original creators, brings the tale of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to its thrilling conclusion.
Vladimir
by Julia May Jonas
Romance readers, satire lovers, and critics of academia will be swept into the burning flames of passion by this account of a seasoned English professor and her growing obsession with Vladimir, the new young professor on campus.
