New York Public Library Reveals its List of Best Books for Kids and Teens Just in Time for The Holidays

The two lists – 100 Best Books for Kids and 50 Best Books for Teens – selected from titles published in 2016 by children and teen librarians across the system

NOVEMBER 23, 2016 – In the spirit of giving this holiday season, librarians at The New York Public Library (NYPL) are sharing their recommended reads of 2016 for children and teens.

A perfect guide for those looking to give the best books to their favorite young readers, the two lists – 100 Best Books for Kids and 50 Best Books for Teens – feature recommendations from NYPL’s children and teen librarians throughout the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.

Spanning multiple genres from picture books to graphic novels – the titles selected represent an inclusive list of books published in 2016 that consist of diverse characters, rich storytelling, and the ability to engage and stimulate a life-long love of reading.

The lists include celebrated authors, such as Kate DiCamillo, Sherman Alexie, Dan Yaccarino, Peter Brown, John Lewis, and Meg Medina – as well as eagerly-awaited debut titles, such as Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings, and Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova.

An interactive website that sorts and categorizes the selections based on a range of categories, such as genre, format, and age, will launch on December 1.

The Library will be launching a social media component on December 1 featuring a beautifully designed list for sharing with friends using the hashtag #Best Books.

Events will be held on December 1 at 4pm to celebrate the launch of the 50 Best Books for Teens at the Hamilton Grange Library in Manhattan with Never Missing, Never Found author Amanda Panitch, the Bronx Library Center with Zoraida Córdova, and Stapleton Library in Staten Island.

100 BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS

Picture books (fiction & nonfiction):

Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon by Torben Kuhlmann
A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting by Michelle Robinson; Illustrated by David Roberts
Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda
Dragon was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio; Illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
Emma and Julia Love Ballet by Barbara McClintock
Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford; Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Giant Squid by Candace Fleming; Illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Have You Seen My Trumpet? by Michaël Escoffier; Illustrated by Kris Di Gia
Henry and Leo by Pamela Zagarenski
How Much Does a Ladybug Weigh? by Alison Limentani
I Am a Story by Dan Yaccarino
I Am Not a Dinosaur by Will Lach & The American Museum of Natural History; Illustrated by Jonny Lambert
If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki VanSickle; Illustrated by Cale Atkinson
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell; Illustrated by Rafael López
The Night Gardener by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
Olinguito, de la A a la Z!/Olinguito, from A to Z! by Lulu Delacre
Ooko by Esme Shapiro
Saved by the Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11 by Julie Gassman; Illustrated by Steve Moors
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson
The Secret Subway by Shana Corey; Illustrated by Red Nose Studio
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh; Illustrated by Raúl Colón
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie; Illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Tiny Stitches: the Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks. Illustrated by Colin Bootman
Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup
A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of First International Flight by Balloon in 1785 by Matthew Olshan; Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
The Water Princess by Susan Verde and Georgie Badiel; Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
The White Cat and the Monk: A Retelling of the Poem "Pangur Bán" by Jo Ellen Bogart; Illustrated by Sydney Smith
What To Do with a Box by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by Chris Sheban
Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton; Illustrated by Don Tate The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game by Nancy Churnin; Illustrated by Jez Tuya
Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian; Illustrated by Mike Curato
Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs by Sue Park; Illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt

Easy readers:

Duck, Duck, Porcupine! by Salina Yoon
Haggis and Tank Unleashed: All Paws on Deck by Jessica Young; Illustrated by James Burcks
Mango & Bambang: The Not-a-Pig by Polly Faber; Illustrated by Clara Vulliamy
My Life in Pictures by Deborah Zemke
Pugs of the Frozen North (A Not-So Impossible Tale) by Philip Reeve; Illustrated by Sarah McIntyre
Timo's Garden by Victoria Allenby; Illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Waylon! One Awesome Thing by Sara Pennypacker; Illustrated by Marla Frazee
Weekends with Max and His Dad by Linda Urban; Illustrated by Katie Kath
What this Story Needs is a Hush and a Shush by Emma J. Virjan
Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? by Kate DiCamillo; Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Fiction for kids:

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds
Beetle Boy by M.G. Leonard
The Best Man by Richard Peck
The Bolds by Julian Clary; Illustrated by David Roberts
The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh
Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
The Island of Beyond by Elizabeth Atkinson
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
Midnight War of Mateo Martinez by Robin Yardi
Moo: A Novel by Sharon Creech
Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson
Pax by Sara Pennypacker; Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
Time Traveling with a Hamster by Ross Welford
Unbound by Ann E. Burg
When Mischief Came to Town by Katrina Nannestad
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Fairy tales & folklore:

The Blue Jackal by Shobha Viswanath; Illustrated by Dileep Joshi
Hare and Tortoise by Alison Murray
I Am Pan! by Mordicai Gerstein
The Princess and the Warrior: The Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh
Thumbelina by Xanthe Gresham Knight; Illustrated by Charlotte Gastaut
Snow White by Matt Phelan

Graphic novels:

Hilo: Saving the Whole Wide World by Judd Winick
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal by Jeffrey Brown
Red's Planet by Eddie Pittman
Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Feasts of Fury by Eric Colossal
The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson
The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks; color by Jordie Bellaire

Nonfiction:

Ada's Ideas: The Story of Ada Lovelace, the World's First Computer Programmer by Fiona Robinson
Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood; Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport
Death is Stupid by Anastasia Higgenbottom
Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet by Nikki Tate
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy; Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
Let Your Voice Be Heard: The life and Times of Pete Seeger by Anita Silvey
Like a Bird: The Art of the American Slave Song by Cynthia Grady; Illustrated by Michele Wood
Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare by Gene Barretta
Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals by Jess Keating
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe
Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet
Splat! The Most Exciting Artists of All Time by Mary Richards
The Great Leopard Rescue: Saving the Amur Leopards by Sandra Markle
We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement that Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman

Poetry:

Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer; Illustrated by Josee Masse
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
Guess Who, Haiku by Deanna Caswell; Illustrated by Bob Shea
Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxanne Orgill; Illustrated by Francis Vallejo
Slickety Quick: Poems about Sharks by Skila Brown; Illustrated by Bob Kolar
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka
When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons by Julie Fogliano; Illustrated by Julie Morstad
You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen by Carole Boston Weatherford; Illustrated by Jeffrey Boston Weatherford

50 BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS

Fiction:

Asking for It by Louise O'Neill
(Blacktop) Janae & Justin by LJ Alonge
Breakfast with Neruda by Laura Moe
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina
The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
The Haters by Jesse Andrews
The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Keep Me in Mind by Jaime Reed
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
Never Missing, Never Found by Amanda Panitch
Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
Rani Patel in Full Effect by Sonia Patel
Riding Chance by Christine Kendall
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace
The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Up from the Sea by Leza Lowitz
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
The Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati
Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse

Comics & Graphic Novels:

All New X-Men: Inevitable, Vol. 1 by Dennis Hopeless, Mark Bagley
Goldie Vance, Vol. 1 by Hope Larson, Brittney Williams
Kuroko's Basketball, Vol. 1 by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu
orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 by Ichigo Takano
Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 1 by Akiko Higashimura
Lumberjanes, Vols. 3 & 4 by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson
Silver Surfer, Vol. 3: Last Days by Dan Slott, Michael Allred
Star Wars: Vader Down by Jason Aaron, Mike Deodato