Kirkus has released it’s list of the Best Books of 2023 and it includes:
Jump In! (Bloomsbury) by Shadra Strickland
All Aboard the Schooltrain (Scholastic) by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Keisha Morris
Breaking to the Beat! (Lee and Low) by Linda J. Acevedo, illustrated by Frank Morrison
How Do You Spell Unfair? (Candlewick) by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Congratulations Everyone!
See the full list here
My Bollywood Dream (Candlewick) by Avani Dwivedi is on School Library Journal’s list for Best Picture Books of 2023. Here’s what they have to say about the book!
Nothing about this book should have worked, yet just as Bollywood musicals come together to celebrate spectacle and love, so does Dwivedi’s story. Her aspirations to direct the tale of her life have begun, in colorful pages in and out of the cinema, cast with everyone she encounters in her daily life.
Congratulations Avani!
See the full list here
Get the book here
Amazon’s Best Books of 2023 list is out! I’ll Hold Your Hand (MacMillan) by Maggie C. Rudd, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri, is on the list for books for ages Baby to 2. This Book is Banned (Source Books) by Raj Hadar, illustrated by Julia Patton is on the list for kids ages 6 to 8.
Congratulations Elisa and Julia!
See the full list here
The NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) has named The Pie that Molly Grew (Sleeping Bear) by Sue Heavenrich, illustrated by Chamisa Kelllogg, an Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2023.
See the full list here
Get the book here
The California Reading Association has awarded a Eureka! Honor to Jerry Changed the Game!(Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books) by Don Tate, illustrated by Cherise Harris. The Eureka! Non-Fiction Book Award assists teachers, librarians, and parents in identifying outstanding nonfiction books for their students and children.
Read more about the award here
Get the book here
School Library Journal has given a starred review to My Bollywood Dream (Candlewick) by Avani Dwivedi. Congratulations Avani!
★Dwivedi, Avani. My Bollywood Dream.
illus. by Avani Dwivedi. 40p. Candlewick. Aug. 2023. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781536228427.
Gr 2-4–Told through beautiful imagery and lyrical prose, this book soars in language, illustration, and cultural importance. A young unnamed narrator describes her love of Bollywood films. As she, Ma, and Baba travel through Mumbai to the theater, the narrator imagines life as a Bollywood movie, including choreographed dancing, heroic feats, and abundant color and food. Great imagery, metaphors, and similes—“Bollywood music is like listening to the first monsoon rain—the rhythm is steady and familiar”—parallel what the young girl sees on the screen and what she envisions in her real life. In an author’s note, Dwivedi describes Bollywood as a bridge between her and her desi community after she moved to the United States. Lyrical language depicts the depth, joy, and mystique of the very specific aspects of this elaborate style of filmmaking. The text incorporates words such as “khushi” (“with happiness”) and phrases (“Aab maaza aayega!” or “Now this should be fun!”) to bring Mumbai culture to life. VERDICT This is a well told and colorful rendering of the importance of art through film, and one young girl’s connection to her culture.–Tracey S. Hodges
On her popular blog A Fuse #8 Production, Librarian Betsy Bird has announced the Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids List: 2023 Edition, and Not a Monster (Charlesbridge), by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez, illustrated by Laura González is on it! Bird calls the book “Adorable, engaging, and informative!”
Congratulations Laura!
Get the book here
Kirkus has given a starred review to My Block Looks Like (Viking) by Janelle Harper, illustrated by Frank Morrison.
The review says “By focusing on the child’s active engagement with the neighborhood, Morrison portrays the protagonist’s excitement for this space and its people in his graffiti-style art. The artist’s careful attention to detail and the shifting visual perspectives in action scenes bring Harper’s musical text to life.”
The book will be published January 2, 2024.
See the full review here
Pre order the book here
Publishers Weekly has given a starred review to Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage (Anne Schwartz Books) by Lisa Rogers, illustrated by Il Sung Na.The review says “Na exhibits sound through vibrant colors and bold shapes against line art backgrounds, varying the style of each spread and increasingly warping the flat perspective as Cage experiments, fittingly representing his inventive music and spirit.”
The book also received a starred review from BookList.
See the full Publishers Weekly review here
Get the book here
Today is Different, (CarolRhoda Books) by Doua Moua, illustrated by Kim Holt , has won the Social Justice Literature Award for Picturebook Fiction.
This award is presented by the International Literacy Association to honor books that address social responsibility towards individuals, communities, societies, and/or the environment as well as invite reflection and socially responsible action by the reader.
Learn more about the awards, and see a full list of winners here
Get the book here