Staff Faves 2023: Books for Kids
Every year we ask our staff across the library system for their favorite books published in a given year. Enjoy this list of some of our favorite chapter books, graphic novels and nonfiction books for kids - some with staff annotations, and others with annotations from Kirkus and Booklist, unless otherwise noted. (Created November 2023)
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Batcat
GRAPHIC NOVEL / "The adventures of a creature who is not entirely one thing or the other." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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There Was A Party for Langston
NONFICTION / "Reynolds and the Pumphrey brothers take readers on a dazzling journey through Langston Hughes’ legacy." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View There Was A Party for Langston -
The Chalice of the Gods
CHAPTER BOOK / "The original trio of heroes from The Lightning Thief are reunited for their biggest challenge yet: getting Percy into college when the gods are standing in his way." [Publisher]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Sun and the Star
CHAPTER BOOK / "In this stand-alone featuring Nico di Angelo from the Percy Jackson universe, the young ghost king and his luminous boyfriend must journey back to nightmarish Tartarus to rescue an old friend." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Jovita Wore Pants
BIOGRAPHY / "A young Mexican freedom fighter proves that traditional gender roles aren’t important—heart is." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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A First Time for Everything
GRAPHIC NOVEL / "A 1989 summer trip to Europe changes Caldecott Medal-winner Santat’s life in this graphic memoir. Full of laughter and sentiment, this is a nudge for readers to dare to try new things." [Kirkus Reviews] Winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: All copies in use
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Speculation
LOCAL AUTHOR / CHAPTER BOOK / "Ten-year-old Winna Cole can see ghosts—and they’ve got a mystery for her to solve. Provides a new lens to explore histories that can haunt and help us." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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What It's Like to Be A Bird
NONFICTION / "An expert ornithologist lays out the hows, whats, and whys of bird behavior." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Indestructible Tom Crean
BIOGRAPHY / "The tale of an indomitable sailor who survived challenge after challenge—including the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance. A story of bitter cold infused with warmth and with the fighting spirit of its courageous subject." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Holding Her Own
BIOGRAPHY / "An effervescent tribute to Jackie Ormes, widely considered to be the first nationally syndicated Black woman cartoonist in the United States." [Kirkus Reviews]
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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