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* The Blood Years by Elana K. Arnold High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 400 pp. 10/23 9780062990853 $19.99 e-book ed. 9780062990877 $10.99 In this historical novel set in Czernowitz, Romania, [...]

* Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu Intermediate, Middle School Walden Pond/HarperCoNins 288 pp. 1/24 9780062275158 $19.99 e-book ed. 9780062275172 $10.99 The transition to middle school is often a [...]

* I'm Gonna Paint: Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People by Anne Broyles; illus. by Victoria Tentler-Krylov Primary, Intermediate Holiday 48 pp. 10/23 9780823450060 $18.99 e-book ed. 9780823457380 $11.99 In [...]

Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole High School Labyrinth Road/Random 384 pp. 3/23 9780593485736 $18.99 e-book ed. 9780593485750 $10.99 For troubled sixteen-year-old Alicia, the past year has been one of [...]

The Train Home by Dan-ah Kim; illus. by the author Primary Greenwillow 40 pp. 4/23 9780063076914 $19.99 An enchanting look at a child's quest for belonging. Nari is a quiet, [...]

Rabbit, Duck, and Big Bear by Nadine Brun-Cosme; illus. by Olivier Tallec Primary Random House Studio/Random 40 pp. 2/23 9780593486986 $18.99 Library ed. 9780593486993 $21.99 e-book ed. 9780593487006 $10.99 Three [...]

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh Intermediate, Middle School Roaring Brook 368 pp. 1/23 9781250313607 $17.99 e-book ed. 9781250313614 $10.99 Marsh's affecting historical novel, inspired by her own family's story, [...]

* Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson Middle School Paulsen/Penguin 192 pp. 10/23 9780399545467 $18.99 e-book ed. 9780399545481 $10.99 Sage Durham, a basketball-obsessed Black twelve-year-old, is looking forward to a summer [...]

The SLJ reviews editors began thinking about which of our almost 500 starred books should rise to the level of 'best' in April, but really hunkered down and started deliberating [...]

Yellow Dog Blues by Alice Faye Duncan; illus. by Chris Raschka Primary Eerdmans 32 pp. g 9/22 978-0-8028-5553-4 $18.99 This book about a lost dog is also a musical and [...]

The Greatest Song of All: How Isaac Stern United the World to Save Carnegie Hall by Megan Hoyt; illus. by Katie Hickey Primary, Intermediate Quill Tree/HarperCollins 40 pp. g 7/22 [...]

* World Made of Glass by Ami Polonsky Intermediate, Middle School Little, Brown 288 pp. 1/23 9780316462044 $16.99 e-book ed. 9780316462259 $9.99 It's 1987, and twelve-year-old Iris Cohen is feeling [...]

* The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold by Mac Barnett; illus. by Jon Klassen Preschool, Primary Orchard/Scholastic 48 pp. 10/22 9781338673845 $18.99 Frequent collaborators Barnett and Klassen serve up a [...]

This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg High School Flatiron 400 pp. g 3/22 978-1-250-78627-2 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-78626-5 $10.99 Poppy, seventeen, and her younger sister, Emma, have grown up on [...]

Gibberish by Young Vo; illus. by the author Primary Levine Querido 40 pp. g 2/22 978-1-64614-110-4 $17.99 Dat, the young Asian protagonist of this involving picture book, has traveled far [...]

Raise your voice. Tell your story. There is power in the written word. Be true to yourself. These are themes that emerged and resonated with us throughout our Best Books [...]

* Berliners by Vesper Stamper; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Knopf 320 pp. g 10/22 978-0-593-42836-8 $21.99 Library ed. 978-0-593-42837-5 $24.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-42838-2 $10.99 An engrossing [...]

* REYNOLDS, Jason. Lu. 224p. (Track: Bk. 4). Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Bks. Oct. 2018. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781481450249. POP Gr 5-8--Following on the heels of Ghost, Patina, and Sunny comes the [...]

* Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter; illus. by Oge Mora Preschool Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 32 pp. g 10/21 978-0-06-286576-2 $17.99 On a clear, starry night, everybody [...]

* Red and Green and Blue and White by Lee Wind; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky Primary Levine Querido 32 pp. g 10/21 978-1-64614-087-9 $17.99 The author begins: 'On a [...]

FIFTY YEARS AGO, in the December 1966 issue of School Library Journal, the review editors--then led by the legendary Lillian N. Gerhardt, whose career would span over 30 years at [...]

THERE ARE FEWER THINGS MORE EXCITING AS A KID THAN GETTING I a piece of mail. For many adults of a certain age, checking the mailbox each month for Highlights [...]

* Tumble by Celia C. Perez Intermediate, Middle School Kokila/Penguin 368 pp. g 8/22 978-0-593-32517-9 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-32519-3 $10.99 Spanish paper ed. 978-1-64473-592-3 $12.95 Twelve-year-old Adela Ramirez has a [...]

* The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson; illus. by Leo Espinosa Primary Paulsen/Penguin 32 pp. g 5/22 978-0-399-54549-8 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-399-54550-4 $10.99 Spanish ed. 978-0-593-53019-1 $18.99 This [...]

* Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen; illus. by Aaron Becker Primary, Intermediate Little, Brown 48 pp. g 8/21 978-0-316-48767-2 $18.99 Colleen uses the cycle of the seasons to tell the [...]

Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith Intermediate Heartdrum/HarperCollins 320 pp. g 6/21 978-0-06-286997-5 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-286999-9 $8.99 In her reimagining of a classic, Smith gives readers a [...]

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart High School Delacorte 320 pp. g 5/22 978-0-593-48585-9 $19.99 Library ed. 978-0-593-48586-6 $22.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-48587-3 $10.99 This formidable prequel to We Were Liars [...]

Middletown by Sarah Moon Middle School Levine Querido 288 pp. g 4/21 978-1-64614-042-8 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-64614-107-4 $9.99 Thirteen-year-old Eli and her big sister Anna, seventeen, are used to fending [...]

Harrowing battles between what is real and what is unreal, temptations that take the shape of everything from giant whispering wasps to dissatisfied spirits to leather-clad bad boys, the dreadful [...]

Accidental by Alex Richards High School Bloomsbury 368 pp. g 7/20 978-1-5476-0358-9 $17.99 Paper ed. 978-1-5476-0662-7 $9.89 e-book ed. 978-1-5476-0359-6 $12.59 Ever since she was a toddler, Johanna has been [...]

Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasus Jennings High School Yellow Jacket 288 pp. g 2/22 978-1-4998-1251-0 $18.99 e-book [...]

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 336 pp. g 2/22 978-0-06-303932-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-303934-6 $9.99 Chandler Academy is a posh Connecticut boarding school with [...]

Rima's Rebellion: Courage in a Time of Tyranny by Margarita Engle Middle School, High School Atheneum 208 pp. g 2/22 978-1-5344-8693-5 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-8695-9 $10.99 This historical novel in [...]

Neverforgotten / Nuncaseolvida by Alejandra Algorta; illus. by Ivan Rickenmann; trans. from Spanish by Aida Salazar Intermediate Em Querido/Levine Querido 288 pp. g 10/21 978-1-64614-094-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-64614-219-4 $12.99 [...]

* Little Bird's Day by Sally Morgan; illus. by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr Primary Blue Dot Kids 32 pp. g 10/21 978-1-7362264-6-9 $18.95 As soon as the sun peeks above the [...]

THE ROAD TO BEST BOOKS began over a year ago with the team of SLJ review editors meeting twice monthly to select starred books for each issue. Reviewer nominations, close [...]

* Chance: Escape from the Holocaust by Uri Shulevitz; illus. by the author Intermediate, Middle School Farrar 336 pp. g 10/20 978-0-374-31371-5 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-374-31370-8 $9.99 Shulevitz was just [...]

* I Talk like a River by Jordan Scott; illus. by Sydney Smith Primary Porter/Holiday 40 pp. 9/20 978-0-8234-4559-2 $18.99 In this lyrical and empowering picture book, Canadian poet Scott [...]

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu High School Roaring Brook 304 pp. g 10/21 978-1-250-23258-8 $17.99 e-booked. 978-1-250-23259-5 $10.99 This female-focused reimagining of The Outsiders abandons the testosterone-fueled [...]

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 357 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-282025-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-282027-3 $10.99 At seventeen, Felix Love feels marginalized as a Black [...]

WEIN, Elizabeth. The Enigma Game. 432p. Little, Brown. May 2020. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781368012584. Gr 7 Up--In the same vein as Wein's Code Name Verity, this World War II novel [...]

* COOPER, Elisha. River, illus. by Elisha Cooper. 48p. Scholastic/Orchard. Oct. 2019. Tr $ 18.99. ISBN 9781338312263. PreS-Gr 3--Cooper loves to take children on experiential journeys, which he did so [...]

* The One Thing You'd Save by Linda Sue Park; illus. by Robert Sae-Heng Intermediate, Middle School Clarion 72 pp. g 3/21 978-1-328-51513-1 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-52601-8 $9.99 Ms. Chang [...]

Bear Outside by Jane Yolen; illus. by Jen Corace Preschool, Primary Porter/Holiday 32 pp. g 3/21 978-0-8234-4613-1 $18.99 In this spare, lyrical picture book, Yolen explores the robust inner life [...]

The breakdown of this year's list reflects the realities of the publishing world--YA continues to dominate in terms of output and sheer heft, but there was a noticeable uptick in [...]

* The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by Maria Garcia Esperon; illus. by Amanda Mijangos; trans. from Spanish by David Bowles Intermediate, Middle School, High School Levine Querido [...]

Your Heart, My Sky: Love in a Time of Hunger by Margarita Engle Middle School, High School Atheneum 224 pp. g 3/21 978-1-5344-6496-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-6498-8 $10.99 Engle (Enchanted [...]