2022 gave us the gift of amazing books and series across countless topics, written by authors from many cultures and experiences. Our literacy experts had to make some tough choices to narrow the list to 22 of the best recommended books to include in classroom libraries. Check out our favorite educational, thought-provoking, touching and funny titles.

1. Playtime for Restless Rascals
by Nikki Grimes

Interest level: P-2
A kid’s job is to play, and luckily, there’s much to explore each day! From dancing in puddles to swinging to jumping into a huge pile of leaves, this family makes the best of their day. Encourage young readers’ senses of wonder when you add this joyful book to classroom libraries.

2. The Blur
by Minh Lê

Interest level: P-2
The creators of Drawn Together present the story of a kid with superhero-like abilities. She has a supersonic voice, elastic limbs and lightning-fast speed. She’s THE BLUR! Can her parents keep up and keep her out of trouble? Students will love the bold and bright illustrations, and you’ll giggle at The Blur’s supersized confidence.

3. Beauty Woke 
by NoNieqa Ramos

Interest level: P-3
Beauty is a young Puerto Rican girl who is loved and supported by her community. She is proud of her Taíno and African heritage, until experiencing bigotry makes her forget why she is special. Readers will rejoice as Beauty’s neighborhood rallies around her, helping her to appreciate where she comes from.

You can find more books from Hispanic voices on our Hispanic heritage booklist.

4. The Talk
by Alicia D. Williams

Interest level: P-3
As an optimistic little boy grows up, his parents dread having a very difficult conversation with him about racism, wishing he could just enjoy being a kid. The Talk helps young students understand the unfairness of the world and will imbue them with a heart for justice.

5. Feathers Together
by Caron Levis

Interest level: K-5
Teach students about the real-life pair of storks whose bond could not be broken by distance and other obstacles. Best friends Malena and Klepetan always adventure together! Each winter, they fly to warmer weather with their flock. When Malena is injured she must stay behind, which puts strain on the best friends’ relationship. When Klepetan finally returns home after a detour, will things ever be the same? This touching story serves as a moving allegory for many situations, including children adjusting to sudden disability, loved ones moving far away and more.

6. Love in the Library
by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Interest level: 1-4
Can two people really fall in love in a place like Minidoka, which was built to make people feel subhuman? Teach students about the United States’ cruel detention of Japanese Americans during WWII with a moving historical tale based on events from the author’s grandparents’ lives.

Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She works in the camp’s library, finding comfort and escape in the stories. George also finds solace among the shelves, checking out as many books as he can every day. Is there another reason George is so eager to come to the library day after day?

7. A Rover’s Story
by Jasmine Warga

Interest level: 3-7
Resilience (Res) is a Mars rover on an important mission. While not created with human emotions, Res begins to learn and change as he explores Mars and navigates dangerous challenges. This title supports lessons about space exploration and teaches kids how to be brave in the face of obstacles.

8. Swim Team
by Johnnie Christmas

Interest level: 3-7
Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school. That is, until she gets stuck in Swim 101. Bree faces her greatest fear with the help of her neighbor Etta, an elderly former swim captain. Can Bree somehow lead her team to victory and make her swim-loving community proud?

9. The Aquanaut
by Dan Santat

Interest level: 3-7
Even the most reluctant readers will be gripping the pages of this new whimsical graphic novel from Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat. Sophia is moping around Aqualand, the marine theme park her father and uncle created. Her dad is lost at sea and Sophia feels lost without him. When an “aquanaut” breaks in, Sophia encounters four goofy sea creatures and discovers a dark secret about what the park has become.

Find more books like The Aquanaut on our list of books to engage struggling readers.

10. The Last Mapmaker
by Christina Soontornvat

Interest level: 3-7
2021 Newbery Honor recipient Christina Soontornvat shares a high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. A preteen tries to let go of her past and choose her own destiny in a mysterious and dangerous universe. Twelve-year-old Sai assists Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker and tries to play the part of a well-bred young lady. If the truth gets out that her father is a conman, it could destroy her. When Sai joins a sea-bound expedition set for a land of dragons and riches, she discovers everyone has secrets.

11. The Universe in You: A Microscopic Journey
by Jason Chin

Interest level: 3-7
Caldecott Medalist Jason Chin explores fascinating facts about the microscopic space beneath our skin. The Universe in You pairs with Chin’s award-winning Your Place in the Universe, and serves as a great introduction to microscopic organisms and subatomic particles that make up the human body.

Get kids excited about the wonders of science when you shop engaging STEM titles.

12. A Duet for Home
by Karina Yan Glaser

Interest level: 3-7
It’s sixth-grader June’s first day at Huey House, a homeless shelter. Having just lost her home and not being allowed to bring her cherished viola inside feels like a punch to the gut. Tyrell is a seasoned resident of Huey House and shows June the positive side of living there: friendship, hot meals, and a classical musician next door. Can the two preteens come together to heal and stay true to themselves?

13. Frizzy 
by Claribel A. Ortega

Interest level: 3-7
According to Marlene’s mom, it’s time to grow up, focus on school and “look presentable,” AKA straighten her hair. But Marlene hates going to the salon each weekend, and she doesn’t see a problem with her natural curls! This story shows diversity within one Latinx family and offers a nuanced perspective on the pressure to have “good hair.” 

Find more stories from Hispanic voices on our Hispanic heritage booklist.

14. The Marvellers  
by Dhonielle Clayton

Interest level: 3-7 
Fans of Rick Riordan, Soman Chainani and Philip Pullman will love this fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky.  
 
Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute. She can’t wait to join Marvellers from around the world as they practice their cultural arts. Some Marvellers mistrust Ella’s brand of magic, calling it bad and unnatural, but she soon finds community among other misfits.

Can Ella clear her family’s name when they are wrongly accused of helping a dangerous escaped convict and track down her missing mentor? 

15. The Ogress and the Orphans
by Kelly Barnhill

Interest level: 5-9
Stone-in-the-Glen, once a bustling town, is struggling and fracturing before the townspeople’s eyes. Natural disasters strike, costing the community their library, school, park and even their sense of community. When a child goes missing from the local Orphan House, the mayor suggests the kindly ogress is responsible. The town’s orphans don’t buy it, and try to show their deluded neighbors the real villain among them.

16. A Thousand Steps Into Night
by Traci Chee

Interest level: 6-12
Fantasy-loving students won’t be able to put down this Japanese legend-inspired book brimming with demons, adventure and plot-twists. Miuko is a very ordinary girl living in Awara, an extraordinary place where monsters, gods and humans coexist. Miuko’s life drastically changes when she begins transforming into a deadly demon. She embarks on a quest to reverse the curse, but wonders if saving her soul is worth returning to her ordinary former life.

17. Ballad & Dagger (Outlaw Saints series)
by Daniel José Older

Interest level: 7-12
Mateo’s island homeland disappeared into the sea when he was very young. Though the rest of his tight-knit Brooklyn diaspora community dreams of returning, Mateo is more concerned with getting a local musical legend to notice him. When he finally gets his chance, the evil that sank his people’s island shows up, thrusting Mateo into an ancient battle he wants nothing to do with. Share this music and magic-filled urban fantasy that will get even the most reluctant readers excited for the next chapter.

18. Ain’t Burned All the Bright 
by Jason Reynolds

Interest level: 7-12
Ain’t Burned All the Bright is a new poetry/art collaboration between Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin. With three sentences and amazing imagery, these two friends share their feelings about social issues, COVID and how hard it can be to just breathe.

Get more gripping titles like this from our list of books to engage struggling readers.

19. I Must Betray You 
by Ruta Sepetys

Interest level: 7-12
As Communist regimes crumble across Europe, seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer. Romanians don’t have the option to dream, however. They must follow the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. One day Cristian is given an impossible choice: betray everyone and everything he loves by becoming an informant, or accept the position, but find a sneaky way to undermine the evil dictator. Prompt students to ponder the cost of freedom when you add this historical thriller to classroom libraries.

20. Man Made Monsters 
by Andrea L. Rogers

Interest level: 7-12
This heartwarming, funny and scary illustrated novel by Cherokee writer Andrea L. Rogers has it all: vampires, zombies and Cherokee legends! Following one extended family across centuries and into the future, each story delivers a slice of a particular time period that will leave readers longing for more. A recent Booksource Book Club read, we highly recommend it!

This book was also featured on our list of books from Native American Voices and our spooky and silly booklist.

21. All My Rage
by Sabaa Tahir

Interest level: 9-12
Share a heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family, forgiveness, love and loss with students. Misbah, a dreamer and storyteller, married Toufiq in an arranged match. Surviving tragedy, the new couple comes to the United States for a fresh start and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel. Years later, their son Salahudin (Sal) struggles to run the family hotel as his mother’s health fails and his father succumbs to alcoholism. Can Sal and his best friend Noor navigate the complex nature of family ties and forge their own futures?

22. An Arrow to the Moon 
by Emily X. R. Pan

Interest level: 9-12
Hunter Yee is a great shot with a bow and arrow, but everything else in his life is the pits. Haunted by his family’s mistakes, he wishes he could run away, but he must stay for the sake of his little brother and the cute girl at his new school. Luna Chang (aforementioned cutie) feels weighed down by her parents’ expectations and starts to rebel. As they come into their identities, Hunter and Luna must solve the mystery of the crack spreading through their town and navigate their families’ secrets.

Did we miss any of your favorite books from this year? Which of these titles are you most excited to share with students?