At Booksource, our home is the classroom library. We live and breathe books. As experts in children’s and young adult literature for the classroom, we have spent decades reading and cultivating custom lists of books that fit every classroom need imaginable, from fiction to STEM, fresh new reads to classroom-proven favorites, read alouds to independent reading.
Each year, we get so excited reading and choosing new books for you to share with your students and always look forward to revealing the best of the new crop of books. Here’s a roundup of some of the most highly anticipated books hitting shelves this year. The books at the top of the list are currently available to order at the link provided while others will be published later this year.
1. Eyes That Kiss in The Corners
by Joanna Ho
Interest level: P-3
A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother’s and her little sister’s. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future. Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment.
2. Camila The Star
by Alicia Salazar
Interest level: K-2
Camila Maria Flores Ortiz was born to be a star. At least that’s her plan. But she knows that becoming famous won’t happen all by itself. It’s going to take a lot of hard work. Every adventure brings Camila one step closer to her dreams. New readers will love following along on Camila’s path to stardom in this early chapter book series.
3. Stella’s Stellar Hair
by Yesenia Moises
Interest level: K-3
Brown girl magic takes the solar system in Stella’s Stellar Hair, a celebration of hair, family and self-love. It’s the day of the Big Star Little Gala, and Stella’s hair just isn’t acting right. What’s a girl to do? Simple! Just hop on her hoverboard, visit each of her eight fabulous aunties across the solar system and find the perfect hairdo along the way. Stella’s Stellar Hair celebrates the joy of self-empowerment, shows off our solar system, and beautifully illustrates a variety of hairstyles.
4. The Sea in Winter
by Christine Day
Interest level: 3-7
It’s been a hard year for Maisie Cannon, ever since she hurt her leg and could not keep up with her ballet training and auditions. Her blended family is loving and supportive, but Maisie knows that they just can’t understand how hopeless she feels. Soon, Maisie’s anxieties and dark moods start to hurt as much as the pain in her knee. How can she keep pretending to be strong when on the inside she feels as roiling and cold as the ocean?
5. City of the Plague God
by Sarwat Chadda
Interest level: 3-7
Characters from the Epic of Gilgamesh populate this high-stakes contemporary adventure in which all of Manhattan is threatened by the ancient god of plagues. Thirteen-year-old Sik wants a simple life going to school and helping at his parents’ deli in the evenings. But all that is blown to smithereens when Nergal comes looking for him, thinking that Sik holds the secret to eternal life. Turns out that Sik is immortal but doesn’t know it, and that’s about to get him and the entire city into deep, deep trouble.
6. The Hocus Pocus Hoax: A Goldie Vance Mystery
by Lilliam Rivera
Interest level: 3-7
Marigold “Goldie” Vance lives and works at the Crossed Palms Resort Hotel in Florida with a whole slew of characters: her dad, Art, the manager; Cheryl Lebeaux, the concierge and Goldie’s best friend; and Walter Tooey, the hired hotel detective. The hotel is hosting the first ever League of Magical Arts Convention, bringing the world’s most renowned and emerging magicians to the resort, including an overeager part-time magician and detective named Derek. When some of the magic starts to go awry, Goldie and Derek are on the case! Can Goldie uncover the saboteur before the final act goes live?
7. Gone to The Woods: Surviving A Lost Childhood
by Gary Paulsen
Interest level: 4-7
Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.
8. The Awakening of Malcolm X
by Ilyasah Shabazz and Tiffany D. Jackson
Interest level: 7-12
A powerful fictionalized account of Malcolm X’s adolescent years in Charlestown Prison, Malcolm Little struggles with the weight of his past. Plagued by nightmares, he drifts through days unsure of his future. Slowly, he befriends other prisoners and writes to his family. He reads all the books in the prison library, joins the debate team and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm grapples with race, politics, religion, and justice in the 1940s. And as his time in jail comes to an end, he begins to awaken – emerging from prison more than just Malcolm Little. Now, he is Malcolm X.
9. The Angel of Greenwood
by Randi Pink
Interest level: 7-12
Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Wilson is, on the surface, a town troublemaker, but is hiding that he is an avid reader and secret poet, never leaving home without his journal. He believes that Black people should rise up to claim their place as equals. Sixteen-year-old Angel Hill is a loner, mostly disregarded by her peers as a goody-goody. She believes, through education and tolerance, that Black people should rise slowly and without forced conflict. But life changes on May 31, 1921 when a vicious white mob storms the community of Greenwood, leaving the town destroyed and thousands of residents displaced.
10. Wench
by Maxine Kaplan
Interest level: 7-12
Tanya has worked at her tavern since she was able to see over the bar. She broke up her first fight at age 11. By the time she was a teenager she knew everything about the place, and she could run it with her eyes closed. She’d never let anyone – whether it be a drunkard or a captain of the queen’s guard – take advantage of her. But when her guardian dies, she might lose it all: the bar, her home, her purpose in life. So, she heads out on a quest to petition the queen to keep the tavern in her name.
11. Milo Imagines the World
by Matt de la Pena
Interest level: P-2
Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives. There’s the whiskered man with the crossword puzzle; Milo imagines him playing solitaire in a cluttered apartment full of pets. There’s the wedding-dressed woman with a little dog peeking out of her handbag; Milo imagines her in a grand cathedral ceremony. And then there’s the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in the suit gets off on the same stop as Milo – walking the same path, going to the exact same place – Milo realizes that you can’t really know anyone just by looking at them.
12. The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book: A Greenglass House Story
by Kate Milford
Interest level: 4-8
Nothing is what it seems and there’s always more than one side to the story as a group of strangers trapped in an inn slowly reveal their secrets in this new standalone mystery set in the world of the best-selling Greenglass House.
13. Concrete Rose
by Angie Thomas
Interest level: 9-12
Angie Thomas has delivered yet another pitch-perfect return to Garden Heights, set seventeen years before The Hate U Give. In Concrete Rose, we meet a young Maverick Carter – he’s not yet Starr’s father, but at seventeen years old himself, he already knows the importance of taking care of his family. Though set in the past, this raw and eye-opening exploration into what it means to be a man in the Black community is just as relevant today. A must-read for all.
14. Super Potato Gets Buff
by Artur Laperla
Interest level: 2-5
Gigantic flies are on a rampage at the Cortex research center, thanks to a beam that boosted their molecules! Fortunately, the technology behind the giant flies also leads to a gigantic Super Potato who’s delighted with his new muscles.
15. Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids
by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Interest level: 3-7
Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride. Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another.
16. Claudia and the New Girl (The Baby-sitters Club Graphic Novel #9)
by Ann M. Martin
Interest level: 4-7
A brand-new Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adapted by newcomer Gabriela Epstein. Claudia has always been the most creative kid in her class, until Ashley Wyeth comes along. Ashley’s really different. She wears hippie clothes, has multiple earrings, and is the most fantastic artist. Ashley says Claudia is a great artist, too, but thinks she’s wasting her artistic talent with The Baby-sitters Club. When Claudia starts spending more time with Ashley and missing BSC meetings, it becomes clear that Claudia has to decide where her loyalties lie.
17. Ground Zero
by Alan Grantz
Interest level: 4-7
September 11, 2001, New York City: Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive and escape? September 11, 2019, Afghanistan: Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz and put herself and her family in mortal danger? Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same.
18. Love Is A Revolution
by Renée Watson
Interest level: 7-12
When Nala Robertson reluctantly agrees to attend an open mic night for her cousin-sister-friend Imani’s birthday, she finds herself falling in instant love with Tye Brown, the MC. He’s an activist and is spending the summer putting on events for the community when Nala would rather watch movies and eat ice cream. In order to impress Tye, Nala tells a few tiny lies to have enough in common with him. As they spend more time together, sharing more of themselves, some of those lies get harder to keep up. As Nala falls deeper into keeping up her lies and into love, she’ll learn all the ways love is hard, and how self-love is revolutionary.
19. Game Changer
by Neal Shusterman
Interest level: 9-12
All it takes is one hit on the football field, and suddenly Ash’s life doesn’t look quite the way he remembers it. Impossible though it seems, he’s been hit into another dimension – and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his own. The changes start small, but they quickly spiral out of control as Ash slides into universes where he has everything he’s ever wanted, universes where society is stuck in the past, universes where he finds himself looking at life through entirely different eyes.
20. In My Mosque
by M. O. Yuksel
Interest level: P-3
No matter who you are or where you’re from, everyone is welcome here. From grandmothers reading lines of the Qur’an and the imam telling stories of living as one, to meeting new friends and learning to help others, mosques are centers for friendship, community and love.
21. Zonia’s Rain Forest
by Juana Martinez-Neal
Interest level: P-3
Zonia’s home is the Amazon rain forest, where it is always green and full of life. Every morning, the rain forest calls to Zonia, and every morning, she answers. She visits the sloth family, greets the giant anteater, and runs with the speedy jaguar. But one morning, the rain forest calls to her in a troubled voice. How will Zonia answer?
22. A New Day
by Brad Meltzer
Interest level: P-3
Sunday quit, just like that. She said she was tired of being a day. So, the other days of the week had no choice but to advertise: “WANTED: A NEW DAY. Must be relaxing, tranquil, and replenishing. Serious inquires only.” Soon lots of hopefuls arrived with their suggestions, such as Funday, Bunday, Acrobaturday and SuperheroDay. Then a little girl showed up with a thank-you gift for Sunday. The girl simply suggested a day to be kind. Her gratitude made Sunday decide she didn’t need to quit after all.
23. My Day with the Panye
by Tami Charles
Interest level: K-3
In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head but realizes it’s much harder than she thought. This is a story of family legacy, cultural tradition, and hope for the future.
24. Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier
by Jeff Gottesfeld
Interest level: 2-5
Keeping vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery, are the sentinel guards, whose every step, every turn, honors and remembers America’s fallen. They protect fellow soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, making sure they are never alone. To stand there – with absolute precision, in every type of weather, at every moment of the day, one in a line uninterrupted since midnight July 2, 1937 – is the ultimate privilege and the most difficult post to earn in the army. Everything these men and women do is in service to the Unknowns.
25. Dog Man #10: Mothering Heights
by Dav Pilkey
Interest level: 2-6
Dav Pilkey’s wildly popular Dog Man series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence and the importance of doing good.
26. Endling #3: The Only
by Katherine Applegate
Interest level: 3-7
The thrilling conclusion to the epic middle grade fantasy trilogy from Katherine Applegate. In the beginning, Byx’s original quest was to discover if there were more of her kind, or if she was destined to become an endling – the last dairne alive. She did indeed find more dairnes, but Byx and her new friends soon learned that it wasn’t just dairnes in jeopardy of extinction. Everyone was at risk. With the world in unprecedented danger, Byx must rally creatures of all kinds to lead a revolution.
27. The One Thing You’d Save
by Linda Sue Park
Interest level: 3-7
When a teacher asks her class what one thing they would save in an emergency, some students know the answer right away. Others come to their decisions more slowly. And some change their minds when they hear their classmates’ responses. A lively dialogue ignites as the students discover unexpected facets of one another and themselves. With her ear for authentic dialogue and knowledge of tweens’ priorities and emotions, Linda Sue Park brings the varied voices of an inclusive classroom to life through carefully honed, engaging and instantly accessible verse.
28. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories
by Jeff Kinney
Interest level: 3-7
Grab a flashlight, crawl under the covers, and dive into the twisted, unexpectedly hilarious world of Rowley Jefferson’s imagination. You’ll meet zombies, vampires, ghosts and much more in these comically terrifying tales.
29. The Seventh Raven
by David Elliott
Interest level: 9-12
When Robyn and his brothers are turned into ravens through the work of an unlucky curse, a sister is their only hope to become human again. Though she’s never met her brothers, April will stop at nothing to restore their humanity. But what about Robyn, who always felt a greater affinity to the air than to the earth-bound lives of his family? This novel in verse explores the unintended consequences of our actions, no matter our intentions.
30. Pangolina
by Jane Goodall
Interest level: P-2
From legendary naturalist Jane Goodall, an absorbing fictional tale that will steal hearts and open minds about the plight of the pangolin. Friendly, curious Pangolina – a member of the only mammalian species with scales, one already endangered by illegal trafficking and facing new perils after being falsely linked to transmission of the novel coronavirus – is rescued from captivity and certain death by a boy who speaks up after seeing her in a cage at a market.
31. Keeping the City Going
by Brian Floca
Interest level: P-3
We are here at home now, watching the world through our windows. Outside we see the city we know, but not as we’ve seen it before. The once hustling and bustling streets are empty. Well, almost empty. Around the city there are still people, some, out and about. These are the people keeping us safe. Keeping us healthy. Keeping our mail and our food delivered. Keeping our grocery stores stocked. Keeping the whole city going. Brian Floca speaks for us all in this stirring homage to all the essential workers who keep the essentials operating so the rest of us can do our part by sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
32. The Rock from The Sky
by Jon Klassen
Interest level: P-3
Look up! Here comes The Rock from the Sky, a hilarious meditation on the workings of friendship, fate, shared futuristic visions and that funny feeling you get that there’s something off somewhere, but you just can’t put your finger on it. Merging broad visual suspense with wry wit, celebrated picture book creator Jon Klassen gives us a wholly original comedy for the ages.
33. America, My Love, America, My Heart
by Daria Peoples-Riley
Interest level: P-3
Inspired by the questions of her own childhood, author and artist Daria Peoples-Riley has created a powerful and important book for Americans of all ages – an essential addition to every bookshelf and classroom. Her poetic text encourages readers to confront bias, prejudice, and discrimination and invites readers to reflect and respond with their own answers, while honoring the identities of black and brown children and people of color.
34. Training Day
by Raúl the Third
Interest level: P-3
Readers will fall in love with Raúl the Third’s unique visual style as Kooky Dooky helps luchador El Toro train for his next wrestling match. Task #1: Get out of bed. Usually that’s not so hard, but being the champion luchador isn’t easy. Today, El Toro is feeling uninspired. But his coach, Kooky Dooky, knows that practice makes better, and it’s important for El Toro to stay in shape and keep training.
35. Tag Team
by Raúl The Third
Interest level: P-3
Luchadores El Toro and La Oink Oink are the perfect tag team as they clean up together in this playful and visually stunning early reader. Perfect for fans of Elephant and Piggie, comic book fans, and kids looking to practice both Spanish and English.
36. Dear Treefrog
by Joyce Sidman
Interest level: P-3
Capturing the joy of finding a kindred spirit, this stunning picture book by Newbery Honor–winning poet Joyce Sidman tells the story of a lonely girl moving into a new home and the little treefrog that helps her connect to the beautiful world around her.
37. Shaped by Her Hands
by Anna Harber Freeman and Barbara Gonzales
Interest level: K-3
The most renowned Native American Indian potter of her time, Maria Povika Martinez learned pottery as a child under the guiding hands of her ko-ōo, her aunt. She grew up to discover a new firing technique that turned her pots black and shiny, and made them, and Maria, famous. This inspiring story of family and creativity illuminates how Maria’s belief in sharing her love of clay brought success and joy from her New Mexico Pueblo to people all across the country.
38. Wizard of Bots
by Russ Bolts
Interest level: K-4
Joe and Rob go looking for the Wizard of Bots in this tenth adventure in the hilarious Bots chapter book series. Many years ago, scientists on Earth sent video satellites out to the end of the universe to see what was hiding in deep space. Now, years later, these satellites have begun sending their first videos back to Earth, and the stars of the show are two goofy robots. With easy-to-read language and graphic novel art on almost every page, the Bots chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.
39. We Are Still Here!
by Traci Sorrell
Interest level: 2-5
Too often, Native American history is treated as a finished chapter instead of relevant and ongoing. This companion book to the award-winning We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga offers readers everything they never learned in school about Native American people’s past, present, and future. Precise, lyrical writing presents topics including: forced assimilation (such as boarding schools), land allotment and Native tribal reorganization, termination (the US government not recognizing tribes as nations), Native urban relocation (from reservations), self-determination (tribal self-empowerment), Native civil rights, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), religious freedom, economic development (including casino development), Native language revival efforts, cultural persistence and nationhood.
40. Aru Shah and the City of Gold
by Roshani Chokshi
Interest level: 3-7
Aru Shah and her sisters must find their mentors Hanuman and Urvashi in Lanka, the city of gold, before war breaks out between the devas and asuras. Aru isn’t sure she wants to fight on behalf of the devas in the war against the Sleeper and his demon army. The gods have been too devious up to now. If they lose, they won’t stand a chance against the Sleeper’s troops, which will soon march on Lanka to take over the Otherworld. Aru’s biggest question, though, is why every adult she has loved and trusted so far has failed her. Will she come to peace with what they’ve done before she has to wage the battle of her life?
41. Merci Suárez Can’t Dance
by Meg Medina
Interest level: 4-7
Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can’t dance—not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can’t seem to avoid love or dance for very long.
42. The Cost of Knowing
by Brittney Morris
Interest level: 7-12
Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short. It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life. And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.
43. Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julian and Joaquin Castro
by Monica Brown
Interest level: P-3
The story of political powerhouse twins Julián and Joaquin Castro began in the small room that they shared with their grandmother Victoriana in San Antonio, Texas. Victoriana crossed the border from Mexico into Texas as a six-year-old orphan, marking the start of the family’s American journey. Her daughter Rosie, Julián and Joaquin’s mom, was an activist who helped the barrio through local government. Julián and Joaquin have been working at the local, state, and national level – as a former presidential candidate, mayor and member of President Obama’s Cabinet, and a U.S. Congressman, respectively – to make the country a better place for everyone.
44. Alaina and the Great Play
by Eloise Greenfield
Interest level: K-3
With the guileless wonder and innocence of a little girl, Alaina is profoundly changed by the performance. As she falls in love with the art of live theater, her enthusiasm lands her center stage. “But when I opened my mouth, the right words didn’t come out. I was too excited to say that little speech. It wasn’t good enough for that great play…”
45. Stamped (For Kids)
by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi; adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul
Interest level: 1-5
Adapted from the groundbreaking bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Kids will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. Along the way, they’ll learn how to identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their own lives.
46. Mac B., Kid Spy #6
by Max Barnett
Interest level: 2-5
The Queen of England calls on her trusty spy, Mac B., once again. This time, Mac must navigate secret tunnels beneath the Berlin Wall in order to retrieve cheat codes from a Soviet scientist. Floppy disk in hand, our hero finds himself trapped in East Germany, stuck between the wall and the Stasi. How will he escape? Well, it is 1989, and walls do fall down.
47. Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey
by Erin Entrada Kelly
Interest level: 3-7
Marisol Rainey’s mother was born in the Philippines. Marisol’s father works and lives part-time on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And Marisol, who has a big imagination and likes to name inanimate objects, has a tree in her backyard she calls Peppina, but she’s way too scared to climb it. This all makes Marisol the only girl in her small Louisiana town with a mother who was born elsewhere and a father who lives elsewhere (most of the time) and the only girl who’s fearful of adventure and fun. Will Marisol be able to face her fears and have fun? Maybe.
48. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy
by Emmanuel Acho
Interest level: 5-9
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy is an accessible book for children to learn about systemic racism and racist behavior. For the awkward questions white and non-black parents don’t know how to answer, this book is an essential guide to help support communication on how to dismantle racism amongst our youngest generation. Young people have the power to affect sweeping change, and the key to mending the racial divide in America lies in giving them the tools to ask honest questions and take in the difficult answers.
49. Ergo
by Alexis Deacon
Interest level: K-3
Ergo wakes up and sets off to explore the world. The first things she discovers are her toes. Wiggle, wiggle. Then she finds her wings. Flap, flap. Then her beak. And her legs. She has discovered everything! I am the world, and the world is me, she thinks. Until she considers the wall around her. Is that part of her, too? And is that noise from beyond the wall something else?
50. In the Shadow of The Fallen Towers
by Don Brown
Interest level: 7-12
A graphic novel chronicling the immediate aftermath and rippling effects of one of the most impactful days in modern history: September 11, 2001. The consequences of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, both political and personal, were vast, and continue to reverberate today. Don Brown brings his journalistic eye and attention to moving individual stories to help teens contextualize what they already know about the day, as well as broaden their understanding of the chain of events that occurred in the attack’s wake.
Check out the New Reads By Month section of our website, which is updated monthly with the newest, most recently published titles selected by our experts in children’s and young adult literature.
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