Best Books of 2023 - Kids & Teen

Rhyming text and sweet illustrations for little ones who love babies or are welcoming a new sibling themselves.

"One day, Emma the dog leaves the vet with a mysterious cone fastened around her neck. How did it get there? And why does it look like a lampshade? It dulls her digging and makes Garson the fashionable greyhound gawk at her. After several fruitless escape maneuvers, Emma sulks and accepts that the cone isn't coming off. But Emma soon discovers by a happy accident that her cone is perfect for catching the balls her human throws, and she realizes the...

The pigeon really, really wants to drive Santa's sleigh, but reconsiders once he learns how it flies.

"Not all questions have answers. Some have more than one answer. And others have endless answers, unfolding out to the edges of the world. In this spare yet expansive narrative, acclaimed author Mac Barnett poses twenty questions both playful and profound. Some make us giggle. Others challenge our assumptions. The result is a quirky, wandering exploration of where the best questions lead--to stories. Intriguing, richly interactive, and brought to...

"Some people think hats are fancy things you can buy at a dressy store, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. In this book, acorns and raspberries are snug hats for your fingers, and an empty pudding cup is a good hat for a stuffed bear. Pajama pants make dangly hats, books can be dramatic hats, and bubbles make very fine hats as well (if temporary)"--

Everybody has a body, and each body is different. Sometimes the differences mean certain kids have challenges. In this book you can meet some kids who face challenges and find out about their differences--as well as all the things everybody has in common. "This photo picture book looks at differences in bodies, with photos of children with many different challenges including various physical disparities, learning differences, and medical conditions"--...

"A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been a good kid. The kind of kid who listens to his teachers, helps his mom with grocery shopping, and stays out of trouble. But being a good kid doesn't stop him from being bullied and feeling like he's invisible, which is why Dan has low expectations when his parents...

"From fish to mammals and plants to insects, every organism on Earth must reproduce, and the survival of each species--and of life itself--depends on this and on the diversity it creates. In this groundbreaking book, Katherine Roy distills the science of reproduction into its simplest components: organisms must meet, merge their DNA, and grow new individuals; and she thoughtfully highlights the astonishing variety of this process with examples from...

From Michael L. Printz honoree & National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold comes the harrowing story of a young girl's struggle to survive the Holocaust in Romania. Frederieke Teitler and her older sister, Astra, live in a house, in a city, in a world divided. Their father ran out on them when Rieke was only six, leaving their mother a wreck and their grandfather as their only stable family. He's done his best to provide for them and shield them...