Dear Friends of The Center,
This week we highlight favorites from a year particularly rich in books for young people! These are our recommendations for holiday gift-giving for every age group.
Click here and scroll all the way down to see every pick!
Happy reading,
Melanie Fleishman
Buyer, The Center for Fiction Bookstore
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Holiday Book Guide:
Young People's Literature
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Click here and scroll all the way down to see every pick!
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We Are Water Protectors
CAROLE LINDSTROM
A timely Indigenous tale about saving our natural resources—winner of this year’s Caldecott Medal.
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Kaleidoscope
BRIAN SELZNICK
Vignettes by the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret about grief and healing through the lens of two people connected through time and memory.
Limited signed copies available!
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It Fell from the Sky
THE FAN BROTHERS
A fanciful story of art, community and charity starring a greedy little spider in a garden.
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A Boy Named Isamu
JAMES YANG
Meet the wonderful Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi in this perfect combo of illustration and text.
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Cat Problems
JORY JOHN
Illustrated by Lane Smith
Cats have problems, too, don’t forget, it’s not all pampering, food and love! Funniest book of the season.
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There's a Ghost in this House
OLIVER JEFFERS
A great, interactive story about a determined young girl searching for a ghost.
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Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?
SHEL SILVERSTEIN
Revisit this vintage classic about a young boy and his pet rhinoceros by the author of The Giving Tree.
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I Am the Subway
KIM HYO-EUN
Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith
Encounter the fellow travelers who commute by train through the city of Seoul in an extraordinary cinematic journey.
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Lullaby (For a Black Mother)
LANGSTON HUGHES
Illustrated by Sean Qualls
Hughes’s sweet poem in a board book celebrating the love between a mother and her baby.
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Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright!
EDITED BY FIONA WATERS
Illustrated by Britta Teckentrup
366 poems about animals around the world, one for every day, beautifully illustrated.
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Change Sings
AMANDA GORMAN
Illustrated by Loren Long
Inspiring, read-aloud poetry from our National Youth Poet Laureate and passionate social advocate.
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The Big Book of Belonging
YUVAL ZOMMER
Teach your kids about caring for life in all its forms on Planet Earth—humans, plants and animals.
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Keeping the City Going
BRIAN FLOCA
A tribute to health care and essential workers of NYC during the pandemic by the celebrated Brooklyn award-wining author.
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Your Legacy
SCHELE WILLIAMS
Illustrated by Tonya Engel
Teach your young children about African American slavery in this inspiring book full of stories of courage and resilience.
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Aaron Slater, Illustrator
ANDREA BEATTY
Illustrated by David Roberts
The Questioneer series continues with a heartening story about a boy who dreams of becoming a writer but has some trouble reading.
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Egg Marks the Spot
AMY TIMBERLAKE
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
The 2nd book in the Skunk and Badger series—the beloved animal duo goes on a mission that runs into big trouble.
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The 1619 Project: Born on the Water
NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES
& RENÉE WATSON
Illustrated by Nikkolas Smith
Adapted from the adult version—a grandmother teaches her family about the legacy of slavery through their ancestors’ story. In verse!
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Run: Book One
JOHN LEWIS
The late great John Lewis’s new graphic novel series about working within a community and getting into politics.
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Stuntboy, in the Meantime
JASON REYNOLDS
Illustrated by Raúl the Third
The greatest little superhero makes sure everyone is safe in this hilarious and hopeful story of parental discord.
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The Beatryce Prophecy
KATE DiCAMILLO
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
A magical medieval story of a young girl in danger, and the loving monk and the hard-headed goat who try to protect her.
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Pony
R. J. PALACIO
The author of Wonder returns with this heart-warming story of a boy’s search for his father with only a ghost and a pony to guide him.
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In the Forest
ANOUCK BOISROBERT & LOUIS RIGAUD
Understand climate change through the eyes of a sloth in this gorgeous pop-up book.
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Willodeen
KATHERINE APPLEGATE
Strange beasts and a magical toy bear put in an appearance in the story of a young girl’s determination to save her land when nature fights back.
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot (Book #16)
JEFF KINNEY
What would the holidays be without the endearing Wimpy Kid! Will Greg save the day for the baseball team?
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Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds
SAMIRA AHMED
Two siblings find themselves part of an ancient prophecy in a race to thwart a world war.
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Out of Wonder
KWAME ALEXANDER
Illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Twenty original pieces pay homage to some of the most renowned poets around the world.
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The Secret Garden on 81st Street
IVY NOELLE WEIR
Illustrated by Amber Padilla
An update of the beloved classic now in graphic form, set in NYC on a rooftop garden.
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Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?!
SOPHIE ESCABASSE
Our favorite local witch and the aunties are back in a story of magic and friendship.
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We Light Up the Sky
LILLIAM RIVERA
Three very different Latinx high schoolers in LA confront an approaching war of the worlds.
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A Snake Falls to Earth
DARCIE LITTLE BADGER
A young Apache girl and a boy from the land of spirits star in a tale of Indigenous magical futurism.
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Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World
BENJAMIN ALIRE SÁENZ
The prize-winning series continues as Ari and Dante navigate the growing AIDs epidemic.
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The Gilded Ones
NAMINA FORNA
A feminist tale set in a Sierra Leone village by “the Toni Morrison of Young Adult Fantasy.”
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club
MALINDA LO
A queer romance set in 1950s San Francisco Chinatown—winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature!
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