I read sooo many children’s books published in 2021, and it would be remiss of me not to highlight my absolute favorites. While there were so many five star reads for me, here are my top three in the genres of graphic novels (the titles included are all best for middle grade or YA), middle grade fiction, nonfiction, picture books, and young readers.
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Graphic Novels
Garlic lives among a community of enchanted vegetables who tend gardens alongside Witch Agnes. She is best friends with Carrot. Garlic is a very worry-prone person. When it becomes clear a vampire has moved into the nearby castle, she and her friends are concerned about the potential danger. Of course, one thing vampires can’t stand is garlic, and so Garlic is encouraged to confront the vampire on the village’s behalf.
Look out for my full review.
While the storyline is heavily romantic, the author already has middle grade fans. Furthermore, the romance is very PG, even if there’s kissing very early on in the relationship. I think a romantic storyline, especially featuring a LGBTQ+ relationship so positively, can be appropriate for middle grade. Nonetheless, this book has definite YA appeal. Overall, it was 5 stars for me. Totally fun and romantic!
Look out for my full review.
The Golden Hour handles mental illness so wonderfully. Manuel witnesses a student shoot his art teacher. She survives, but both are shaken by the incident. Manuel helped by pulling a fire alarm, but he still feels guilty, as if he could have done more. Manuel has PTSD and experiences panic attacked and derealization. Manuel is able to anchor himself when he experiences anxiety by taking photos with his cell phone.
Look out for my full review.
Middle Grade
What really stands about about Amari versus other fantasy novels for this age group are the clear, solid themes. Alston draws a metaphor between the known world (the real world we live in) and the supernatural world and the way Amari, a Black girl, is treated in both -especially as compared to white children. The metaphor is 100% apparent and something Amari is aware of. No going back and claiming a vague similarity was there all along years later (as some famous authors have).
Read my full review here.
Wow, what a story! Cece lives in a world where humans fear and fight criaturas, mystical beings that those familiar with Mexican folklore might already know a little bit about. As a child, a criatura “cursed” Cece with having a soul of water, while everyone in her town is entirely fire. Cece is empathetic and unable to perform the same magic as her family, and they see her as a weak link because of it. But when Cece’s sister is captured by a criatura, Cece enlists the help of Coyote, another criatura, to rescue her sister. All the while, she must essentially become a bruja, even though the people of her town do not trust these witches, nor do criaturas, and rightfully so.
Read my full review here.
I won’t say that The Last Cuentista is unpredictable. If you’re familiar with dystopian fiction, then you’ll recognize the plot. Petra and her family flee earth with a number of scientists and their families as a comet comes hurtling in their direction. Other scientists will care for them while they are frozen in sleep. When they wake, they will inhabit a new planet. But something goes wrong when Petra is prepared for sleep. When she wakes up in the future, the ship has been overtaken by the sinister Collective. Everyone looks the same, and they are no longer like the humans they are awakening. Petra wants to find her family, if they are still on the ship, and to escape the Collective. However, she’s the only human with any memory of Earth. Everyone else’s mind has been wiped. Through storytelling, can Petra remind the other humans on the ship about their past and help them to escape? And are all the members of the Collective truly dedicated to their cause?
Look out for my full review.
Nonfiction
The summary, pulled from Amazon:
Every day, children in migration are detained at the US-Mexico border. They are scared, alone, and their lives are in limbo. Hear My Voice/Escucha mi voz shares the stories of 61 these children, from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Mexico, ranging in age from five to seventeen—in their own words from actual sworn testimonies. Befitting the spirit of the project, the book is in English on one side; then flip it over, and there’s a complete Spanish version.
The Stamped books are essentials in learning to be truly antiracist. I highly recommend adults check out the YA or adult version, and kids go for the one aimed towards their age group. Kendi expresses important concepts in a historical and modern context, and Reynolds and Cherry-Paul do a fabulous job of adapting for younger readers.
While I Was Away really touched me. I find reading about middle grade kids always does that to me. That age was such a pivotal moment in my life that I get emotional thinking about it and always relate to children in books. Since this was Waka’s memoir, the story hit me even more than usual. What I loved most about it was Waka’s strength. She recognizes the generational trauma her Obaasama has dealt with, but when Obaasama takes it too far and is cruel to Waka, Waka knows she does not have to forgive her. Obaasama’s past is a reason for her behavior, but no excuse. I would never have come to this realization at 12 and in all honesty, reading this segment caused me to do some personal healing of my own.
Picture Books
I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, illustrated by Julia Kuo
The summary, pulled from Amazon:
When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan to America, she leaves behind her beloved popo, her grandmother. She misses her popo every day, but even if their visits are fleeting, their love is ever true and strong.
Magic Candies by Heena Baek
The summary, pulled from Amazon:
Tong Tong could never have imagined what everyone around him was thinking. But when he gets hold of some magic candies, suddenly there are voices everywhere. He can hear how his couch feels, what upsets his dog, that his demanding dad loves him. He even gets to catch up with his dead grandmother. It turns out, these voices in Tong Tong’s life have A LOT to say! Is Tong Tong ready to hear it?
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson
The summary, pulled from Amazon:
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.
Young Readers
When Ben’s fortune cookie tells him to live each day like it were his last, Ben takes the slip of paper seriously. He makes a checklist of activities he wants to complete if today were to be his final day of life. When he wakes up at midnight to get started, it’s not long before his best friend, family, and neighbors are involved, either reassuring him that today is not his last day or taking on his spirit to live today like its their last.
Read my full review here.
Marisol Rainey is a young girl dealing with anxiety. She worries and fears many things. She also has an adorable quirk where she names inanimate objects and ascribes feelings to them, like her fridge, Buster Keaton. One of these things is Peppina, the tree in her yard. Everyone says Peppina is the perfect tree, but Marisol is too scared to climb it. She is determined to overcome this fear.
Look out for my full review.
Everything I love about Jason Reynolds and Raúl the Third was combined in this novel. Portico is a kid with anxiety and his parents are always fighting. Only he and his best friend know he’s not just Portico but the superhero Stuntboy, capable of helping out all of the neighbors in his apartment building. When Portico’s parents fight, they tell him to go do something “in the meantime” and Portico begins to think of their argument sessions as “the mean time”.
Look out for my full review.
