Each month we post an annotated bibliography of books that were rated ‘Outstanding’ at our previous month’s meeting and nominated for our year-end Distinguished List. Members can see full reviews of these books and many more in the August edition of BayViews. Not a member? Join, come to our (currently virtual) monthly meetings, and hear about these Outstanding books “in person”!
Picture Books
The Camping Trip written and illustrated by Mann, Jennifer K.; Candlewick, 2020.
Ernestine’s aunt and cousin invite her to leave the city to go car camping. This is the book to be pressed into the hands of every family preparing a child for a first camping trip. (Grades PreK-2.)
Hike written and illustrated by Oswald, Pete; Candlewick, 2020.
A father and his young child go on a hike together through a beautiful nature landscape in this wordless picture book celebration of adventure, family, tradition, and the great outdoors.
(K-3.)
Fiction
The Blackbird Girls written by Blankman, Anne; Viking/Penguin Random House, 2020.
Two Ukrainian girls flee their ravaged town in a suspenseful and heart-warming story set in 1986, during the Chernobyl disaster. This masterful portrayal of life in totalitarian society celebrates the enduring values of friendship, kindness, and courage. (6-8.)
What Lane? written by Madonado, Torrey; Nancy Paulsen/Penguin Random House, 2020.
Stephen is a biracial twelve-year-old in Brooklyn with a dawning racial identity. “What Lane?” soars in introducing tweens to all of the injustices young teens of color face, as well as the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. (5-7.)
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