Curated category · 2006—2025

Best young readers

Award-winning and editorially recommended young readers across twenty years, organized for discovery rather than sales ranking.

Selections: 703
Authors: 624
Lists & prizes: 3

Showing 97–144 of 703

2023Young readers

Beneath

Cori Doerrfeld

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Big

Vashti Harrison

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Check & Mate

Ali Hazelwood

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Curlfriends: New in Town

Sharee Miller

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Damned If You Do

Alex Brown

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Eagle Drums

Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Family Style: Memories of an American From Vietnam

Thien Pham

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Freewater

Amina Luqman-Dawson

John Newbery Medal

2023Young readers

Glitter Everywhere! Where It Came From, Where It's Found & Where It's Going

Chris Barton, illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Henry, Like Always

Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Mika Song

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Huda F Cares

Huda Fahmy

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

I'm From

Gary R. Gray Jr., illustrated by Oge Mora

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim

Patricia Park

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Invisible Son

Kim Johnson

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter

Aida Salazar, illustrated by Molly Mendoza

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Julieta and the Romeos

Maria E. Andreu

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Like Lava In My Veins

Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Shawn Martinbrough

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Maggie Lou, Firefox

Arnolda Dufour Bowes, illustrated by Karlene Harvey

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Mama Shamsi at the Bazaar

Mojdeh Hassani and Samira Iravani, illustrated by Maya Fidawi

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Mascot

Charles Waters and Traci Sorell

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Mexikid

Pedro Martín

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

My Father, the Panda Killer

Jamie Jo Hoang

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

My Head Has a Bellyache: And More Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups

Chris Harris, illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

My Powerful Hair

Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Steph Littlebird

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

My Strange Shrinking Parents

Zeno Sworder

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Our Incredible Library Book (and the wonderful journeys it took)

Caroline Crowe, illustrated by John Joseph

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Parachute Kids: A Graphic Novel

Betty C. Tang

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Promposal

RaeChell Garrett

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Rainbow Shopping

Qing Zhuang

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Remember

Joy Harjo, illustrated by Michaela Goade

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Ruby Lost and Found

Christina Li

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Sunshine: A Graphic Novel

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Tacos Today: El Toro & Friends

Raúl the Third, colors by Elaine Bay

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

That Flag

Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Dos and Donuts of Love

Adiba Jaigirdar

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Eyes and the Impossible

Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The King Penguin

Vanessa Roeder

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Daniel Miyares

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity

Nicholas Day, illustrated by Brett Helquist

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Probability of Everything

Sarah Everett

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Talk

Darrin Bell

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Wicked Bargain

Gabe Cole Novoa

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet

Jake Maia Arlow

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

There Was a Party for Langston, King of Letters

Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

There’s No Way I'd Die First

Lisa Springer

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Tim Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues

H.S. Valley

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Too Small Tola Gets Tough

Atinuke, illustrated by Onyinwe Iwu

NPR Books We Love

2023Young readers

Twenty Questions

Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson

NPR Books We Love