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Horn Book Fanfare 2016

Horn Book Fanfare 2016 names 32 books across 4 categories. 20 of them also won or were shortlisted for an award.

Fiction

  1. A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriartysource (opens in a new tab)
  2. As Brave As You by Jason Reynoldssource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medinasource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holmsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Juana & Lucas by Juana Medinasource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Makoons by Louise Erdrichsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. The Best Man by Richard Pecksource (opens in a new tab)
  8. The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitzsource (opens in a new tab)
  9. The Lie Tree by Frances Hardingesource (opens in a new tab)
  10. The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berrysource (opens in a new tab)
  11. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoonsource (opens in a new tab)
  12. To Stay Alive: Mary Ann Graves and the Tragic Journey of the Donner Party by Skila Brownsource (opens in a new tab)
  13. When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Linsource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World’s Brightest Bird by Pamela S. Turnersource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Giant Squid by Candace Flemingsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. I Am Pan! by Mordicai Gersteinsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. March: Book Three by John Lewis and Andrew Aydinsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented the Wild West by Candace Flemingsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoesource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweetsource (opens in a new tab)

Picture Books

  1. Before Morning by Joyce Sidmansource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Best Frints in the Whole Universe by Antoinette Portissource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellissource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Frank and Lucky Get Schooled by Lynne Rae Perkinssource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherfordsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgolsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. School’s First Day of School by Adam Rexsource (opens in a new tab)
  8. The Airport Book by Lisa Brownsource (opens in a new tab)
  9. Thunder Boy Jr by Sherman Alexiesource (opens in a new tab)
  10. We Found a Hat by Jon Klassensource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryansource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgillsource (opens in a new tab)

About the Horn Book Fanfare

The Horn Book Magazine's annual Fanfare list of the year's best children's and young adult books, chosen by its editors and reviewers. Read from hbook.com's own Fanfare pages through Wayback Machine snapshots, because hbook.com blocks automated fetches; each sourceUrl is the snapshot used. 2006-2018 come from the annotated Fanfare articles, 2019-2025 from the Fanfare booklist pages. Year is the year in the list's name (books of that year); it is announced in December. Category is Horn Book's own section (Picture Books, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Folklore). Every entry is a Selection. Author is the writer; for wordless or author-illustrated books it is the illustrator. Series names Horn Book prints in brackets after a title are dropped. Expected counts are the titles printed under each section on the cited page; for 2006-2018 they match the number of review citations on the page.

Organization: The Horn Book. Official site (opens in a new tab)

The most recommended books of 2016