School Library Journal
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2011
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2011 names 65 books across 3 categories. 27 of them also won or were shortlisted for an award.
Fiction
- A Monster Callssource (opens in a new tab)
- Addie on the Insidesource (opens in a new tab)
- Anya’s Ghostsource (opens in a new tab)
- Between Shades of Graysource (opens in a new tab)
- Blink & Cautionsource (opens in a new tab)
- Breadcrumbssource (opens in a new tab)
- Chimesource (opens in a new tab)
- Daughter of Smoke and Bonesource (opens in a new tab)
- Divergentsource (opens in a new tab)
- Flipsource (opens in a new tab)
- Glowsource (opens in a new tab)
- How to Save a Lifesource (opens in a new tab)
- Inside Out & Back Againsource (opens in a new tab)
- Jasper Jonessource (opens in a new tab)
- My Name Is Not Easysource (opens in a new tab)
- Okay for Nowsource (opens in a new tab)
- Outlawsource (opens in a new tab)
- Paper Covers Rocksource (opens in a new tab)
- Smells Like Treasuresource (opens in a new tab)
- Stay with Mesource (opens in a new tab)
- The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Talesource (opens in a new tab)
- The Queen of Watersource (opens in a new tab)
- The Scorpio Racessource (opens in a new tab)
- White Crowsource (opens in a new tab)
- Why We Broke Upsource (opens in a new tab)
- Wildwoodsource (opens in a new tab)
- With a Name Like Lovesource (opens in a new tab)
- Wonderstrucksource (opens in a new tab)
Nonfiction
- A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louissource (opens in a new tab)
- Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhartsource (opens in a new tab)
- America Is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fellsource (opens in a new tab)
- Around the Worldsource (opens in a new tab)
- Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibitionsource (opens in a new tab)
- Can We Save the Tiger?source (opens in a new tab)
- Charles Dickens and the Street Children of Londonsource (opens in a new tab)
- Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poemssource (opens in a new tab)
- Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their Worldsource (opens in a new tab)
- Every Thing On Itsource (opens in a new tab)
- Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacysource (opens in a new tab)
- Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americanssource (opens in a new tab)
- Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Airsource (opens in a new tab)
- Mysterious Bones: The Story of Kennewick Mansource (opens in a new tab)
- Orani: My Father’s Villagesource (opens in a new tab)
- Roots and Blues: A Celebrationsource (opens in a new tab)
- Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Naturesource (opens in a new tab)
- The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in Chinasource (opens in a new tab)
- The Many Faces of George Washington: Remaking a Presidential Iconsource (opens in a new tab)
- Titanic Sinks!: Experience the Titanic’s Doomed Voyage in This Unique Presentation of Fact and Fictionsource (opens in a new tab)
- Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsterssource (opens in a new tab)
- Underground: Finding the Light to Freedomsource (opens in a new tab)
- Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salemsource (opens in a new tab)
- Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feudsource (opens in a new tab)
Picture Books
- A Ball for Daisysource (opens in a new tab)
- Along a Long Roadsource (opens in a new tab)
- Blackoutsource (opens in a new tab)
- Bone Dogsource (opens in a new tab)
- Bumble-Ardysource (opens in a new tab)
- Grandpa Greensource (opens in a new tab)
- Little White Rabbitsource (opens in a new tab)
- Mine!source (opens in a new tab)
- Mouse & Lionsource (opens in a new tab)
- The Loud Book!source (opens in a new tab)
- The Twins’ Blanketsource (opens in a new tab)
- Three by the Seasource (opens in a new tab)
- Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haikusource (opens in a new tab)
About the School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
School Library Journal's annual Best Books list, 2006-2025. Year is the list year (published each November or December). Categories follow the sections SLJ used that year: 2006, 2007 and 2009 were one alphabetical list (category 'Best Books'); 2008 and 2010-2013 used Picture Books, Fiction and Nonfiction; 2014 onward split Fiction into Middle Grade and Young Adult; Chapter Books (SLJ also called it Transitional Chapter Books or Transitional Books) from 2016; Graphic Novels from 2018; Poetry in 2018 and from 2021; Manga (SLJ's Top 10 Manga, linked as a Best Books section) from 2019; Nonfiction split into Nonfiction Elementary and Nonfiction Middle to High School from 2023. A book SLJ placed in two sections appears in both. Excluded: the separately edited Adult Books 4 Teens and Top 10 Graphic Novels lists, and non-book lists (apps, audiobooks, music, DVDs). Sources: slj.com pages; Wayback Machine copies for 2006 (schoollibraryjournal.com), 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016-2017 (slj.com/bestofYYYY microsites), where the live pages no longer carry the list.
Organization: School Library Journal. Official site (opens in a new tab)