Juvenile (K-12) Collection: Awards for children's books

Mac Barnett and Sydney Smith team up for an unforgettable celebration of Christmas. We all know that Santa makes everyone's dreams come true every Christmas, but it turns out that he needs a little help getting into the holiday spirit himself. Instead of letting Santa get right back to work after he returns home to the North Pole on Christmas morning, his loyal elves want to make sure he experiences the same Christmas cheer he provides for others. With the perfect tree, lots of delicious treats, and, of course, presents, Santa experiences the magic of Christmas for the very first time.

A spectacular time-lapse portrait of humankind--and our impact on the natural world--from a Caldecott Honor-winning master of the wordless form. In an alternate past--or possible future--a mighty tree stands on the banks of a winding river, bearing silent witness to the flow of time and change. A family farms the fertile valley. Soon, a village sprouts, and not long after, a town. Residents learn to harness the water, the wind, and the animals in order to survive and thrive. The growing population becomes ever more industrious and clever, bending nature itself to their will and their ambition: redirecting rivers, harvesting lumber, reshaping the land, even extending daylight itself...

In the second book in the Bat, Cat & Rat picture book series from New York Times bestsellers Ame Dyckman and Mark Teague, the roommates try to compromise on vacation plans in three-and-a-half sweet and silly stories. Bat, Cat, and Rat decide they need a vacation, but planning a trip is no picnic. Conflicts, compromise, and some well-meaning pranks ensue as prep work brings out the trio's mischievous side.

Since the day that Ano was born, her heart has been connected to her home. But, this adventurous child has a lot to learn! When Ano begins to dance hula -- a storytelling dance form that carries the knowledge, history, and folklore of the Hawaiian people -- Ano comes to understand the true meaning of aloha.

Tiger is a bit grumpy. Why won't the other forest animals give him food, even when he yells at them? Why doesn't anyone want to be his friend? Then a talking Dandelion shoots down from space and attaches permanently to his tail. [*shake shake shake*] Why won't Tail-Flower come off?! Why does everyone in the forest seem to like her better? Stuck with each other, and against all odds, Tiger and Tail-Flower become fast friends and set off on a series of adventures. Rescuing Mother Hen and her lost egg from a cliff. Fording a river for Rabbit, Hedgehog, and Raccoon. Throwing a big party with everyone in the forest! Tiger and Tail-Flower even grow old together. And though they don't realize it, one day their last adventure arrives. When they decide to travel through the forest and climb the big mountain in the sky, a hunter's net snares them deep in the forest. But Tail-Flower gets an idea, and with a twinkle in her eye, she asks: 'Tiger, we'll always be best friends, right?'

"Ever since mysterious bones were found in 1822, scientists and artists have tried to figure out what the creature they came from looked like. But it seems that every time they've made up their minds, someone makes a new discovery, and they have to start all over. That's only fair, though--after all, it's how knowledge advances!"

Follow a blue whale's enormous body to the bottom of the ocean, where it sets the stage for a bustling new ecosystem to flourish. All living things must one day die, and Earth's largest creature, the majestic blue whale, is no exception. But in nature, death is never a true ending. When this whale closes her eyes for the last time in her 90-year life, a process known as whale fall is just beginning. Her body will float to the surface, then slowly sink through the deep; from inflated behemoth to clean-picked skeleton, it will offer food and shelter at each stage to a vast diversity of organisms, over the course of a century and beyond.

Ever wondered what makes rubber bounce? Or why it's stretchy? And WHY is rubber so . . . rubbery?! Learn the facinating science and history behind this ubiquitous material! With sidebars, graphics, fun facts, and more, the history of rubber reveals plenty of fascinating secrets and surprises. Elementary school readers will discover that early balls didn't bounce; that people in the rainforest made waterproof gear from rubber thousands of years before Europeans got into the act; and that sneakers, bicycles, and cars created demand for more and more rubber! Back matter includes a time line and a bit about the complicated implications of harvesting rubber.

"With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. She spends most of the year in Bangkok, where she's secretly counting the days till summer vacation. That's when her family travels for twenty-four hours straight to finally arrive in a tiny seaside town in Maine. Kathy loves Maine's idyllic beauty and all the exotic delicacies she can't get back home, like clam chowder and blueberry pie. But no matter how hard she tries, she struggles to fit in. She doesn't look like the other kids in this rural New England town. Kathy just wants to find a place where she truly belongs, but she's not sure if it's in America, Thailand... or anywhere."

"Almudena has always wondered about the dad she never met. Now, with her white mother headed on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, she's left alone with her Guatemalan father for an entire summer. Xavier seems happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. And all along, she must navigate the language barrier of his rapid-fire Spanish -- which she doesn't speak. As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier's Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can't understand why she doesn't know where she comes from. Others think she's "not brown enough" to fit in. But time is running out for Almudena and Xavier to get to know each other, and the key to their connection may ultimately lie in bringing all these different elements together. Fixing a broken building is one thing, but turning these stubborn individuals into a found family might take more than this one summer."

"Indu, a boy from the moon, feels like he doesn't belong. He hasn't since he and his adoptive mom disembarked from their spaceship -- their home -- to live on Earth with their new blended family. The kids at school think he's weird; he has a crush on his pen pal, who might not like him back; and his stepfamily doesn't seem to know what to do with him. Worst of all, Indu can't even talk to his mom about how he's feeling because she's so busy. In a moment of loneliness, Indu calls out to the moon, begging them to take him back. And against all odds, the moon hears him and agrees to bring him home of the first day of the New Year. But as the promised day draws nearer, Indu finds friendship in unlikely places and discovers that home is more than where you come from. And when the moon calls again, Indu must decide: is he willing to give up what he's just found?"

A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renee Watson. In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renee Watson writes about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender. Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power.

A boy assigned to spend his summer volunteering at a senior living facility learns unexpected lessons. Alex is twelve, and he did something very, very bad. A judge sentences him to spend his summer volunteering at a retirement home where he's bossed around by an annoying and self-important do-gooder named Maya-Jade. He hasn't seen his mom in a year, his aunt and uncle don't want him, and Shady Glen's geriatric residents seem like zombies to him. Josey is 107 and ready for his life to be over. He has evaded death many times, having survived ghettos, dragnets, and a concentration camp--all thanks to the heroism of a woman named Olka and his own ability to sew. But now he spends his days in room 206 at Shady Glen, refusing to speak and waiting (and waiting and waiting) to die. Until Alex knocks on Josey's door...and Josey begins to tell Alex his story. As Alex comes back again and again to hear more, an unlikely bond grows between them. Soon a new possibility opens up for Alex: Can he rise to the occasion of his life, even if it means confronting the worst thing that he's ever done?

"Neon is freaking out... Twenty-four months ago, a feisty, fangy little dog chased him around a cemetery. Not Neon's finest moment. Except, chasing the dog chasing Neon was... Aria. Way more than fine. Twenty-four weeks ago, Neon and Aria, who are most definitely a THING, are thinking about connecting on a whole other level. Twenty-four days ago, Neon tries not to die of embarrassment in the diner as his mother gives him a whole lot of things to think about before... before... Twenty-four minutes ago, Aria's parents are out for the evening, and Neon is in, with a bouquet of chicken tenders (Aria's most favorite thing besides Neon!) as tonight's the night... Right now, Neon is freaking out. Photo of the feisty, fangy dog staring fiercely at him. And Neon & Aria aren't going to be doing anything if Neon can't get out of his head full of what-if what-if what-ifs... and trust that his love for his girl is enough."

"The Maghabol family journey begins with sixteen-year-old Francisco, who has left everything behind in the Philippines to seek his fortune in California. Following this life-changing decision, each generation of Maghabol boys must forge a path forward while contending with the past. Watsonville, CA, 1930. Francisco barely ekes out a living picking apples. As he spends what little he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should've never left the Philippines. Stockton, CA, 1965. Emil works hard and keeps his head down despite the prejudice he faces at school and the long shifts he takes at a restaurant to make ends meet. He refuses to be like his unreliable labor organizer father, Francisco. He's going to make it in this country, no matter what or who he has to leave behind. Denver, CO, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can't control him. But when an assignment on family roots sends Chris out of the football field and into the library, he discovers a hunger to know more about Filipino history -- even if his father dismisses his interest as un-American and unimportant. Philadelphia, PA, 2020. Enzo struggles with anxiety as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo's daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge the decades-long rift between the two men. From National Book Award finalist Randy Ribay comes a poignant intergenerational saga about Filipino American men passing down flaws, values, and virtues until it's up to Enzo to see how he can braid all those strands and stories together."

After a merciless winter, spring has sprung in 1880 Stockholm, and the city awaits the arrival of the SS Vega, the first ship to have sailed the Northeast Passage. Life is busy at the orphanage, but twelve-year-old Mika quickly notices that the older orphans are up to something--and it doesn't look good. When Constable Hoff approaches her with information about thefts around the city, Mika becomes even more concerned about what the other kids are up to--and what they might be planning for the Vega celebration. The police will have no sympathy for orphans, and she'd hate to see her friends condemned to life in jail. But Mika soon finds herself in a bind she can't get out of--one that could condemn her own life. Can Mika uncover who is really behind the thefts in the city and keep her friends safe, without getting caught? Find out in this breathless sequel to The Night Raven.

Theo, a seventeen-year-old London schoolboy with a single mother, is desperate to track down the father who left them, whom he scarcely remembers. At school he discovers Greek mythology and the ancient story of Theseus, a fatherless son driven on a similar search. As Theo focuses on Theseus in a series of poems he composes, it becomes clear the two journeys echo each other in uncanny ways. Theseus must conquer his enemies--a psycho Cyclops, a tree-bending murderer, a monstrous pig--while Theo is tricked and double-crossed, confronting obstacles ranging from a search-agency scam artist to a depraved lawyer. Poet Joseph Coelho brilliantly interweaves the boys' stories, following them through dangers, horrors, and false successes, revealing that Theo must be as resourceful and strong as his mythical hero. In a unique twist, readers are asked to take a role in picking which option the heroes should pursue when facing choices on their path to manhood. The two alternating stories, along with stories from the Minotaur's perspective, fuse into one in a riveting climax, as the protagonists meet in the heart of the labyrinth.

A heart-wrenching middle grade debut about Kemi, an aspiring scientist who loves statistics and facts, as she navigates grief and loss at a moment when life as she knows it changes forever. Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion, and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out. But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. Amplus-68 has an 84.7% chance of colliding with earth in four days, and with that collision, Kemi's life as she knows it will end. But over the course of the four days, even facts don't feel true to Kemi anymore. The new town she moved to that was supposed to be "better for her family" isn't very welcoming. And Amplus-68 is taking over her life, but others are still going to school and eating at their favorite diner like nothing has changed. Is Kemi the only one who feels like the world is ending With the days numbered, Kemi decides to put together a time capsule that will capture her family's truth: how creative her mother is, how inquisitive her little sister can be, and how much Kemi's whole world revolves around her father. But no time capsule can change the truth behind all of it, that Kemi must face the most inevitable and hardest part of life: saying goodbye.