Ask-a-Librarian: 30 Great “New” Books

Ask-a-Librarian is an occasional feature in which we answer a reader’s email query.

Here at Redeemed Reader, we love children’s books from all eras and all genres. We cherish the books we grew up reading–many of them the tried and true children’s classics–and we cherish many recent reads as well. Our hope and prayer is to shine a gospel light on children’s literature regardless of its publication date.

My post a couple of months ago on the risks of submerging yourself in old books struck a nerve. If you missed the original, I offered some reasons against reading only old books, specifically in terms of assigned school reading. Rather, I encouraged readers to balance their reading diets and read both old and new.

Many of our Redeemed Reader staff are also on the World magazine children’s books of the year committees. Our 2016 lists are out; they include the 2016 Children’s Book of the Year, the 2016 Nonfiction Book of the Year, and the 2016 Picture Book of the Year (plus runners up in each category)! They are great sources of some of the best new books.

Additionally, here are some of the newer titles that we’ve given starred reviews to over the years on Redeemed Reader: 15 picture books and 15 longer works. (Our “starred reviews” category which includes more titles than I’ve listed here.)

Picture Books–alpha by title

• Christmas is Here by Lauren Castillo
• Firefly July! by Paul Janezcko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
• Gingerbread for Liberty! by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
• If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson
• Mr. Squirrel and the Moon by Sebastien Meschenmoser
• Rabbit and Robot by CeCe Bell (easy reader)
• Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith
• The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake and illustrated by Adam Rex
• The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee
• The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett
• The Golden Plate by Bernadette Watts
• The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney
• The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
• Water is Water by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Jason Chin

Chapter Books and Middle Grades–alpha by title

• Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke (see also her series for boys: The No. 1 Car Spotter) (chapter books)
• Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck (middle grades)
• Entwined by Heather Dixon (YA)
• Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus (middle grades)
• Lulu books by Hilary McKay (chapter books)
• Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak (middle grades)
• Nuts to You by Lynne Rae Perkins (middle grades)
• Hostage Run by Andrew Klavan (YA)
• Rise by Trip Lee (YA)
• Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi (YA/Adult)
• Somebody on This Bus is Going to be Famous by J. B. Cheaney (middle grades)
• The Ashtown Burials series by N. D. Wilson
• The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers
• The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya by Jane Kelley (middle grades)
• The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg (middle grades)

What are some of YOUR favorite recent/newer titles for kids?