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Big
by
4.61 avg rating — 5,052 ratings
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| 2 |
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An American Story
by
4.61 avg rating — 1,665 ratings
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| 3 |
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Once Upon a Book
by
Grace Lin (Goodreads Author) (Author/Illustrator)
4.20 avg rating — 1,241 ratings
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| 4 |
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Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
by
4.36 avg rating — 935 ratings
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| 5 |
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In Every Life
by
4.27 avg rating — 1,444 ratings
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| 6 |
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Simon and the Better Bone
by
4.31 avg rating — 908 ratings
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| 7 |
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The Tree and the River
by
4.30 avg rating — 1,071 ratings
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| 8 |
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A First Time for Everything
by
4.36 avg rating — 8,646 ratings
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| 9 |
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Beneath
by
4.41 avg rating — 1,361 ratings
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| 10 |
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My Powerful Hair
by
4.56 avg rating — 1,226 ratings
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| 11 |
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Nell Plants a Tree
by
4.31 avg rating — 921 ratings
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| 12 |
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The Skull
by
4.14 avg rating — 17,233 ratings
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| 13 |
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Remember
by
4.42 avg rating — 1,467 ratings
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| 14 |
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In the Night Garden
by
4.05 avg rating — 743 ratings
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| 15 |
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Woven of the World
by
4.20 avg rating — 389 ratings
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| 16 |
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A Crown for Corina
by
4.19 avg rating — 392 ratings
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| 17 |
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There Was a Party for Langston
by
4.47 avg rating — 1,892 ratings
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| 18 |
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How to Write a Poem
by
4.21 avg rating — 744 ratings
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| 19 |
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That Flag: A Jane Addams Honor Book About Friendship and Racism for Children (Ages 6-10)
by
4.62 avg rating — 947 ratings
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| 20 |
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Finding Papa
by
4.36 avg rating — 484 ratings
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| 20 |
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Make Way: The Story of Robert McCloskey, Nancy Schön, and Some Very Famous Ducklings
by
4.36 avg rating — 355 ratings
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| 22 |
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The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of
by
4.35 avg rating — 646 ratings
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| 23 |
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The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music
by
4.11 avg rating — 454 ratings
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| 24 |
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How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee
by
4.46 avg rating — 969 ratings
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| 25 |
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Evergreen
by
4.30 avg rating — 1,303 ratings
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| 26 |
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Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport
by
4.48 avg rating — 630 ratings
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| 27 |
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River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon
by
4.56 avg rating — 257 ratings
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| 28 |
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Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement
by
4.28 avg rating — 236 ratings
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| 29 |
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This is a Story
by
4.34 avg rating — 698 ratings
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| 30 |
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Kozo the Sparrow
by
4.17 avg rating — 179 ratings
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| 31 |
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Ramen for Everyone
by
4.19 avg rating — 605 ratings
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| 32 |
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This Is Not My Home
by
4.39 avg rating — 400 ratings
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| 32 |
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Under the Blanket Sky
by
4.05 avg rating — 220 ratings
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| 34 |
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The Train Home: An Inventive Picture Book About Imagination, Family, and Belonging for Kids (Ages 4-8)
by
4.03 avg rating — 265 ratings
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| 35 |
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A Flag for Juneteenth
by
4.33 avg rating — 242 ratings
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| 36 |
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The Truth About Dragons
by
4.37 avg rating — 1,455 ratings
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| 37 |
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Tomfoolery!: Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children's Books
by
4.19 avg rating — 540 ratings
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| 38 |
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Dim Sum Palace
by
4.06 avg rating — 1,003 ratings
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| 39 |
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The Book of Turtles: A Fact-Filled Picture Book About Beloved Reptile Species for Kids (Ages 4-8) (Meet the Species)
by
4.49 avg rating — 397 ratings
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| 40 |
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Maribel's Year
by
4.10 avg rating — 254 ratings
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| 41 |
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Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter
by
4.20 avg rating — 964 ratings
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| 42 |
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Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art
by
4.22 avg rating — 230 ratings
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| 43 |
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Big Tree
by
4.05 avg rating — 4,015 ratings
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| 44 |
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Mine!
by
4.02 avg rating — 483 ratings
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| 45 |
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The Bees of Notre-Dame
by
3.94 avg rating — 277 ratings
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| 46 |
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Harlem at Four
by
3.99 avg rating — 167 ratings
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| 47 |
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I'm an American
by
4.52 avg rating — 149 ratings
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| 48 |
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A Walk in the Woods
by
4.42 avg rating — 770 ratings
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| 49 |
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You So Black
by
4.45 avg rating — 181 ratings
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| 50 |
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Rainbow Shopping
by
4.12 avg rating — 277 ratings
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| 51 |
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Something Wild
by
4.13 avg rating — 281 ratings
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| 51 |
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This Little Kitty
by
4.04 avg rating — 493 ratings
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| 53 |
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Cape
by
4.55 avg rating — 511 ratings
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| 54 |
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If I Was a Horse
by
3.77 avg rating — 959 ratings
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| 55 |
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The Umbrella
by
3.98 avg rating — 597 ratings
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| 56 |
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Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem
by
4.40 avg rating — 433 ratings
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| 57 |
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Like Lava in My Veins
by
4.10 avg rating — 343 ratings
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| 58 |
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Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes
by
4.18 avg rating — 397 ratings
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| 59 |
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The Indestructible Tom Crean: Heroic Explorer of the Antarctic
by
4.32 avg rating — 260 ratings
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| 60 |
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Rise to the Sky: How the World's Tallest Trees Grow Up
by
4.16 avg rating — 280 ratings
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| 61 |
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The Artivist
by
4.37 avg rating — 534 ratings
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| 62 |
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One Day
by
4.04 avg rating — 315 ratings
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| 63 |
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The Making of Butterflies
by
3.99 avg rating — 148 ratings
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| 64 |
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You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland
by
3.83 avg rating — 136 ratings
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| 65 |
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Stillwater and Koo Save the World (A Stillwater and Friends Book)
by
4.14 avg rating — 368 ratings
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| 66 |
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To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights
by
4.38 avg rating — 420 ratings
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| 67 |
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What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland's Historic Inauguration
by
4.27 avg rating — 183 ratings
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| 67 |
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Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
by
4.19 avg rating — 7,426 ratings
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| 67 |
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The World and Everything in It
by
3.71 avg rating — 500 ratings
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| 70 |
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Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis
by
4.31 avg rating — 160 ratings
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| 70 |
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Patchwork Prince
by
4.05 avg rating — 203 ratings
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| 70 |
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A Bed of Stars
by
4.06 avg rating — 384 ratings
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| 70 |
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Our Pool
by
4.23 avg rating — 571 ratings
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| 70 |
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Fry Guys (Fry Guys, #1)
by
3.84 avg rating — 220 ratings
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| 75 |
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The Red Jacket
by
4.14 avg rating — 460 ratings
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| 76 |
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A Beautiful House for Birds
by
3.87 avg rating — 133 ratings
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| 77 |
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Wombats Are Pretty Weird: A (Not So) Serious Guide
by
4.44 avg rating — 324 ratings
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| 77 |
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Ode to a Bad Day
by
3.86 avg rating — 422 ratings
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| 79 |
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Grandma's Tipi: A Present-Day Lakota Story
by
4.11 avg rating — 241 ratings
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| 80 |
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Rock Your Mocs: A Picture Book About the Beauty and Power of Moccasins and Native Identity for Kids (Ages 4-8)
by
4.16 avg rating — 279 ratings
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| 81 |
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Before, Now
by
3.66 avg rating — 340 ratings
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| 82 |
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A Letter for Bob: An Award-Winning Indigenous Picture Book About Family and Memories for Kids (Ages 4-8)
by
4.08 avg rating — 391 ratings
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| 83 |
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ZigZag
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 54 ratings
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| 84 |
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Little Land
by
4.14 avg rating — 276 ratings
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| 85 |
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Outside Amelia's Window
by
4.25 avg rating — 266 ratings
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| 86 |
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Remembering
by
4.46 avg rating — 380 ratings
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| 86 |
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Just One Flake: A Picture Book
by
3.98 avg rating — 632 ratings
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| 88 |
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Sometimes It's Nice to Be Alone
by
3.85 avg rating — 473 ratings
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| 89 |
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Something, Someday
by
4.36 avg rating — 1,463 ratings
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| 90 |
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The Walk
by
4.40 avg rating — 294 ratings
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| 91 |
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Real to Me
by
4.21 avg rating — 549 ratings
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| 92 |
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Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust
by
4.46 avg rating — 523 ratings
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| 93 |
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Spanish Is the Language of My Family
by
4.39 avg rating — 396 ratings
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| 94 |
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Fungi Grow
by
4.30 avg rating — 305 ratings
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| 95 |
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Papá's Magical Water-Jug Clock (Little Jesús, #1)
by
4.20 avg rating — 461 ratings
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| 96 |
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How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?
by
4.28 avg rating — 2,246 ratings
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| 97 |
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Animals in Pants: A Poetry Picture Book
by
4.31 avg rating — 240 ratings
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| 98 |
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I’m From
by
4.15 avg rating — 536 ratings
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| 99 |
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We Are Here (An All Because You Matter Book)
by
4.25 avg rating — 499 ratings
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| 100 |
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Sometimes I Cry
by
4.30 avg rating — 207 ratings
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Thank you so much for voting on this list and for adding titles that had impressed you over the past year. We did pretty well at predicting some of the 2024 Caldecott winners:
>Medal Winner: Big - written and illustrated by Vashti Harrison (#2 on our list)
>Honor Books:
- In Every Life - written and illustrated by Marla Frazee (#5 on our list)
- Jovita Wore Pants - illustrated by Molly Mendoza and written by Aida Salazar (#46 on our list)
- There Was a Party for Langston - illustrated by brothers Jerome & Jarrett Pumphrey and written by Jason Reynolds (#15 on our list)
- The Truth about Dragons - illustrated by Hanna Cha and written by Julie Leung (a book wholly new to most of our voters b/c it wasn't on our list!)
I have to admit, I was seriously disappointed not to see American Story get any Caldecott recognition because the various forms of artwork presented in the book seemed to be on another level from the rest of the field, especially knowing that Dare Coulter spent years crafting them, but at least she won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator award.
On that note, I have added 7 more picture books awarded medals or honors for the Youth Media Awards that also complied with Caldecott rules (some were illustrated by artists who do not reside in the US or were published prior to 2023). I did this in case you continue to use this list as a resource of the best picture books written in 2023 when doing reader advisory with library patrons or with students.
Looking forward, I have started the 2025 Mock Caldecott List on Goodreads and hope you participate with that list as well. (link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... )
Happy Reading!
Beth