1 |
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Big
by
4.62 avg rating — 4,667 ratings
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2 |
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An American Story
by
4.62 avg rating — 1,590 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 — 1,187 ratings
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4 |
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Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
by
4.35 avg rating — 863 ratings
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5 |
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In Every Life
by
4.27 avg rating — 1,377 ratings
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6 |
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Simon and the Better Bone
by
4.31 avg rating — 850 ratings
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7 |
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The Tree and the River
by
4.30 avg rating — 993 ratings
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8 |
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A First Time for Everything
by
4.36 avg rating — 8,109 ratings
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9 |
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Beneath
by
4.41 avg rating — 1,258 ratings
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10 |
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My Powerful Hair
by
4.56 avg rating — 1,154 ratings
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11 |
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Nell Plants a Tree
by
4.31 avg rating — 884 ratings
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12 |
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The Skull
by
4.17 avg rating — 13,407 ratings
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13 |
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Remember
by
4.41 avg rating — 1,405 ratings
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14 |
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In the Night Garden
by
4.05 avg rating — 706 ratings
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15 |
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Woven of the World
by
4.20 avg rating — 376 ratings
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16 |
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A Crown for Corina
by
4.18 avg rating — 376 ratings
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17 |
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There Was a Party for Langston
by
4.47 avg rating — 1,764 ratings
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18 |
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How to Write a Poem
by
4.21 avg rating — 717 ratings
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19 |
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That Flag
by
4.62 avg rating — 898 ratings
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20 |
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Finding Papa
by
4.36 avg rating — 472 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 — 333 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
4.34 avg rating — 627 ratings
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23 |
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The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music
by
4.12 avg rating — 433 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 — 906 ratings
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25 |
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Evergreen
by
4.30 avg rating — 1,207 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 — 609 ratings
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27 |
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River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon
by
4.55 avg rating — 247 ratings
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28 |
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Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement
by
4.29 avg rating — 232 ratings
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29 |
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This is a Story
by
4.33 avg rating — 674 ratings
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30 |
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Kozo the Sparrow
by
4.16 avg rating — 171 ratings
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31 |
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Ramen for Everyone
by
4.19 avg rating — 572 ratings
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32 |
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This Is Not My Home
by
4.39 avg rating — 383 ratings
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32 |
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Under the Blanket Sky
by
4.05 avg rating — 213 ratings
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34 |
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The Train Home
by
4.02 avg rating — 246 ratings
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35 |
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A Flag for Juneteenth
by
4.33 avg rating — 238 ratings
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36 |
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The Truth About Dragons
by
4.38 avg rating — 1,328 ratings
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37 |
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Tomfoolery!: Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children's Books
by
4.20 avg rating — 512 ratings
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38 |
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Dim Sum Palace
by
4.08 avg rating — 843 ratings
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39 |
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The Book of Turtles
by
4.49 avg rating — 375 ratings
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40 |
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Maribel's Year
by
4.11 avg rating — 242 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 — 922 ratings
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42 |
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Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art
by
4.22 avg rating — 222 ratings
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43 |
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Big Tree
by
4.05 avg rating — 3,774 ratings
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44 |
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Mine!
by
4.02 avg rating — 456 ratings
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45 |
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The Bees of Notre-Dame
by
3.93 avg rating — 264 ratings
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46 |
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Harlem at Four
by
3.97 avg rating — 161 ratings
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47 |
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I'm an American
by
4.52 avg rating — 142 ratings
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48 |
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A Walk in the Woods
by
4.42 avg rating — 741 ratings
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49 |
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You So Black
by
4.44 avg rating — 177 ratings
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50 |
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Rainbow Shopping
by
4.11 avg rating — 263 ratings
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51 |
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Something Wild
by
4.14 avg rating — 256 ratings
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51 |
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This Little Kitty
by
4.04 avg rating — 479 ratings
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53 |
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Cape
by
4.55 avg rating — 494 ratings
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54 |
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If I Was a Horse
by
3.76 avg rating — 876 ratings
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55 |
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The Umbrella
by
3.97 avg rating — 563 ratings
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56 |
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Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem
by
4.39 avg rating — 416 ratings
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57 |
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Like Lava in My Veins
by
4.12 avg rating — 329 ratings
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58 |
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Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes
by
4.18 avg rating — 386 ratings
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59 |
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The Indestructible Tom Crean: Heroic Explorer of the Antarctic
by
4.32 avg rating — 250 ratings
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60 |
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Rise to the Sky: How the World's Tallest Trees Grow Up
by
4.14 avg rating — 258 ratings
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61 |
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The Artivist
by
4.38 avg rating — 501 ratings
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62 |
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One Day
by
4.06 avg rating — 299 ratings
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63 |
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The Making of Butterflies
by
4.01 avg rating — 136 ratings
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64 |
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You Are My Pride: A Love Letter from Your Motherland
by
3.81 avg rating — 134 ratings
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65 |
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Stillwater and Koo Save the World (A Stillwater and Friends Book)
by
4.13 avg rating — 344 ratings
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66 |
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To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights
by
4.37 avg rating — 402 ratings
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67 |
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What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me: Deb Haaland's Historic Inauguration
by
4.26 avg rating — 175 ratings
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67 |
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Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
by
4.20 avg rating — 6,602 ratings
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67 |
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The World and Everything in It
by
3.71 avg rating — 482 ratings
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70 |
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Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis
by
4.29 avg rating — 147 ratings
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70 |
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Patchwork Prince
by
4.03 avg rating — 192 ratings
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70 |
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A Bed of Stars
by
4.07 avg rating — 363 ratings
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70 |
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Our Pool
by
4.22 avg rating — 545 ratings
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74 |
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The Red Jacket
by
4.14 avg rating — 419 ratings
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75 |
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A Beautiful House for Birds
by
3.90 avg rating — 125 ratings
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76 |
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Wombats Are Pretty Weird: A (Not So) Serious Guide
by
4.44 avg rating — 295 ratings
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76 |
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Ode to a Bad Day
by
3.86 avg rating — 411 ratings
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78 |
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Grandma's Tipi: A Present-Day Lakota Story
by
4.10 avg rating — 227 ratings
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79 |
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Rock Your Mocs
by
4.16 avg rating — 264 ratings
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80 |
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Before, Now
by
3.66 avg rating — 331 ratings
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81 |
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A Letter for Bob
by
4.06 avg rating — 357 ratings
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82 |
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ZigZag
by
3.98 avg rating — 53 ratings
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83 |
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Little Land
by
4.13 avg rating — 263 ratings
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84 |
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Outside Amelia's Window
by
4.26 avg rating — 265 ratings
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85 |
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Remembering
by
4.45 avg rating — 363 ratings
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85 |
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Just One Flake: A Picture Book
by
3.96 avg rating — 539 ratings
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87 |
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Sometimes It's Nice to Be Alone
by
3.86 avg rating — 451 ratings
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88 |
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Something, Someday
by
4.37 avg rating — 1,382 ratings
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89 |
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The Walk (A Stroll to the Poll): A Picture Book
by
4.41 avg rating — 288 ratings
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90 |
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Real to Me
by
4.20 avg rating — 518 ratings
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91 |
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Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust
by
4.45 avg rating — 470 ratings
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92 |
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Spanish Is the Language of My Family
by
4.38 avg rating — 378 ratings
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93 |
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Fungi Grow
by
4.27 avg rating — 283 ratings
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94 |
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Papá's Magical Water-Jug Clock (Little Jesús, #1)
by
4.20 avg rating — 439 ratings
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95 |
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How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?
by
4.27 avg rating — 1,938 ratings
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96 |
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Animals in Pants: A Poetry Picture Book
by
4.31 avg rating — 231 ratings
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97 |
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I’m From
by
4.15 avg rating — 511 ratings
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98 |
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We Are Here (An All Because You Matter Book)
by
4.25 avg rating — 486 ratings
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99 |
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Sometimes I Cry
by
4.31 avg rating — 196 ratings
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100 |
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I'm Going to Build a Snowman
by
4.22 avg rating — 453 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