2024 ALA Youth Media Awards (SCPL-YS) | Oak Park Public Library

1) The eyes and the impossible

Author

Description

Free dog Johannes' job is to observe everything that happens in his urban park and report back to the park's three bison elders, but changes are afoot, including more humans, a new building, a boatload of goats, and a shocking revelation that changes his view of the world.

2) Elf dog & owl head

Author

Series

Thorndike Press large print middle reader

Description

It's summer, but Clay has nothing to look forward to. For him, the sickness around the world means boredom, financial worries, and remote school., But the day he sees a peculiar young red-eared dog in the woods, Clay knows there's something special about her. There are other things in the woods, too--beautiful, ancient things, tucked in the invisible folds of the forest, where reality ripples and other worlds can be glimpsed. But as Clay and his mysterious...

3) Simon sort of says

Author

Description

"Simon O'Keeffe's biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. Or maybe the alpaca disaster that went viral on YouTube. But the story the whole world wants to tell about Simon is the one he'd do anything to forget: the story in which he's the only kid in his class who survived a school shooting. Two years after the infamous event, twelve-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone...

4) The many assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

Author

Description

"This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called "Seller of Dreams." The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey's life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir--furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the...

5) Big

Author

Harrison, Vashti

Description

Praised for acting like a big girl when she is small, as a young girl grows, "big" becomes a word of criticism, until the girl realizes that she is fine just the way she is.

6) In every life

Author

Description

A picture book celebrating both the highs and lows that everyone experiences in the course of a life.

7) Jovita wore pants: the story of a Mexican freedom fighter

Author

Description

"Jovita didn't want to cook and clean like her sisters, and she especially didn't want to wear the skirts her abuela gave her. She wanted to race her brothers and climb the tallest mesquite trees in Rancho Palos Blancos, ride horses, and wear pants! When her father and brothers joined the Cristeros War to fight for the right to practice religion, she wanted to help. She wasn't allowed to fight, but that didn't stop her from observing how her father...

8) There was a party for Langston

Author

Reynolds, Jason

Series

Description

A celebration of Langston Hughes and African American authors he inspired, told through the lens of the party held at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 1991.

9) The truth about dragons

Author

Description

" An unforgettable lyrical picture book that celebrates biracial identity from the award-winning author of Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist. Brought to life with lavish and ornate illustrations, The Truth About Dragons follows a child on a journey guided by his mother's bedtime storytelling. He begins a quest into two very different forests as his grandmothers help him discover two different, but equally enchanting,...

10) Shipwrecked!: diving for hidden time capsules on the ocean floor

Author

Sandler, Martin W

Description

"Shipwrecked! is an adventure-filled nonfiction book for young readers about the most captivating shipwrecks from history. Combining new research, stunning archival material, and vivid storytelling, Shipwrecked! dives deep into the world of marine archaeology and shows young readers what each discovery reveals about the world before our time"-- Provided by publisher.

11) Jumper: a day in the life of a backyard jumping spider

Author

Description

"What if you were as small as a bean and could walk on the walls and ceiling, sense vibrations through your elbows, jump five times your body length, see the world through eight eyes, and hear using tiny hairs all over your body? That is Jumper's world. Open this book and discover the fascinating hidden life of a backyard jumping spider."-- Front jacket flap.

12) The book of turtles

Author

Series

Description

"This tribute to one of the most diverse, fascinating, and beloved species on the planet (turtles) speaks to the diversity and wisdom of these long-lived reptiles"-- Provided by publisher.

13) Holding her own: the exceptional life of Jackie Ormes

Author

Description

"When Jackie Ormes sees an opportunity, she takes it. She's a journalist, cartoonist, fashionista, philanthropist, and activist -- and she wants to use her artistry to bring joy and hope to Black people everywhere. But in post-World War II America, Black people are still being denied their civil rights, and Jackie has a dilemma: How can her art remain true to her signature Jackie joy, while also staying honest about the inequalities Black people have...

14) Fox has a problem

Author

Series

My First I Can Read Fox
Fox Books
My First I Can Read

Description

"Fox has a not-so-new problem, and every possible solution leads to more problems for the other animals, until they all come together with the ultimate fix"-- Provided by publisher.

15) Worm and Caterpillar are friends

Author

Series

Ready-to-read graphics. Level one Star reader!
Ready-to-Read Graphics Level 1

Description

A worm and a caterpillar are best friends. When one of them is about to go through a big change, they both learn what is inside is what counts.

16) Henry, like always

Author

Series

Henry (Bailey)
Henry

Description

Henry, a first grader on the autism spectrum, attempts to navigate friendships, and sudden changes in classroom routines--like a parade on Friday instead of share time.

17) Houses with a story: a dragon's den, a ghostly mansion, a library of lost books, and 30 more amazing places to explore

Author

Yoshida, Seiji (Illustrator)

Description

"A dreamer's tree house. A mechanic's cottage. A submerged city. Over thirty imaginative houses and the people who make them home offer unexpected worlds to wander through and explore. Who is the mischievous bridgetower keeper? What does the witch grow in her garden? How does the postal worker tame his delivery dragons? In each house, readers discover the contents of rooms and closets, what's at the top of the stairs and where shadowy hallways lead....

18) The house of the lost on the cape

Author

Kashiwaba, Sachiko

Description

"In the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Yui, fleeing her violent husband, and Hiyori, a young orphan, are taken in by a strange but kind old lady named Kiwa in the small town of Kitsunezaki. The newly formed family finds refuge in a mayoiga, a lost house, perched atop a beautiful cape overlooking the sea. While helping to rebuild Kitsunezaki, the three adapt to their new lives and supernatural new home, slowly healing from their troubled...

19) Later, When I’m Big

Author

Westera, Bette ; De Leeuw, Mattias (ILT); Watkinson, Laura (TRN)

Description

American Library Association Batchelder Honor Book (2024) "Compelling artwork…stunning….Deftly captures a child's sense of wonder at the vastness of the world."— Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW) "Whimsical illustrations...[a] springboard for imaginative flights."— Booklist"Gorgeous." — Foreword ReviewsA playful, humorous look at being small but dreaming big. As a child and her mother walk up to the swimming pool, she dreams about everything...

20) The Mona Lisa vanishes: a legendary painter, a shocking heist, and the birth of a global celebrity

Author

Description

"A narrative nonfiction about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world-and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all"-- Provided by publisher.