When the National Book Awards are announced next month, most readers and publishers will focus their attention on the big two categories: fiction and nonfiction. If book awards were Oscars, those would be Best Picture and Best Director.
But I’d like to talk about another group that’s worth checking out: the finalists for Young People’s Literature. This category includes young adult, middle-grade and picture books, and I’m forever encouraging grownups to rediscover the joy of children’s literature. Kids’ books can reignite your imagination, help you recall the magic of childhood, or give you a new perspective on the world — yes, even as an adult. And this year’s field of finalists are terrific examples.
Two of the titles — “Huda F. Cares?” by Huda Fahmy and “A First Time for Everything” by Dan Santat — center on vacations that take unexpected turns. Fahmy’s graphic novel recounts her family’s trip to Disney World, where she learns to bond with her sisters and proudly practice her Muslim faith. And Santat’s graphic memoir captures the awkwardness of middle school during a class trip through Europe.
The only picture book among the finalists is “Big” by Vashti Harrison — a simply told and beautifully illustrated story of a girl who learns the pain of being big in a world that prizes small.
The next finalist is “Gather,” a debut novel by Kenneth Cadow [CAW-dough] about a Vermont high school student who struggles to hold onto his family home while his mother recovers from addiction. And lastly, there’s “The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine” by Katherine Marsh, a middle-grade survival story inspired by Marsh’s own family history.
If it’s been a while since you read a kids’ book, these are great options.
