Curated category · 2006—2025

Best young readers

Award-winning and editorially recommended young readers across twenty years, organized for discovery rather than sales ranking.

Selections: 703
Authors: 624
Lists & prizes: 3

Showing 1–48 of 60

2017Young readers

5 Worlds Book 1: The Sand Warrior

Alexis Siegel and Mark Siegel, illustrated by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller and Boya Sun

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

A Face Like Glass

Frances Hardinge

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

A Greyhound, A Groundhog

Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Appelhans

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

A Perfect Day

Lane Smith

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Accident!

Andrea Tsurumi

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)

Dan Santat

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Akata Warrior

Nnedi Okorafor

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Amina's Voice

Hena Khan

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Baking Class: 50 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love To Bake!

Deanna F. Cook

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Beyond The Bright Sea

Lauren Wolk

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Bird, Balloon, Bear

Il Sung Na

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Blue Sky White Stars

Sarvinder Naberhaus, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Bolivar

Sean Rubin

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

City Of Saints And Thieves

Natalie C. Anderson

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut (Denene Millner Books)

Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Far from the Tree

Robin Benway

On 2 lists: National Book Award for Young People's Literature, NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Felix Yz

Lisa Bunker

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Grace And The Fever

Zan Romanoff

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Hello, Universe

Erin Entrada Kelly, illustrated by Isabel Roxas

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Her Right Foot

Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Here We Are: Notes For Living On Planet Earth

Oliver Jeffers

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

I Believe In A Thing Called Love

Maurene Goo

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

I Survived The American Revolution, 1776

Lauren Tarshis

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

I'm Just No Good At Rhyming: And Other Nonsense For Mischievous Kids And Immature Grown-Ups

Chris Harris, illustrated by Lane Smith

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Jabari Jumps

Gaia Cornwall

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Love, Santa

Martha Brockenbrough, illustrated by Lee White

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Lucia The Luchadora

Cynthia Leonor Garza, illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Miles Morales: Spider-Man (A Marvel YA Novel)

Jason Reynolds

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Minecraft: The Island: A Novel

Max Brooks

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Moxie: A Novel

Jennifer Mathieu

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Muddy: The Story Of Blues Legend Muddy Waters

Michael Mahin, illustrated by Evan Turk

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Now

Antoinette Portis

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Out Of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, illustrated by Ekua Holmes

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Piecing Me Together

Renee Watson

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Priscilla Gorilla

Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Michael Emberley

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Refugee

Alan Gratz

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Rise Of The Jumbies

Tracey Baptiste

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Shadowhouse Fall

Daniel Jose Older

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Slider

Pete Hautman

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

Strange The Dreamer

Laini Taylor

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The Art Of Starving: A Novel

Sam J. Miller

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The Backstagers Volume 1

James Tynion IV, illustrated by Rian Sygh

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The Book Of Dust Volume One: La Belle Sauvage

Philip Pullman

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The Book Of Mistakes

Corinna Luyken

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The First Rule Of Punk

Celia C. Pérez

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue

Mackenzi Lee

NPR Books We Love

2017Young readers

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Kelly Barnhill

John Newbery Medal

2017Young readers

The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas

NPR Books We Love