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The Horn Book

Horn Book Fanfare 2020

Horn Book Fanfare 2020 names 30 books across 3 categories. 18 of them also won or were shortlisted for an award.

Fiction

  1. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedosource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolksource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradleysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Flamer by Mike Curatosource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Kent State by Deborah Wilessource (opens in a new tab)
  6. King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callendersource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It by Andrea Davis Pinkneysource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Twins by Varian Johnsonsource (opens in a new tab)
  9. We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kellysource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvatsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Chance: Escape from the Holocaust by Uri Shulevitzsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yangsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Sladesource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Flemingsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure by John Roccosource (opens in a new tab)
  7. How to Find a Bird by Jennifer Wardsource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Sharuko: El arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello / Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello by Monica Brown, translated by Adriana Domínguezsource (opens in a new tab)
  9. The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents by Kate Messnersource (opens in a new tab)
  10. The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Flemingsource (opens in a new tab)
  11. Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chinsource (opens in a new tab)

Picture Books

  1. A Girl like Me by Angela Johnsonsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. A New Green Day by Antoinette Portissource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Hike by Pete Oswaldsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnessource (opens in a new tab)
  6. I Talk like a River by Jordan Scottsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. In the Woods by David Elliottsource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamakisource (opens in a new tab)
  9. The Camping Trip by Jennifer K. Mannsource (opens in a new tab)
  10. The Old Truck by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphreysource (opens in a new tab)

About the Horn Book Fanfare

The Horn Book Magazine's annual Fanfare list of the year's best children's and young adult books, chosen by its editors and reviewers. Read from hbook.com's own Fanfare pages through Wayback Machine snapshots, because hbook.com blocks automated fetches; each sourceUrl is the snapshot used. 2006-2018 come from the annotated Fanfare articles, 2019-2025 from the Fanfare booklist pages. Year is the year in the list's name (books of that year); it is announced in December. Category is Horn Book's own section (Picture Books, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Folklore). Every entry is a Selection. Author is the writer; for wordless or author-illustrated books it is the illustrator. Series names Horn Book prints in brackets after a title are dropped. Expected counts are the titles printed under each section on the cited page; for 2006-2018 they match the number of review citations on the page.

Organization: The Horn Book. Official site (opens in a new tab)

The most recommended books of 2020