Best Books of 2021

LQ Best Books of 2021

Which of thesE was named the best Book of the year?

If you answered “all of them!” You are correct. Thirteen LQ titles have been named among the BEST OF THE YEAR by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston-Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus and School Library Journal, among others. Here’s to another year of excellent, diverse, representative, and ground-breaking books!


PICTURE BOOKS

ALIEN NATION

Kirkus’ Best Books of the Year

BookShop’s Most Astonishingly Unconventional Books of the Year

Kirkus

RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE

Association of Jewish Libraries’ Best of the Year

“We come together in strength. It's a message the world can use, throughout the year.”— New York Times

“Affecting. This moving tribute to religious pluralism will uplift children.” — Wall Street Journal 

Publishers Weekly

School Library Connection

Horn Book

School Library Journal

★  Shelf-Awareness

SHY WILLOW

Amazon’s Best Books of the Month

BookPage’s Best Books of the Year

“Richly mysterious.” The New York Times

Booklist

OSNAT AND HER DOVE

Canadian Jewish Literary Award Winner

Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids 

School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year

Tablet’s Best Jewish Children’s Books of the Year

School Library Journal

Shelf-Awareness

THE BIG HOUSE AND THE LITTLE HOUSE ›

Kirkus’ Best of the Year

Kirkus


MIDDLE GRADE

DAWN RAID

Kirkus’ Best of the Year

Kirkus

School Library Journal

NEVERFORGOTTEN

2021 Kids’ Indie Next List

A Fall 2021 Indies Introduce Selection

New York Times Best of the Year 

New York Public Library’s Best of the Year 

“A transformative, noteworthy debut.”—Pam Muñoz Ryan, New York Times

Publishers Weekly

Foreword Reviews

Kirkus


THE LAST CUENTISTA

TIME’s Best of the Year 

Wall Street Journal’s Best of the Year 

Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Best of the Year

Boston Globe’s Best of the Year

BookPage’s Best of the Year

Publishers Weekly’s Best of the Year 

School Library Journal’s Best of the Year

Kirkus Reviews’ Best of the Year

Bank Street’s Best of the Year

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 

New York Public Library Best of the Year 

“Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes—beautiful.”—New York Times

“Wonderfully subversive.” — The Wall Street Journal

 “A beautifully told story of what makes us human.”—Star Tribune

“A thrilling and hopeful work of science fiction.”—Boston Globe 

“Teaches young readers about the power of storytelling.”—TIME

Kirkus

 ★ Publishers Weekly

 ★ School Library Journal

Shelf-Awareness

THE SEA-RINGED WORLD: SACRED STORIES OF THE AMERICAS

School Library Journal’s Best of the Year

Kirkus’ Best of the Year

Booklist Editors’ Choice

Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 

“Hypnotizing...Provocative...Disarming” The New York Times

“Evocative and stirring...mesmerizing to read aloud.” —The Wall Street Journal 

Publishers Weekly

Booklist

Kirkus

Horn Book

School Library Journal

School Library Connection


YOUNG ADULT

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT INDIANS BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (YOUNG READERS EDITION)

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best

Kirkus’ Best of the Year

“A wide-ranging compendium of provocative questions and satisfying answers. Perfect for browsing or a deep dive.”San Francisco Chronicle 

Kirkus

School Library Journal

OKSI

Kirkus Most Anticipated for Fall

Booklist Editors’ Choice

“A fairytale nightmare of the highest quality, a heartfelt history lesson written in flames, a poem.”Comics Beat

School Library Connection

Publishers Weekly

Booklist

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A SNAKE FALLS TO EARTH

National Indie Bestseller 

National Book Award Longlist

Minneapolis Star Tribune Best of the Year

Publishers Weekly’s Best of the Year

Kirkus’ Best the Year

Apple’s Best of the Year 

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 

New York Public Library’s Best of the Year

“Genre-bending narrative.”—TIME

“A spellbinding tale.” —Texas Monthly

“Undeniably charming.”—Tor.com

Kirkus

Publishers Weekly

Booklist

MIDDLETOWN

New England Book Awards Finalist 

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best

Publishers Weekly


 

See all of Our Starred Reviews Here ›

Team LQ