Teachers often ask how to keep up with the best new books. Good intentions are one thing, and real life (long days, class prep, paper grading) is another.

For those with limited time, I recommend going online near the end of the year when children's book review journals post their "best of the year" lists. They tend to print these lists in their December or January issues, but well before publication you can find those same lists on their websites. Take a look at each one and see which titles pop up on multiple lists and make sure you read those few titles that everyone is talking about. But do try to read all the annotations and think about which books might work in your classrooms, either for the entire class or for free reading.

Here's a list of the lists, with links.

Already out:

• National Book Award finalists (chapter books and information books for middle school and high school)


• New York Times Best Illustrated list (mostly picture books)

Coming soon:

• National Book Award Winner (this Wednesday 11/18 at the link above)


• SLJ's Best of 2015 (Scheduled for November 28)


• Horn Book Fanfare (Scheduled for December 9)


• BCCB Blue Ribbons (Normally posted January 1)

And of course there are the ALA awards which will be determined during the Midwinter conference in Boston in January

• Notable Children's Books (the long list is already available here)


• Best Books for Young Adults (from YALSA)


• Children's Media awards (announced January 11, 2016; watch the live webcast courtesy of ALSC)