December is upon us, which means that every librarian, bookseller, and bibliophile has spent the last month poring over “Best of 2018” lists to see what literary gems we may have missed this year (and perhaps to see which of our personal favorites made a prestigious list so that we can privately gloat about our excellent taste in books).

As the person responsible for maintaining our school library’s collection, these lists are tremendously valuable. I can’t buy every single book published in a given year, but the critical consensus gives me an idea of what we absolutely must have on our shelves. Also, our time as readers is precious and limited, and while ultimately you are the best judge of your own personal tastes, reviews and “best of” lists can help you decide which of the 300 books in your ever-growing “to-be-read” pile should move to the top. With that in mind, it seemed only fitting to compile our very own “Best of 2018” list.

Of course, sometimes we simply adore a book that doesn’t get its fair share of love from the professional reviewers. Some of our students, for instance, were beyond dismayed earlier this year to learn that Dav Pilkey has never won a major literary award for his hugely popular Captain Underpants or Dog Man books. So, in addition to mentioning the titles that have received critical acclaim in each category, I’ll also highlight one or two of my personal favorites, plus the ones that have received glowing seals of approval from the readers we care about most of all: our students here at Stanley Clark, of course!

Without further ado…

Picture Books

The Critical Darlings

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales is an autobiographical account of the immigrant author’s journey from Mexico to the United States with her infant son. It has been praised by nearly every outlet that reviews books and has been named a best book of 2018 by Kirkus Reviews, The New York Times/New York Public Library, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and NPR. Consider this a frontrunner to win the 2019 Caldecott Medal, which will be announced in January.

Also garnering quite a bit of buzz is Drawn Together by Minh Lê, a story about a young boy and his grandfather who find a way to connect with one another in spite of a language barrier. It is illustrated by Dan Santat, the author of our "One School, One Theme" selection After the Fall.

Tiger Top Picks

Mo Willems is still king around here! I Lost My Tooth, the first in a new beginning reader series by the beloved author, has flown off the Decio Media Center shelves ever since it was released in October of this year. Willems’ Elephant & Piggie series continues to enjoy massive popularity with our students. Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima and Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea also topped the list of titles with the highest circulation this year.

Librarian’s Choice

We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins (author of Mother Bruce and its sequels) checks all the boxes for a great read-aloud choice: a lovable main character, adorable illustrations, laugh-out-loud hilarious text, and a gentle message of empathy that even the littlest listeners will understand. Plus: dinosaurs! 

 

Middle-Grade Fiction

The Critical Darlings

It has been a great year for diverse, inclusive children’s literature. The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, Front Desk by Kelly Yang, Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, and Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed are all in the running to scoop up some shiny gold or silver stickers for their covers come book award season. Amal Unbound is loosely based on the story of Malala Yousafzai, whose autobiography is very popular among our students in grades 3 and up, so this would be an excellent choice for them.

Tiger Top Picks

Historical fiction has enjoyed a surge of popularity this year. Many of our students have been requesting more World War II novels after reading Making Bombs For Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and both of Alan Gratz’s WWII novels, Prisoner B-3087 and Projekt 1065. Propelled by interest in learning more about the terrorist attacks of 9/11, our students have also been reading and raving about Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin, Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner.

Librarian’s Choice

I’m cheating a little by naming a 2016 book as my personal favorite of the year, but Ghost by Jason Reynolds was one of my favorite middle-grade novels I’ve read in a long time. This is the first title in a four-book series about four kids from wildly different backgrounds who are selected to compete on an elite middle school track team. Under the guidance of their former Olympian coach, they learn about teamwork and discipline while each confronting the personal demons from which they’ve been running. Patina, Sunny, and Lu (just released in October of this year) complete this award-winning series.

 

Young Adult

The Critical Darlings

The 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature went to slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X, a debut novel written in verse about a young girl coming of age and finding her voice through slam poetry. Hey Kiddo, a graphic novel memoir by popular children’s graphic novel author Jarrett J. Krosoczka, was also a finalist for that award, and both could compete for the 2019 Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

Tiger Top Picks

A hit Netflix series based on Jenny Han’s bestselling YA series premiered this year, so it’s no surprise that To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You, and Always and Forever, Lara Jean have been immensely popular with our older middle school students. Jennifer Niven’s Holding Up the Universe and Monica Hesse’s Girl in the Blue Coat have also racked up an impressive number of circulations.

Librarian’s Choice

Samira Ahmed’s debut novel Love, Hate and Other Filters just might be my favorite book of 2018. It is a poignant story about an Indian-American, Muslim teenage girl finding her place in the world in the midst of a clash between her parents’ expectations and her own dreams for her future, while also confronting a surge of Islamaphobia in the wake of a terrorist attack. This is my dark horse pick to sneak in and grab a Printz Honor Book designation.

An honorable mention goes to Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman, the second book in the Arc of a Scythe series. Both books are incredibly original, compelling additions to the overcrowded YA dystopian fiction genre, and anticipation is already building for the trilogy’s final book, due out sometime in 2019.

Finally, for the grown-ups out there: I cannot recommend Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone highly enough. It’s my personal #1 for 2018!

For even more highlights and recommended books of the last year, take a peek at some of my favorite “Best of 2018” book lists linked below.

NPR’s Book Concierge: Our Guide to 2018’s Great Reads

Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Books of 2018

School Library Journal 2018 Best Books

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About the Author

Carly Squadroni

Media Center Director 

csquadroni@stanleyclark.org