Mildred Batchelder Award

An intergenerational story about facing our fears--from going to school for the first time, to performing onstage with an orchestra, to learning to use a walker in the winter. This unique, award-winning picture book introduces readers to a young boy who...

American Library Association Batchelder Honor Book (2024) "Compelling artwork...stunning....Deftly captures a child's sense of wonder at the vastness of the world."-- Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW) "Whimsical illustrations...[a] springboard for...

During World War II a Jewish boy is left on his own for months in a ruined house in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he must learn all the tricks of survival under constantly life-threatening conditions.

This expanded edition of A Game for Swallows features a new, illustrated afterword, as Abirached reflects on the meaning of her memoir's title, the graffiti that inspired it, and the future of Beirut. A USBBY Outstanding International Book "This superb...

Every day Christine's walk to school takes her past a talking alley cat. And every day the cat's insights invariably give her something to ponder.One day her teacher asks the eight-year-old why she is always late for school. Frightened, she reveals the...

A 2019 Batchelder Honor Book Yu'er and her grandpa live in a small neighborhood in Beijing--and it's full of big personalities. There's a story around every corner, and each day has a hint of magic. In one tale, Yu'er wants to swim in the Special...

From award-winning Norwegian author Arne Svingen comes "an unusually exciting and funny story" (Dagbladet) about a relentlessly positive teenager who uses his love of opera to cope with his less-than-perfect home life. Bart is an eternal optimist. At...

A resonant, captivating book about a brother and sister caught in a dark chapter of world history. Between 1936 and 1939, a civil war raged across Spain. For almost three years, ordinary citizens lived in fear of bombs dropping from the sky. When fascist...

In a sensitive and poignant portrayal of the events of the Holocaust, Star of Fear, Star of Hope introduces children to this difficult, but important topic. Stars at morning, better take warning.Stars at night, hope is in sight. Helen recalls her...

WINNER OF THE MILDRED L. BATCHELDER AWARD! In this award-winning memoir translated from Italian to English, a Jewish girl grows up during a difficult time of racial discrimination and war, and discovers light in unexpected places. This classic, powerful...

"A shining story of a young girl who struggles to come of age and find her place in a world fraught with danger." --Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor-winning author of Hitler Youth* Winner of the Youth Prize at the Angoulême International Comics...

Also available in Spanish as Escrito y dibujado por Enriqueta A Junior Library Guild Selection Reading books is fun . . . but what about making them? Armed with new colored pencils, Henrietta's ready to try. Peek over her shoulder as she draws the story...

Ten-year-old Mafalda hides the fact that she is going blind from her family and friends in this lyrical, bittersweet debut novel from Italian author Paola Peretti that shows you how to overcome the darkness--even when you can't see the light at the end...

Batchelder Honor Winner, 2020 ALA Youth Media AwardsHonorable Mention, 2019 Freeman Awards (National Consortium for Teaching about Asia)Korea's demilitarized zone (DMZ) has become an amazing accidental nature preserve that gives hope for a brighter...

This story about a Muslim girl bound by traditional Islamic customs but who yearns for something more explores women's rights, freedom, religion, and identity. In the Libyan city of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his...

In this gentle, poetic young graphic novel, Dounia, a grandmother, tells her granddaughter the story even her son has never heard: how, as a young Jewish girl in Paris, she was hidden away from the Nazis by a series of neighbors and friends who risked...

Wataru Mitani has to grow up fast, and not just in this world but in a magical land called Vision. Young Wataru flees his messed-up life to navigate the magical world of Vision, a land filled with creatures both fierce and friendly. His ultimate...

Amid the turmoil of modern Damascus, one teenage boy finds his political voice in a message of rebellion that echoes throughout Syria and as far away as Western Europe. Inspired by his dearest friend, old Uncle Salim, he begins a journal to record his...

Named one of Kirkus' best books of the 21st century Elin's family has an important responsibility: caring for the fearsome water serpents that form the core of their kingdom's army. So when some of the creatures mysteriously die, Elin's mother is...

"'Srulik, there's no time. I want you to remember what I'm going to tell you. You have to stay alive. You have to! Get someone to teach you how to act like a Christian, how to cross yourself and pray. . . . The most important thing, Srulik, ' he said,...

HONOR 2016 - Mildred L. Batchelder Honor BookWINNER 2016 - Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish LibrariesFINALIST 2016 - National Jewish Book Awards Adam and Thomas is the story of two nine-year-old Jewish boys who survive World War II by...

At the dawn of Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933 and a period of the most brutal, aggressive anti-Semitism the world has ever seen, two boys swear eternal brotherhood by slitting their wrists and mingling their blood. Having experienced so much...

The enchanting international bestseller with bonus back matter and a beautiful new cover!The Thief Lord joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and...

In Renaissance Florence, thirteen-year-old apprentice Arduino's dreams of being a painter are challenged after he discovers the extreme measures the Maestro Cosimo di Forlç will take in the name of jealousy. Arduino faces a decision that could cost him...

ALA Youth Media Awards: 2018 Batchelder Honor Award Winner A darkly humorous tale with a twist ending Edmond Bigsnout, lone wolf that he is, loves his solitary cabin in the woods. But lately he's been craving urban rabbit for dinner, so he travels into...

Winner of the 2012 Batchelder Award Based on a real series of events that happened during World War II, Soldier Bear tells the story of an orphaned bear cub adopted by a group of Polish soldiers in Iran. The soldiers raise the bear and eventually enlist...

Another moving animal tale from the award-winning author of Soldier Bear One day, Mikis's grandfather has a surprise for him: a new donkey waiting! Mikis falls in love with the creature, but his grandparents tell him that the donkey is a working animal,...

It's World War II, and Misha's family, like the rest of the Jews living in Warsaw, has been moved by the Nazis into a single crowded ghetto. Conditions are appalling: every day more people die from disease, starvation, and deportations. Misha does his...

I was crazy. Crazy mad. That's how I felt when I turned in my AK-47 rifle. The commanding officer's growl still haunts me: "This gun is your god. You listen to the voice of your god and go where your gun tells you." This powerful and gripping story...

Two Jewish sister leave Austria during WWII/Holocaust and find refuge in Sweden. It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna--12-year-old Stephie Steiner and seven-year-old Nellie--are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay...

In this award-winning book from Japan, three young boys curious about death learn--and teach--some valuable lessons about life and friendship. The Friends is the winner of the 1997 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Fiction.

A 2024 Mildred L. Batchelder Award HonoreeA 2024 USBBY Outstanding International BookOne of Kirkus Reviews' 10 Essential Middle-Grade Books for Fall 2023 -- Starred ReviewOne of Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle-Grade Family Stories of 2023A 2023 Cybils Awards...

A beautiful, candid picture book for children to understand what happens when a loved one begins suffering from dementia, and how best to care for them.A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far) A 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book A...

In this surreal collection of short vignettes, we are transported to the world of Sato the Rabbit: a world very much like our own, yet one that is imbued with an added dimension of wonder and curiosity, in which ordinary objects and everyday routines...

In wartime Germany, Rose Blanche witnesses the mistreatment of a little boy, and follows the truck that takes him to a camp. Secretly, Rose Blanche brings him and other children food. An excellent book to use not only to teach about the Holocaust, but...

2019 Batchelder Honor Award 2019 ALA Notable Children's Book Award-winning illustrator Torben Kuhlmann's stunning new book transports readers to new depths where imagination lights the way! A long time ago, one mouse learned to fly, another landed on the...

A Kirkus Reviews "Best Books of the 21st Century" PickWinner of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder AwardA July/August 2021 Kids' Indie Next PickA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionFrom renowned Japanese children's author Sachiko Kashiwaba, Temple...

This 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor book is a testament to the power of the imagination and the saving power of storytelling.While the rest of the world is sleeping, Vera is out running, flying to the lake at the top of the hill. She needs to meet her...

Night after night, a father spins a new, fantastical bedtime story for his daughter from the other end of the telephone.Every night, at nine o'clock, wherever he is, Mr. Bianchi, an accountant who often has to travel for work, calls his daughter and...

A read-aloud book for young children about one chicken's dream of a better life outside the coop. Henrietta has big dreams for a little chicken: learning to sing, to swim, to fly, and, most important of all, to lay golden eggs. Even when her three...