Best Books of the Year: 2024

Last updated: December 5, 2024

This book wrap-up, brought to you by Senior Editor of Book Reviews Mandie Caroll, isn't just a list of the best reads 2024 had to offer. It's also a jumping-off point for thoughtful family discussions on a wide variety of timely topics, from identity and immigration to voting rights. These picks follow compelling characters who make tough choices and learn how to navigate the ever-changing world around them. Let this list inspire your next read, and be sure to browse the rest of our 2024 favorites, linked below.

Best of 2024 Collection: Movies | U.K./International Films | TV Shows | Video Games

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I'm Sorry You Got Mad book cover: Angry, red-faced boy seated at desk, crumpled-up drafts of apology notes swirl above him

BOOK

I'm Sorry You Got Mad

age 3+

Boy learns how to apologize in wise, relatable empathy tale.

Kyle Lukoff Picture Book (2024)

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The Yellow Bus book cover: Diverse schoolkids enter a bright yellow bus against a gray penciled background

BOOK

The Yellow Bus

age 3+

Gentle tale celebrates one school bus's lifetime of service.

Loren Long Picture Book (2024)

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Ahoy! book cover: A parent and child standing on a rug pretending it's the ocean

BOOK

Ahoy!

age 4+

Fun picture book embraces imagination and time together.

Sophie Blackall Picture Book (2024)

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Being Home book cover: Native children run and play through trees and flowers

BOOK

Being Home

age 4+

Dreamy tale of young family moving to ancestral homeland.

Traci Sorell Picture Book (2024)

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My Daddy Is a Cowboy book cover: Afro-Latina girl smiles, kneeling in front of a horse; her father is on a horse behind her

BOOK

My Daddy Is a Cowboy

age 4+

Dazzling story of early morning father-daughter ride.

Stephanie Seales Picture Book (2024)

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Orris and Timble book cover: Little gray rat and big white owl sit on a wood ledge in front of a night sky

BOOK

Orris and Timble: The Beginning

age 5+

Sweet, spare friendship tale of courage, gratitude, stories.

Kate DiCamillo Animals (2024)

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The Last Stand book cover: An older Black man, standing in the cargo bed of a truck, hands a younger Black man a pumpkin.

BOOK

The Last Stand

age 5+

A heartfelt love letter to Black farmers, past and present.

Antwan Eady Picture Book (2024)

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Growing Up Under a Red Flag book cover: Girl in braids marches before members of the Red Guard carrying a photo of Mao.

BOOK

Growing Up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Cultural Revolution

age 7+

Stellar memoir of life in communist China has mild violence.

Ying Chang Compestine Autobiography (2024)

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Life After Whale book cover: A blue whale is seen under the blue ocean water with the sun shining above

BOOK

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

age 7+

Grand story of blue whale death and new life it supports.

Lynn Brunelle Picture Book (2024)

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How It All Ends book cover: Girl at desk imagining active characters

BOOK

How It All Ends

age 8+

Playful, authentic, queer coming-of-age graphic novel.

Emma Hunsinger Graphic Novel (2024)

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Kareem Between Book Cover: Boy in jersey and jacket with Syrian and USA flag pins stands in front of lockers with football

BOOK

Kareem Between

age 8+

Touching verse novel about xenophobia, identity, friendship.

Shifa Saltagi Safadi Contemporary Fiction (2024)

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Olivetti book cover: Vintage typewriter with bouquet of flowers emerging from the top parts

BOOK

Olivetti

age 8+

Tween and typewriter on poignant, funny quest for lost mom.

Allie Millington Family Life (2024)

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The Secret Library book cover: Black girl standing in front of a stately, gleaming building

BOOK

The Secret Library

age 8+

Tween travels back in time in fantastic fantasy adventure.

Kekla Magoon Fantasy (2024)

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Uprooted book cover: Illustration of worried girl standing over a small depiction of Hong Kong

BOOK

Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back

age 8+

Charming graphic memoir of a reluctant move to Hong Kong.

Ruth Chan Graphic Novel (2024)

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The First State of Being book cover: A puddle reflects two teens and a tween walking towards the right against a blue sky with orange clouds

BOOK

The First State of Being

age 9+

Time-travel tale is gripping, funny, and tinged with grief.

Erin Entrada Kelly Science Fiction (2024)

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Impossible Creatures book cover: Boy, griffin, and girl riding dragon

BOOK

Impossible Creatures: Impossible Creatures, Book 1

age 10+

Inspired narrative, world-building in luminous series debut.

Katherine Rundell Fantasy (2024)

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Max in the House of Spies book cover: Boy with pale skin and red hair in a white button down shirt and suspenders looks over his left shoulder as he runs away from suspicious looking men in background, two very small, human, old men are on either shoulder

BOOK

Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II: Operation Kinderspion, Book 1

age 10+

Funny, fraught, magical tale of Jewish kid in spy school.

Adam Gidwitz Historical Fiction (2024)

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Black Girl You Are Atlas book cover: Collage of a Black girl with big hoop earrings

BOOK

Black Girl You Are Atlas

age 12+

Stunning art and poems of Black girls' struggle and triumph.

Renée Watson Poetry (2024)

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Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote book cover: Illustration of a hand putting a “vote” in a stars and stripes ballot box

BOOK

Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote

age 12+

Powerful history of the fight for voting rights in America.

Marc Favreau , Michael Eric Dyson History (2024)

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Sheine Lende book cover: Shane in overalls and backpack, in front of giant sunflowers, followed by gray ghosts of mammoths

BOOK

Sheine Lende: A Prequel to Elatsoe

age 12+

Poignant Lipan Apache fantasy of home, loss, family bonds.

Darcie Little Badger Fantasy (2024)

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