A List of Lists! 52 Best Children’s Book Lists for 2021
It’s that time of year again on The Classroom Bookshelf: time for the list of the Best Children’s Books Lists of 2021! For school librarians and teachers building their collections, for families looking for just the right book for a special child – these lists are for you.
Whether you’re at the library or the bookstore, or shopping online from the comfort of your own home, pull up The Classroom Bookshelf to peruse these lists, or our entries from throughout the year, to find some of the best children’s books of 2021.
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We’ve tried to categorize these lists in ways that may be most helpful to you. The first set are lists that include all genres and age levels. From there we curate by format and age range (picture books, beginner reader, transitional reader, graphic books, middle grade) and a few by genre (poetry, nonfiction & biography).
We know that educators everywhere are weary from all that you have been carrying. Thank you for all that you do all year long for young people. Rest up this holiday season. We’ll be back in January to share the titles that seem ripe for classroom explorations in 2022.
Best of 2021
Please click on each title for a link to the full list.
General Best Children’s Book Lists of 2021
100 Scope Notes – Best 20 Books of 2021
NCTE’s Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children 2022
The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Books 2021
American Indians in Children’s Literature Best Books 2021
School Library Journal Top Ten Audio Books 2021
Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Middle Grade and Children’s Books 2021
The Washington Post Best Children’s Books of 2021
The New York Times 25 Best Children’s Books of 2021
New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2021
The Boston Globe Best Books for Children 2021
Picture Books for Babies and Toddlers
Kirkus Reviews: Best Bedtime Books of 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Board Books of 2021
Chicago Public Library Best Board Books 2021
Picture Books
Kirkus Reviews: Funniest Picture Books of 2021
Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of 2021 that Celebrate Family
Kirkus Reviews: Best Picture Books of 2021 Celebrating Community
Kirkus Reviews: Most Joyous Picture Books of 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Picture Books of 2021 About Crossing Borders
Kirkus Reviews: Best Picture Books of 2021 for Starting Conversations
Kirkus Reviews: Most Affirming Picture Books of 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Wordless Picture Books of 2021
School Library Journal: Best Picture Books of 2021 (requires login)
Publisher’s Weekly: Best Picture Books of 2021
Chicago Public Library Best Picture Books 2021
Beginner Readers
Kirkus Reviews: Best Books for Beginning Readers 2021
Transitional Readers
School Library Journal: Best Chapter Books of 2021 (requires login)
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers 2021
Graphic Books
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Graphic Fiction 2021
School Library Journal: Best Graphic Books of 2021 (requires login)
Nonfiction & Biography
NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2022
School Library Journal: Best Nonfiction of 2021 (requires login)
Kirkus Reviews: Best Informational Picture Books of 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Picture Book Biographies of 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Nonfiction 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade History 2021
Chicago Public Library: Best Informational Books for Younger Children 2021
Chicago Public Library: Best Informational Books for Older Children 2021
Poetry
NCTE’s Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels, 2022
School Library Journal: Best Poetry Books 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Poetry 2021
Middle Grade Books
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Fiction 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade SF and Fantasy 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Novels About Growing Up 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Historical Fiction 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Anthologies 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Nature Books 2021
School Library Journal: Best Middle Grade Books of 2021 (requires login)
Publisher’s Weekly: Best Middle Grade Books of 2021
Chicago Public Library Fiction for Older Readers 2021
Filed under: Best of Lists, Book Lists
About Mary Ann Cappiello
Mary Ann is a professor of language and literacy at Lesley University. A former public school language arts and humanities teacher, she is a passionate advocate for and commentator on children’s books. Mary Ann is the co-author of Teaching with Text Sets (2013) and Teaching to Complexity (2015) and Text Sets in Action: Pathways Through Content Area Literacy (Stenhouse, 2021). She has been a guest on public radio and a consultant to public television. From 2015-2018, Mary Ann was a member of the National Council of Teachers of English's Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction (K-8) Committee, serving two years as chair.
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