Announcing the 2024 Notable Books in the Language Arts

By Fran Wilson, Patrick Andrus and Laura Hudock on behalf of the Notables Committee

For 27 years dedicated members of the Children’s Literature Assembly have served on the seven-member committee tasked with selecting 30 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts (NCBLA). While enthusiastic summaries of each title on the annual NCBLA list have been a highlight for readers of the Journal of Children’s Literature and Language Arts as well as for session attendees at the annual National Council of Teachers of English conference and Tucson Festival of Books, in coming months the instructional possibilities of selected NCBLA titles will now regularly feature on this blog. 

To launch this resource alongside the announcement of the 2024 NCBLA list, three current members Fran Wilson, a second-grade teacher in Madeira, Ohio and the 2024 NCBLA Chair, Patrick Andrus, a fourth-grade teacher in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and the 2025 NCBLA Chair, and Laura Hudock, an assistant professor of literacy and children’s literature at Framingham State University wish to pull back the so-called curtain to shed light on the selection process.

All titles on the annual NCBLA list are works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry penned for children in grades K-8 and published in the previous calendar year. These selected children’s books have to exemplify additional criteria, including

• have an appealing format*;
• be of enduring quality;
• meet generally accepted criteria of quality for the genre in which they are written; and 
• meet one or more of the following criteria:
  • deal explicitly with language, such as plays on words, word origins, or the history of language;
  • demonstrate uniqueness in the use of language or style; and/or
  • invite child response or participation*.

With these criteria foremost on NCBLA committee members’ minds, we individually read and evaluate and then collaboratively vet each prospective book. 

The exemplary children’s books named to each NCBLA list are high-quality texts that promote language arts and offer a range of literacy-related instructional possibilities. For example,

Holey Moley (Bethan Clarke, 2023) features laugh-out-loud language play – rhyming and alliteration. This picturebook promotes phonological awareness and begs to be read aloud to the youngest of readers.

How Do You Spell Unfair?  (Carole Boston Weatherford, 2023) recounts young MacNolia Cox’s ground-breaking achievement – winning the local Akron, Ohio spelling bee and advancing to the national competition – while challenging racist stereotypes and facing discrimination. This nonfiction picturebook invites readers to explore embedded vocabulary shared as spelling words related to her lived experience.

Probability of Everything (Sarah Everett, 2023) is a middle grade novel that prompts immediate conversation among readers, often recounting their emotional experience while following protagonist Kemi Carter’s countdown of the meteor, Amplus-68’s collision with earth. These discussions continue long after the last page has been read. 

As we narrow down 768 prospective titles to a list of 30, the two *asterisked criteria often serve as our guiding light for envisioning instructional possibilities. Though we may anticipate a particular title’s positive reception to an audience of K-8 readers, we need to be certain that our assessments align with the responses of actual children. So, committee members often read aloud to their young children, grandchildren, K-8 students, and under/graduates enrolled in children’s literature and literacy courses. Patrick and Fran will highlight two ways we informally tested the asterisked criteria for titles published in 2023 and considered for the 2024 NCBLA list.

Patrick’s Polling Insights

During scheduled Zoom meetings each committee member nominates titles read to date as potential final selections based on NCBLA criteria, but we often wonder about how the intended audience of K-8 readers would receive these books. To help prioritize the target audience in committee discussions and voting, I (Patrick) have had the opportunity to share these nominated titles with my fourth-grade class. Throughout the past voting year, I tested out various picturebooks with this real-life "studio audience" to obtain a sampling of up to twenty-five elementary-aged readers’ honest, authentic opinions.  

I share one picture book each school day as part of my daily teaching routine. My fourth-graders become excited when they know I'm testing a picture book - they’re eager to contribute to the selection process and take this role seriously. My students offer their candid observations, inquiries, and themes related to these books. Many times after I finish one of the book selections, a student will shout out, “Now that is a five-star book!” or predict, “That one is going to be the winner this week.” At the end of the week, I collect their votes for the favorite picturebook of the week. Of note, some titles have been redacted.

Of those deemed potential final selections for the NCBLA list by our committee, some fell flat with my students when real aloud while others delivered positive responses. 

Sometimes, quite surprisingly to our NCBLA committee, a title would receive overwhelmingly enthusiastic engagement compared to other contenders. 

The diverse preferences among my students, reflected in the voting screenshots I share with the committee via text messages, enrich our conversations and reaffirm our mission to select the thirty best titles each year.

Fran’s Student-Initiated Persuasive Essays

When I (Fran) shared A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse, a picturebook written by Kate Allen Fox and illustrated by Khoa Le, my second-graders quickly noticed that the endpapers had illustrations featuring the stages of a solar eclipse. They were not only mesmerized by the rich, descriptive text highlighting the observable changes happening over a few beautiful moments but also appreciated the colorful illustrations depicting people gathering to make once in a lifetime memories. Upon learning that a total solar eclipse would be visible in many parts of North America this year, they wanted to know if their city was in the path of totality. After some research, guess what they discovered? They live on the southern limit!

After realizing the disappointment that April 8th was a school day, many students decided to voice their opinion–not just to me, but to my school district’s superintendent. Using information in the back matter and additional research, they wrote persuasive essays on why they should be released from school to experience the eclipse with their families. Here is a an example of a second grader’s two-page persuasive essay:
[Insert Blog_Pic 4]

Lo and behold, my superintendent called an early release on April 8th! My students have realized the power of voicing their opinion. Now, I can’t wait for them to learn the titles on the 2024 NCBLA Award list. These children will truly know that their opinions matter!

Drumroll please…

As members of the 2024 NCBLA committee, we are privileged to serve alongside exemplary K-16+ educators. It is our hope that with these shared insights into the selection process and future blog posts about the instructional possibilities, you will be inspired. Now, we present the 2024 list of Notable Children’s Books in Language Arts.

Fran Wilson is a second-grade teacher in Madeira, Ohio and the 2024 NCBLA Chai.
Patrick Andrus is a fourth-grade teacher in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and the 2025 NCBLA Chair.
Laura Hudock is an assistant professor of literacy and children’s literature at Framingham State University.

2024 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee Members

Fran Wilson, Chair, Madeira Elementary School, Ohio
Patrick Andrus, Eden Prairie School District, Minnesota
Dorian Harrison, Ohio State University at Newark
Ally Hauptman, Lipscomb University, Tennessee

Joyce Herbeck, Montana State University
Laura Hudock, Framingham State University, Massachusetts
Lynette Smith, Walden University, Pennsylvania