2018 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts
Award Books (2017 Copyright)

Alphabet Thief. Written by Bill Richardson. Illustrated by Roxanna Bikadoroff. Groundwood Books.

Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books. Written by Michelle Markle. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Chronicle

Before She Was Harriet. Written by Lesa Cline-Ransome. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Holiday House

Benjamin Franklin’s Wise Words: How to Work Smart, Play Well, and Make Real Friends. Written by Benjamin Franklin. Adapted by K.M. Koystal. Illustrated by Fred Harper. National Geographic Society

Betty’s Burgled Bakery: An Alliteration Adventure. Written and illustrated by Travis Nichols. Chronicle Books

Between Two Skies. Written by Joanne O’Sullivan. Chronicle.

The Catawampus Cat. Written by Jason Carter Eaton. Illustrated by Gus Gordon. Crown Books for Young Readers.

Fantastic Flowers. Written and illustrated by Susan Stockdale. Peachtree.

A Greyhound, A Groundhog. Written by Emily Jenkins. Illustrated by Chris Appelhans. Schwartz & Wade.

I’m Just No Good At Rhyming and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups. Written by Chris Harris. Illustrated by Lane Smith. Little Brown.

Izzy Kline Has Butterflies. Written by Beth Ain. Random House.

Just Dance. Written by Patricia MacLachlan. Margaret K. McElderry Books.

La La la. Written by Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Jaime Kim. Chronicle.

La Princesa and the Pea. Written by Susan Middleton Elya. Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Candlewick.

Letters to a Prisoner. Written by Jacques Goldstyn. Translated from the French by Angela Keenlyside. Owlkids.

Life. Written by Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. Beach Lane Books
Little Bits of Sky. Written by S.E. Durrant. Nosy Crow.

Long Way Down. Written by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum/Caitlin Diouhy.

Look! What Do You See? An Art Puzzle Book of American and Chinese Songs. Written by Xu Bing. Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. Viking Books.

Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case. Written by Patricia Hruby Powell. Illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Chronicle Books.

Miguel’s Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and His Dream of Don Quixote. Written by Margarita Engle. Illustrated by Raúl Colón. Peachtree Publishers.

Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters. Written by Michael James Mahin. Illustrated by Evan Turk. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Nantucket Sea Monster: A Fake News Story. Written by Darcy Pattison. Illustrated by Peter Willis. Mims House.

Niko Draws a Feeling. Written by Robert Raczka. Illustrated by Simone Shin. Carolrhoda Books.

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. Written by Nikki Grimes. Bloomsbury Children’s.

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. Written by Kwame Alexander. Illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick Press.

Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song. Written by Gary Golio. Illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb. Millbrook Press.

This House Once. Written and illustrated by Deborah Freedman. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The Warden’s Daughter. Written by Jerry Spinelli. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Yo Soy Muslim. Written by Mark Gonzales. Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Salaam Read/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers.

2018 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee Members

Diana Porter (Eastern Kentucky Univ.);
Jennifer Sanders (Oklahoma State Univ.);
Jane Bean-Folkes (Marist College, N.Y.);
Cynthia Alaniz (Coppell Indep. School Dist., Texas);
Sue Corbin (Notre Dame College, Ohio);
Jeanne Gillam Fain (Lipscomb Univ., Tennessee);
S. Rebecca Leigh (Oakland Univ., Michigan)

NOTABLES OVERVIEW

The charge of the seven-member national committee is to select 30 books that best exemplify the criteria established for the Notables Award. Books considered for this annual list are works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry written for children, grades K-8. The books selected for the list must:

  1. be published the year preceding the award year (i.e. books published in 2015 are considered for the 2016 list);
  2. have an appealing format;
  3. be of enduring quality;
  4. meet generally accepted criteria of quality for the genre in which they are written; and
  5. meet one or more of the following criteria:
    1. deal explicitly with language, such as plays on words, word origins, or the history of language;
    2. demonstrate uniqueness in the use of language or style; and/or
    3. invite child response or participation.

INFORMATION FOR PUBLISHERS

  1. Review the criteria listed above to confirm that the book(s) you wish to submit are eligible for the Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts award.
  2. Ship one copy of each book you wish to nominate directly to each committee member.
  3. Contact the committee chair, Cynthia Alaniz, for more information and for the mailing addresses of the committee members.

NOTABLES ARCHIVE
2018 | 2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 |
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