
Jennifer LaGarde’s Favorite Books of the Year for 2024!
Please enjoy a special discount of 20% off the titles of your choice using the code JENNIFERLAGARDE.
Here are Jennifer’s top picks!
Picture Books 2024
Built to Last
by Minh Lê
Aloha Everything
by Kaylin Melia George
The Heart Never Forgets
by Ana Ot
Ahoy!
by Sophie Blackall
The House Before Falling Into the Sea
by Ann Suk Wang
Just Like Millie
by Lauren Castillo
The Blue Pickup
by Natasha Tripplett
One Giant Leap
by Thao Lam
There's No Such Thing as Vegetables
by Kyle Lukoff
Chicken Little and the Very Long Race (Chicken Little #3)
by Sam Wedelich
The Book Bus
by Melanie Moore
The Last Stand
by Antwan Eady
When I Wrap My Hair
by Shauntay Grant
The Fish of Small Wishes
by Elana K Arnold
Jump for Joy
by Karen Gray Ruelle
Joyful Song: A Naming Story
by Lesléa Newman
Partly Cloudy
by Deborah Freedman
Nana in the Country (Nana #2)
by Lauren Castillo
Don't Trust Cats (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog)
by Dev Petty
I Lived Inside a Whale
by Xin Li
Everyone Starts Small
by Liz Garton Scanlon

Built to Last by Minh Lê

Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George

The Heart Never Forgets by Ana Ot

Ahoy! by Sophie Blackall

The House Before Falling Into the Sea by Ann Suk Wang

Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo

The Blue Pickup by Natasha Tripplett

One Giant Leap by Thao Lam

There's No Such Thing as Vegetables by Kyle Lukoff

Chicken Little and the Very Long Race (Chicken Little #3) by Sam Wedelich

The Book Bus by Melanie Moore

The Last Stand by Antwan Eady

When I Wrap My Hair by Shauntay Grant

The Fish of Small Wishes by Elana K Arnold

Jump for Joy by Karen Gray Ruelle

Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman

Partly Cloudy by Deborah Freedman

Nana in the Country (Nana #2) by Lauren Castillo

Don't Trust Cats (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog) by Dev Petty

I Lived Inside a Whale by Xin Li

Everyone Starts Small by Liz Garton Scanlon
Middle Grade Fiction 2024
Louder Than Hunger
by John Schu
Shark Teeth
by Sherri Winston
And Then, Boom!
by Lisa Fipps
Mid-Air
by Alicia D Williams
Ultraviolet
by Aida Salazar
The Night War
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine
by Nicole Melleby
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All
by Chanel Miller
Isabel in Bloom
by Mae Respicio
Olivetti
by Allie Millington
Warrior on the Mound
by Sandra W Headen
The First State of Being
by Erin Entrada Kelly
Ferris
by Kate DiCamillo
Medusa (Myth of Monsters #1)
by Katherine Marsh
Unstuck
by Barbara Dee
Max in the House of Spies (Operation Kinderspion #1)
by Adam Gidwitz
Across So Many Seas
by Ruth Behar
The Partition Project
by Saadia Faruqi
Amil and the After
by Veera Hiranandani
A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits #1)
by Lisa Yee

Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston

And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps

Mid-Air by Alicia D Williams

Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar

The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller

Isabel in Bloom by Mae Respicio

Olivetti by Allie Millington

Warrior on the Mound by Sandra W Headen

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

Ferris by Kate DiCamillo

Medusa (Myth of Monsters #1) by Katherine Marsh

Unstuck by Barbara Dee

Max in the House of Spies (Operation Kinderspion #1) by Adam Gidwitz

Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar

The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi

Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani

A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits #1) by Lisa Yee
Nonfiction — Elementary, Middle Grade and Up 2024
The Rock in My Throat
by Kao Kalia Yang
Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller
by Breanna J McDaniel
Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King
by Coretta Scott King
And Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and Resistance
by Supriya Kelkar
We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America
by Joanna Ho
Poetry Comics
by Grant Snider
The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith!
by Dean Robbins
Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park
by Lori Alexander
Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them
by Melanie Crowder
Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five
by Phil Bildner
Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman
by Joanna Lapati
A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison
by Carole Boston Weatherford

The Rock in My Throat by Kao Kalia Yang

Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J McDaniel

Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King by Coretta Scott King

And Yet You Shine: The Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and Resistance by Supriya Kelkar

We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America by Joanna Ho

Poetry Comics by Grant Snider

The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith! by Dean Robbins

Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park by Lori Alexander

Great Gusts: Winds of the World and the Science Behind Them by Melanie Crowder

Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five by Phil Bildner

Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman by Joanna Lapati

A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison by Carole Boston Weatherford
Graphic Novels 2024
Unicorn Boy
by Dave Roman
Next Stop: (A Graphic Novel)
by Debbie Fong
Meet Me on Mercer Street
by Booki Vivat
The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival
by Estelle Nadel
Puzzled: A Memoir about Growing Up with Ocd
by Pan Cooke
Training Day: El Toro and Friends (World of ¡Vamos! )
by Raúl the Third

Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman

Next Stop: (A Graphic Novel) by Debbie Fong

Meet Me on Mercer Street by Booki Vivat

The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel

Puzzled: A Memoir about Growing Up with Ocd by Pan Cooke

Training Day: El Toro and Friends (World of ¡Vamos! ) by Raúl the Third
Jennifer LaGarde is a lifelong teacher and learner with over 20 years in public education. Her educational passions include leveraging technology to help students develop authentic reading lives, meeting the unique needs of students living in poverty and helping learners (of all ages) discern fact from fiction in the information they consume. A huge fan of YA Literature, Jennifer currently lives, works, reads and drinks lots of coffee in Olympia, Washington. Follow her adventures at www.librarygirl.net or on Twitter @jenniferlagarde.