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

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

On All Other Nights: A Passover Celebration in 14 Stories by

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: A Tale of World War II (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

Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy Decarava by Gary Golio

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

A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen (English With Some Spanish) by Erin Frankel

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

What's Inside a Bird's Nest?: And Other Questions about Nature & Life Cycles (What's Inside?) by Rachel Ignotofsky

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

Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire by Paula Yoo

Spying on Spies: How Elizebeth Smith Friedman Broke the Nazis' Secret Codes by Marissa Moss

Graphic Novels 2024

Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem: A Graphic Novel by Kekla Magoon

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.