What Should I Read Next?
2021 Reading Recommendations
Hello!
Hello!
This is the first Graphic Arts Campus Library Reading Recommendations! Please use the tabs at the top to navigate, and all books are divided into genres! You should feel free to browse and read books from any list! (If You need more recommendations, check out these guides 2019 list here and 2020 list here; there are no repeats from previous years, so they are definitely great for more options.)
This year ALL books selected will be available on the Sora e-reading app, and clicking the image link will take you to the book on Sora if you are signed in. All links will be for e-books unless otherwise noted. In many cases, audiobooks are also available and are noted at the bottom of the description on Sora. See the READ ON SORA tab for more details. As always, I'll post a few of my favorite books below.
I'd love to hear what you're reading! Find me on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, or email me and please say hi!
Happy reading,
Ms. Southwell (aka Princess Diva)
And because I could not have said it better if I tried, a quote from Kylene Beers on a young person's choice (summer) reading:
"I hope your students will enjoy summer reading. I hope they will have the experience of losing themselves in a book, and at the same time, I hope they will find themselves in a book. I hope they finish a book they loved with more understanding of themselves, the people around them, and their world. I hope they discover that in opening up a book, they are opening themselves up to more: more experiences, more knowledge, more empathy, more what-ifs, and more could be’s."
Librarian Favorites (What I've been reading...)
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by ISBN: 9780316453691Publication Date: 2020-03-10NOT YOUR AVERAGE HISTORY BOOK! Jason Reynolds, one of my favorite YA authors, has adapted this book originally by Ibram X. Kendi, for young adults. It starts out in chronological order from about 450 years ago to the present, outlining the people and policies that helped shape racist (and fight for antiracist) ideas in the United States. The audiobook is about 4 hours. It will be worth your wait from the public library, for sure.
Where do you get your recommendations?
I read a lot of books, but mostly, I read a lot of reviews! Here are some of my favorite places to look:
- The Horn Book*
- School Library Journal*
- Kirkus Reviews*
- The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books*
- Common Sense Media*
- Junior Library Guild*
- ALA Award Lists
- National Book Foundation Longlist for Young Adult Fiction
- NEA's Read Across America
- YALSA Selected Lists for Young Adults
- NYPL Best Books for Teens 2020
- Publishers Weekly Best Book Lists
- School Library Journal Best Books of 2020
*indicates publication with age range suggestions
Summer Reading Theme
This year's theme for summer reading at Brooklyn Public Library is READ WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOUR READ. More information, including booklists and events for summer reading from the Brooklyn Public Library can be found HERE.
More info to come!
Thank You!
A big THANK YOU to the following librarians who helped with the 2021 list: Rachel Chapman and Migdalia Caraballo