Born Ready (Crown) by Jodie Patterson, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, has been selected for the 2022 KNEA Reading Circle Recommended List in the Primary category. Each spring, the newest list is published and sent at no cost to every school in the state of Kansas as a service of the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA). School library media specialists across the state use this catalog as a respected, dependable tool for evaluating and selecting new reading material for purchase. Additionally, educators and librarians from more than 20 other states access this recommended list online.

Get the book here

Nelvana and Discovery Kids has given the greenlight to a third season of Redknot’s Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe. The hit animated preschool series airs in Canada on Treehouse, and is based on the best-selling Binky Adventure graphic novels (Kids Can Press) by Ashley Spires.

Read the full press release here

Get the Binky Graphic Novels here

Stitch By Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Sews Her Way to Freedom (Holiday House) by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, has been selected as a 2022 Notable Social Studies Trade Book!

The Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People is an annual project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the CBC running since 1972. The selection committee looks for books that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.

Congratulations Connie and Liz!

See the full list here

Get the book here

The 2022 Booklist from Rise: A Feminist Book Project  is out and several books illustrated by Painted Words artists are on it!

Included are:

Secrets of the Sea (Clarion) by Evan Griffith, illustrated by Joanie Stone

The Library Bus (Pajama Press) by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Legacy (Bloomsbury) by Nikki Grimes, including illustrations by Vanessa Brantley Newton, Cathy Ann Johnson, Keisha Morris, Shadra Strickland, and Elizabeth Zunon

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has released their 2022 Notable Children’s Recordings List and recognized 8 Listening Library titles, including GRANDMA’S PURSE (Knopf ) written and narrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton!

Congratulations to Vanessa on this wonderful achievement!

Get the audio book here

King of Ragtime (Simon & Schuster) by Stephen Costanza has been named to the ALSC Notable Children’s Books List for 2022.

Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children’s books. According to the Notables Criteria, “notable” is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.

Congratulations Steve!

See the full list here

Get King of Ragtime here

Big Apple Diaries (MacMillan) by Alyssa Bermudez has been selected for the ALA Best Graphic Novels list! This is the first time the ALA Graphic Novels Round Table has put together a Best Graphic Novels for Children’s List.  The list highlights the best graphic novels for children aged 5 – 12 years old, published in late 2020 and through 2021, and it aims to increase awareness of the graphic novel medium, raise voices of diverse comics creators, and aid library staff in the development of graphic novel collections.

Congratulations Alyssa!

See more about the list here

Get the book here

Born Ready (Crown) by Jodie Patterson, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow has been selected as a winner of the  2022 Notable Books for a Global Society Award. Annually, a committee of the CL/R SIG (Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group) of the International Literacy Association (ILA) selects 25 outstanding trade books they feel will enhance student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world. The committee reviews books representing all genres that are intended for students K-12.

Congratulations Charnelle!

See the full list here

Get the book here

Happy Book Birthday to Ready for the Spotlight (Candlewick) by Jaime Kim!