Book Resources

BOOK BLITZES

(For older book blitzes, visit the Book Blitz Archives page!)

3/2/26 –  Top Eight books for break!

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1. I Survived Hurricane Katrina by Georgia Ball = I survived the Dust Bowl, Tornado Terror, I survived true stories, I survived the great molasses flood: graphic novel
2. Away by Megan Freeman = 96 miles by J. L. Esplin or other novels in verse
3. Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce = Ben Yokoyama and the cookie of doom by Matthew Swanson
4. The Summer I turned pretty by Jenny Han = Canterwood crest series, The thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
5. Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs = NERDS by Michael Buckley
6. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes = Millionaires for a Month by Stacy McAnulty
7. Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate = The Endling by Katherine Applegate

 8. 11 Before 12 by Lisa Greenwald = Listen to this by Jennfer Blecher

2/23/26 – Olympics 5&6

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Total Olympics by Jeremy Fuchs, What are the Winter Olympics by Gail Herman, The Sports Book ed. Ray Stubbs, Kid Olympians: Winter by Robin Stevenson, A Passion for Victory: the story of the Olympics in ancient and early modern times by Benson Bobrick, A Picture History of the Olympics by James Coote, Women in sports by Rachel Ignotofsky, High Tech Olympics by Nick Hunter, Victory Stand!: raising my fist for justice by Tommie Smith, The Comeback by E. L. Shen

2/17/26 5&6 More Award winners and some new titels

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Sibert (informational Text): Honor: At Last She Stood by Erin Entrada Kelly

Yalsa/Alex: Insectopolis by Peter Kuper (written for adults)

The two I think should have won awards: The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner, Candle Island by Lauren Wolk

New: Gumshoe – graphic by Brenna Thummler, Bad Badger by Maryrose Wood, The Moon without stars by Chanel Miller, The Island of forgotten gods by Victor Pinero, Outfoxed by Elise McMullen-Ciotti, Stalagtite and Stalagmite by Drew Beckmeyer

February 2026 7&8

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Printz winner: Legendary Frybread Drive-In ed. Cynthia Leitich Smith

Schneider: disability experience: Whale Eyes by James Robinson, The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi Semple

YALSA non-fiction: Winner: Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming

Sibert Honor: At Last she stood by Erin Entrada Kelly

Sydney Taylor: Honor: The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor

Alex: Insectopolis by Peter Kuper

Coretta Scott King Book Award – Honor: Split the Sky by Marie Arnold

New: Bad Boy – graphic novel by Walter Dean Myers, The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabaz and Tiffany Jackson

2/9/26 – Black History Month

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The Incredibly Human Henson Blaze by Derrick Barnes(Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor Winner), Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston, Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas, The Marvellers by Donielle Clayton, Becoming Muhammad Ali by Kwame Alexander and James Patterson, The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabaz and Tiffany Jackson, Fly Girl by Sherri L. Smith, Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson, Mighty Justice by Dovey Johnson Rountree, Black History is your history by Taylor Cassidy

2/2/26 – ALA award winners

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Newbery winner: All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson 

Newbery honor: The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser, A Sea of Lemon Trees by Maria Dolores Aguila, The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri, The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

Coretta Scott King Book Award, Winner: Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhoads

Pura Belpre: The Pecan Sheller by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

American Indian Youth Literature Award for Middle Grade: Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan

Asian/Pacific: Hungry Bones by Louise Hung

Schneider Family Book Awards (disability experience): Where only storms grow by Alyssa Colman

1/26/26 – Don’t make yourself sick 5&6

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Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, The great trouble: a mystery of London the blue death, and a boy called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson, A death-struck year by Makiia Lucier, Daisy and the Deadly Flu by Julie Gilbert, Gone Wolf by Amber McBride, The Lost Year by Katheriene Marsh, Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nichols, History Smashers – Plagues and Pandemics by Kate Messner, Fatal Fever: Tracking down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow, Patient Zero by Marlee Peters

January 7&8

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The Blood Years by Elana Arnold, This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi, Trajectory by Cambria Gordon, And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness, Burn by Patrick Ness, A Forgery of Roses by Jessica Olson, War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi, This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel, Far Down Below by Chris Condon – graphic novel

1/12/26 – Welcome back

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Let it Glow by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy, Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Theodosia and the serpents of chaos by R. L. LaFevers, Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz, Rise of Neptune by Scott Reintgen, May the best player win by Kyla Zhao, The Woman Who Split the Atom by Marissa Moss, Keeper of the Lost Cities #2 – graphic novel by Shannon Messenger, How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares – graphic novel, Tuck Everlasting – graphic novel by Natalie Babbitt

12/15/25 – Books for break

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On Thin Ice by Jessica Kim, Gold Meal Winter by Donna Freitas, Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick, Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby, The Dogs of Winter by Bobbie Pyron, Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith, The Sea in Winter by Christine Day, Winterhouse by Ben Guterson, Hot Cocoa Hearts by Suzanne Nelson, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

12/8/25 – SLJ – best of 2025

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How to Free a Jinn by Raidah Shah Idil, Starry Starry Heist by Karen Briner, Smoke and Mirrors by Rosalyn Ransaw, Benny on the case by Wesley King, Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, Dreamslinger by Gracie Kim, The Tear Collector by R. M. Romero, Whale Eyes by James Robinson, April in the Middle by Dawn Quigley, Dead Ends, Flukes, Flops & Failures that Sparked Medical Marvels by Lidsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

December 2025 7&8

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Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessi, The Same Backwards as Forwards by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, About That Night by Norah McClintock, Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks, The House Safir by Marissa Meyer, Slated by Teri Terry, Reboot by Amy Tintera, Impossible Escape by Steve Sheinkin

12/2/25 New 5&6

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Story Spinners by Cassandra Federman, The Teacher of Nomadland by Daniel Nayeri, The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith, Return to sender by Vera Brosgol, The Winter of the Dollhouse by Laura Amy Schlitz

Alternative VRC titles

Bea and the New Deal Horse by L. M. Elliott, Chupacarter by George Lopez, The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass, The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix, The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang, The Skull by Jon Klassen

11/17/25 Virginia Readers’ Choice

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The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla, Global by Eoin Colfer, It happened on Saturday by Sydney Dunlap, The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud, Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day, The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg, A Perfect Mistake by Melanie Conklin, Something like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango, What happened to Rachel Riley by Claire Swinarski, The Town with no mirrors by Christina Collins

11/10/25 5&6 New books by great authors

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Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker by Heidi Heilig, The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes, Free State of Jax by Jennifer Neilsen, Wolf Club by James Bird, Shot Clock by Caron Butler and Justin A. Reynolds, Lost Evangeline by Kate DiCamillo, Holding on for dear life by Dusty Bowling, A Sea of Lemon Trees by Maria Delores Aguila, Finding Lost by Holly Goldberg Sloan, The Song of the Orphan’s Garden by Nicole M. Hewitt

November 2025 7&8

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A First Time for Everything by K. L. Walther, The Dysfunctional Family’s Guide to murder by Kate Emery, Shards and Ashes ed. Melissa Marr, The Six and Siege by Mark Alpert, Fateless by Julie Kagawa, The Immortal Rules by Jule Kagawa, An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew, Artifice by Sharon Cameron, Caesar’s Last Breath by Sam Kean

10/27/25 – Spooky Story collection and other Halloween suggestions 5&6

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Witches by Rosalyn Schanzer, Haunted Virginia by L. B. Taylor, Jr., Ghost Hunters Handbook by Liza Gardner Walsh, Short and Shivery by Robert D. San Souci, Out to get you by Josh Allen, Scary Stories by Barry Moser, Dare to be Scared by Robert D. San Souci, Nox Winters and the Midnight Wolf by Rochelle Hassan, Defanged by H. E. Edgmon, The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman, Hooky by Miriam Banastre Tur

10/6/25 Hispanic Heritage Month books

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The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera, ChupaCarter by George Lopez, Undercover Latina by Aya de Leon, Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera, Red Hot Salsa ed. Lori Marie Carlson, The Coyote under the table by Joe Hayes, Messi by Matt and Tom Oldfield, Latinitas by Juliet Menedez, A Kid’s Guide to Latino History by Valerie Petrillo

October 2025 7&8

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Murder between friends by Liz Lawson, Shift by Jennifer Bradbury, Buffalo Flats by Martine Leavitt, Split the Sky by Marie Arnold, All Better Now by Neil Shusterman, The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond, The House of Quiet by Kiersten White, Raven Boys – graphic novel by Maggie Stiefvater, Our Shadows have Claws ed. Yamile Saled Mendez, American Spirits by Barb Rosenstock, The World without Summer by Nicholas Day

9/22/25 5&6 – Mrs. White is super excited about some new books!

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Let’s get together by Brandi Colbert, The Wish Switch by Lynn Painter, Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, A World without Summer by Nicholas Day, The Rythm of Time by Questlove and S. A. Cosby, The Experiment by Rebecca Stead, The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser, The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell, Into the Fire (Westfallen) by Ann Brashares, Dawn of the Dragons by Mari Mancusi, Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi by Angie Thomas

9/15/25 New 5&6

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The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall, Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler, The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin, Vote for the G.O.A.T. by Ali Terese, The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly (Halloween?), The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-El, The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez by Jasmine Paulino, Lifeboat 5 by Susan Hood, Bones and Berserkers by Nathan Hale, Wildcats by Crystal Velasquez – graphic novel

9/2/25 – 5&6 Nonfiction

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Indigenous Ingenuity by Deidre Havrelock & Edward Kay, Save the People: Halting Human Extinction by Stacy McNulty, There’s no cream in cream soda by Kim Zachman, Itch: everything you didn’t know about what makes you scratch by Anita Sanchez, Museum of Odd Body Leftovers by Rachel Poliquin, The book of Mythical Beasts & Magical Creatures by Stephen Krensky, The United States of Sports by Sports Illustrated Kids, Gods of Soccer by Roger Bennett – Men in Blazers present, Ocean: our watery world as you have never seen it before, a Smithsonian book, Glow: the Wild Wonders of Bioluminescence by Jennifer N. R. Smith

8/26/25 – Welcome back, but summer isn’t over, Blitz 5&6

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Field Guide to Broken Promises by Leah Stecher, The Summer of the Fortune Tellers by Lisa Greenwald, Not if you break up with me first, by G. F. Miller, A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya, Billions to Burn by Taylor Banks, Chef’s Secret by Kelly Yang, Snoop by Gordon Korman, Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina, Junius Leek and the spiraling vortex of doom by Allan Wolf, Another by Paul Tremblay

8/26/2025 Welcome back 7&8 

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Codebreaker by Jay Martel, Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor, The Singular Life of Aria Patel by Samira Ahmed, The Last Tiger by Julia Riew and Brad Riew, Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley, Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill, Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia, Island Creatures by Magarita Engle, The Tournament by Rebecca Barrow