County Office Librarian Shares Top Kids Book Picks

San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) Library Media Services Coordinator Jonathan Hunt has worked both in the classroom and in school libraries for more than two decades. In his role with SDCOE, he provides professional learning and networking opportunities around best practices in school libraries. He also serves as the librarian of record for 20 districts in the county.

He reviews them for Horn Book Magazine and writes for School Library Journal. He has judged the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, the Printz Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.

Just in time for Read Across America Day, Hunt shared this annotated list of his picks for top kids books from 2022. 

These books represent some of the best books of this past year (2022). Most of the titles lend themselves to reading aloud, either in whole or part, but also work well as independent reading choices, too. They are grouped by school grade. 

Grades K-2

ENDLESSLY EVER AFTER

By Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Dan Santat

Choose Your Own Adventure meets Fractured Fairy Tales in this delightful picture book, which earns bonus points for Snyder’s rhyming text and Santat’s hilarious illustrations.

KNIGHT OWL

By Christopher Denise

A young owl has always dreamed of being a knight, but can he hold off the dragon intruder when it matters most? The book has a big-hearted message to go along with its charm and humor.  

MINA

By Matthew Forsythe

In a picture book reminiscent of the work of Jon Klassen, Mina the mouse lives a comfortable existence in the woods until the day her father brings home a pet squirrel with whiskers, claws, and cat eyes.

THE WORLD BELONGED TO US

By Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa

Summer in the city is glorious: Jumping rope, playing with open fire hydrants, building forts, riding bikes, and more. Setting the book in Brooklyn during the 1970s was an inspired choice.

 

Grades 3-5

LOVE IN THE LIBRARY

By Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yasmin Imamura

In this picture book, a young Japanese American woman works as a librarian in an incarceration camp, while a handsome young man seems to like her as much, if not more, than the books.

ODDER

By Katherine Applegate

Based on the Monterey Bay Aquarium program, which pairs orphaned pups with surrogate mothers, Applegate, the author of The One and Only Ivan, delivers another poignant story in free verse.

THE REAL DADA MOTHER GOOSE

By Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Julia Rothman

Take 36 nursery rhymes and apply different forms and genres to them — newspaper article, anagrams, comic strips, anagrams — and you get a sense of this beguiling silliness.

THE TRYOUT

By Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna Cacao

In this memoir in comics form, Thai American Christina and Iranian American Megan try out for the cheerleading squad. Lots of heart and humor here for fans of Raina Telgemeier.

 

Grades 6-8

THE DOOR OF NO RETURN

By Kwame Alexander

In 1860, an 11-year-old African boy visits a neighboring kingdom when a series of unthinkable events leads him into slavery. This verse novel, the first volume of a trilogy, ends with a cliffhanger. 

PARADISE SANDS

By Levi Pinfold

An eerie picture book for older readers tells the story of a girl and her older brothers who become entrapped in a mysterious place in the middle of nowhere. She must keep her end of a bargain to save them all. 

SEEN AND UNSEEN

By Elizabeth Partridge, illustrated by Lauren Tamaki

Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams both photographed internment camps, but so too did Toyo Miyatake, who as an inmate, smuggled his camera in. The book is enhanced by photos and illustrations.

TWIN CITIES

By Jose Pimienta

Growing up in Mexicali, a brother and sister decide to attend middle schools on different sides of the border. These fraternal twins wrestle with peer pressure, family identity, and growing up in this winning debut graphic novel.

 

Grades 9-12

AUGUSTA SAVAGE

By Marilyn Nelson

The most celebrated visual artist of the Harlem Renaissance gets a fitting biographical treatment in verse by one of our most celebrated poets. Perfect for Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and National Poetry Month.

AIN’T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT

By Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jason Griffin

Three long, run-on sentences meander through more than three hundred pages of stunning collage artwork, capturing the essence of what it means to be Black in America in this moment in time.

MAN MADE MONSTERS

By Andrea Rogers

These gripping short stories, which feature a single extended Cherokee family over two centuries, are rife with horror villains such as werewolves, vampire, and zombies — but also the psychological horror of colonization.

WHEN ANGELS LEFT THE OLD COUNTRY

By Sacha Lamb

Two supernatural beings leave their shtetl in Eastern Europe in search of the girl who went missing on her way to America. A queer Jewish historical fantasy with beautiful writing and resonant themes.