Welcome to the Top 10s of 2024!
Each year I compile a list of my favorite reads of the year in different categories based on genre and target audience. The books can be written in any year, I've just read them in the past 12 months. I read a lot (just look at my GoodReads widget below for my current reading count for the year) so for a book to make one of these lists, it has to be pretty impressive...at least to me. đ I kinda sorta have arranged the lists with my favorites in each division on top, and descending in how much I loved them. But for several of these lists I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite, and it is really just a giant tie. In the interest of space, I'm not including any summaries here, but you can click on any title to see my full summary & review for that book and any content notes/trigger warnings. Sometimes books appeal to multiple target audiences and could honestly be put in multiple lists. I tried to go with the age of reader I think it best appeals to or the category I felt best fit. A little note on terminology here, Lower Grade means books primarily aimed at PreK-3rd, Middle Grade means books aimed at 3rd-8th grade readers, Young Adult means books aimed at teens, and Adult means books aimed at adult readers. For some of these lists I had to set limiters to help me narrow down the selection, those appear in parentheses after the division heading. I hope these lists help inspire your TBR lists and/or your gift ideas for loved ones.
Here's the schedule for this year's Top 10s:
Nov 29 – Nonfiction Books, Leveled Readers (any genre), and Best Artwork (any genre)
Dec 6 – Contemporary & Historical Fiction, Lower Grade Fiction, YA & Adult Graphic Novels/Manga/Comics (any genre)
Dec 13 – Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asian Books (any genre)
Dec 20 – Guest post: Mrs Nat's Top 10s
Top 10 Books for the Artwork
The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage
The Science of Light: Things That Shine, Flash, and Glow by Margaret Peot
Dear Stray by Kirsten Hubbard, ill. by Susan Gal
The Last Zookeeper by Aaron Becker
Garden of Truth by Ruth Chou Simmons
Jumper: a Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
What’s Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon?: And Other Questions about Moths & Butterflies (What’s Inside) by Rachel Ignotofsky
The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang, ill. by Alina Chau
The Most Boring Book Ever by Brandon Sanderson, ill. by Kazu Kibuishi
Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers, ill. by JĂșlia SardĂ
Top 10 Lower Grade Nonfiction Books
(includes picture book biographies, excludes Christian nonfiction)
Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers, ill. by JĂșlia SardĂ
What’s Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon?: And Other Questions about Moths & Butterflies (What’s Inside) by Rachel Ignotofsky
Seed, Sprout, Grow (National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Board Book) by Ruth Musgrave
The Science of Light: Things That Shine, Flash, and Glow by Margaret Peot
A Vaccine Is Like a Memory by Rajani LaRocca, ill. by Kathleen Marcotte
Jumper: a Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan
Your One and Only Heart by Rajani LaRocca, ill. by Lauren Paige Conrad
Bears Are Best! by Joan Holub, ill. by Laurie Keller
That’s Not Hockey! by AndrĂ©e Poulin, ill. by Felix Girard
Palace of Books by Patricia Polacco
Top 10 Middle Grade Nonfiction Books
(includes biographies, graphic novels, & poetry, excludes Christian nonfiction)
Continental Drifter by Kathy MacLeod
All Charged Up (Big Ideas That Changed the World, #5) by Don Brown
Mysterious Glowing Mammals: an Unexpected Discovery Sparks a Scientific Investigation by Maria Parrott-Ryan
Spies by David Long, ill. by Terri Po
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candice Fleming
Weird but True! Disney (Weird but True!) by National Geographic Kids
The Last Unexplored Place on Earth: Investigating the Ocean Floor with Alvin the Submersible by Aly Brown
The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet: Everything You Need to Know, from Training to Re-entry by Terry Virts, ill. by AndrĂ©s Lozano
Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney
Signs of Survival: a Memoir of the Holocaust by Renee Hartman with Joshua M. Greene
Top 10 Young Adult Nonfiction Books
(includes biographies & graphic novels, excludes Christian nonfiction)
The Mona Lisa Vanishes: a Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, ill. by Brett Helquist
Shipwrecked!: Diving for Hidden Time Capsules on the Ocean Floor by Martin W. Sandler
Race against Death: the Greatest POW Rescue of World War II by Deborah Hopkinson
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham
Race to the Bottom of the Earth by Rebecca E.F. Barone
You: the Story: a Writer’s Guide to Craft through Memory by Ruta Sepetys
Impossible Escape: a True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe by Steve Sheinkin
Above the Trenches: a World War I Flying Ace Tale (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, #12) by Nathan Hale
Tasty: a History of Yummy Experiments by Victoria Grace Elliott
Tolkien: Lighting Up the Darkness by Willy Duraffourg, ill. by Giancarlo Caracuzzo
Top 10 Adult Nonfiction Books
(includes biographies, excludes Christian nonfiction)
Forty Autumns: a Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall by Nina Willner
Wise Gals: the Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
Fragile Cargo: the World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China’s Forbidden City by Adam Brookes
The Princess Spy by Larry Loftis
Flee North: a Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery’s Borderland by Scott Shane
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman with Michael Bhaskar
Identity Crisis: the Murder, the Mystery, and the Missing DNA by Jefferson Bass
Sleeper Agent: the Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away by Ann Hagedorn
Race to the Future: 8,000 Miles to Paris – the Adventure That Accelerated the Twentieth Century by Kassia St. Clair
Top 10 Christian Nonfiction Picture Books
(includes picture book biographies, limited to 1 per series)
One Perfect Plan: the Bible’s Story in Tiny Poems by Nancy Tupper Ling, ill. by Alina Chau
The Big Wide Welcome: a True Story about Jesus, James, and a Church That Learned to Love All Sorts of People (Tales That Tell the Truth) by Trillia Newbell, ill. by Catalina Echeverri
His Grace Is Enough: How God Makes It Right When We’ve Got It Wrong by Melissa Kruger, ill. by Isobel Lundie
The Man Who Would Not Be Quiet (Little Me, Big God) by Steph Williams
Seek and Find: New Testament Bible Stories (Seek and Find) by Sarah Parker, ill. by André Parker
Maria Fearing: the Girl Who Dreamed of Distant Lands (Do Great Things for God) by K.A. Ellis, ill. by Taylor Barron
Say What?! by Clare Luther, ill. by Emma Randall
What Are Hands For? (Training Young Hearts) by Abbey Wedgeworth, ill. by Emma Randall
Big Feeling Days: a Book about Hard Things, Heavy Emotions, and Jesus' Love by Aubrey Sampson, ill. by Natalia Vasilica
Lottie Moon: the Girl Who Reached the World (Here I am) by Amy Whitfield, ill. by Marcin Piwowarski
Top 10 Middle Grade/Young Adult/Adult Christian Nonfiction
(limited to 1 per series)
The Truth in True Crime: What Investigating Death Teaches Us About the Meaning of Life by J. Warner Wallace
Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It by Jennie Allen
The Essential Archaeological Guide to Bible Lands: Uncovering Biblical Sites of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean World by Titus Kennedy
Garden of Truth by Ruth Chou Simmons
God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew with John & Elizabeth Sherrill
What Are You Going to Do?: How One Simple Question Transformed Lives Around the World: The Inspiring Story of Everett Swanson and the Founding of Compassion International by Eric Wilson and Matt Bronleewe
George Washington Carver (Heroes of Creation Science) by Michael Stamp & Reneé Dusseau
Let Earth Receive Her King: Daily Readings for Advent by Alistair Begg
The Other Side of Infamy: My Journey through Pearl Harbor and the World of War by Jim Downing with James Lund
All about Christmas (All about) by Alison Mitchell
Top 10 Leveled Readers
(includes graphic novels, fiction, and nonfiction)
Fox Has a Problem (Fox) Corey R. Tabor
Skiing Team Struggle (Kids’ Sports Stories) by Dionna L. Mann, ill. by Sophie Eves
Best Day Ever (Owl and Penguin, #2) by Vikram Madan
Full Moon Party (Fairylight Friends, #3) by Jessica Young, ill. by Marie Vanderbemden
I Can Help! (Princess Truly, #8) by Kelly Greenawalt, ill. by Amariah Rauscher
A Pie for Us (Best Buddies, #1) by Vicky Fang, ill. by Luisa Leal
Food for Thought (Gigi and Ojiji, #3) by Melissa Iwai
Pete the Cat and the Space Chase (Pete the Cat) by Kimberly & James Dean
Interrupting Cow and the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (Interrupting Cow) by Jane Yolen, ill. by JoĂ«lle Dreidemy
Sea Otters (National Geographic Kids Readers) by Laura Marsh
This is amazing! It will definitely impact my reading :)
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