2024 is at a close, and Iowa City Public Library Staff reflected on some of the literary highlights of the year, voting for new favorites in a variety of genres. In this list, you'll find the staff picks for Children's Books released in 2024. "Buffalo Fluffalo" by Bess Kalb was the standout title among staff, earning the greatest number of votes for this genre.
Buffalo Fluffalo
Kalb, Bess, 1987- author.
jE Kalb
"A sweet and silly buffalo who tries to bluff and fluff his way into being bigger than he really is"--
The Bletchley riddle
Sepetys, Ruta, author. https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJj8Pmtg3Cdxx7yBRkmfMP
jFICTION Sepetys Ruta
Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they're living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II--Britain's eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley's top minds to crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother. Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother's disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?
Take me to Laolao
Zhang, Kelly, author.
jE Zhang
When her beloved laolao can't attend the Spring Lantern Festival, Lili is taken on a Chinese mythology-inspired adventure as she drifts off to sleep, where she finally gets to see the one person she wants to see most.
Amari and the despicable wonders
Alston, B. B.
jFICTION Alston B. B.
War has come to the supernatural world, and Amari's two worst enemies are leading the charge. Elaine Harlowe has manipulated her way into becoming prime minister, using her mind control ability to force the Bureau to take up her vicious grudge against magiciankind. Meanwhile, Dylan Van Helsing, the newly crowned leader of the League of Magicians--and Amari's former partner--is after a destructive new power that would not only ensure the magicians' victory . . . it would make him invincible. With neither the Bureau nor the League safe for Amari, and her newly returned brother, Quinton, determined to keep her out of the fray, she and her friends decide to find a way to end the war on their own. So when they learn that the only way to stop Dylan is to find powerful magical inventions known as Wonders, they go after them. But wielding these items comes at a terrible cost, and Amari will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice . . .
Cookie time
Sima, Jessie, author, illustrator.
jE Sima
Eager to eat their cookies, siblings Kat and Ari decide to build a time machine, but they soon discover some things are worth waiting for.
Yasmin the vet
Faruqi, Saadia, author.
jREADER Faruqi Saadia
When Yasmin discovers an injured cat she immediately slips into the role of vet to care for the animal with the assistance of her grandmother, while her grandfather tries to contact the owner.
They call me No Sam!
Daywalt, Drew, author.
jFICTION Daywalt Drew
Meet Sam: an insolent pug--and incidental hero--who will stop at nothing to protect his family! When scientists Elaine and Gary Peterson adopt Sam to keep their son, Justin, company in the midst of a top-secret research project, they never imagine the precocious pup will cause more harm than good.
Umami
Grant, Jacob, 1984- author, illustrator.
jE Grant
Umami is tired of eating cold fish. But fish is what the penguins eat. Fish for every meal and birthdays too. To find new exciting foods, Umami adventures across the sea and discovers flavors and spices that are inspiring! She has to share them. But will the other penguins share her love for these different foods?
The sixth extinction : an unnatural history
Kolbert, Elizabeth, author.
j576.84 Kolbert
Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. Elizabeth Kolbert explores the Anthropocene era: the era defined by human impact. This young readers adaptation is made accessible with its additional explanations of scientific concepts. Along with photographs from the original book, the adaptation includes illustrations to help make the past, present, and future of extinction compelling for younger readers.
The café at the edge of the woods
Please, Mikey, author, illustrator.
jE Please
Rene and Glumfoot are ready to serve very fine cuisine at the café at the edge of the woods. But when their first customer, an ogre, demands pickled bats and battered mice, Rene is ready to give up! She can't possibly serve such rubbish. Or can she? With a little bit of compromise, perhaps she can satisfy her customer and still serve the most delicious grub.
A taste of home
Ho, Richard (Children's author)
jE Ho
Follows a group of children as they explore the different cultural foods in New York City and share their own experiences of what "home" means.
Bunny and Clyde
McDonald, Megan, author.
jFICTION Mcdonald Megan
These buddies, a rabbit and a chipmunk, are sick and tired of being good. They want to know what it's like to be baddies, and they want thrills and excitement, but they're going to need some experience making mischief. Next thing you know, they're shelving books in un-alphabetical order and borrowing markers without asking, and that's just the warm-up. In no time they'll be hardened criminals.
Cornbread & Poppy for the win
Cordell, Matthew, 1975- author, illustrator.
jREADER Cordell Matthew
Best friends Cornbread and Poppy race in a competitive cycling championship.
Eyes that weave the world's wonders
Ho, Joanna, author.
jE Ho
A powerful companion picture book about adoption and family. A young girl who is a transracial adoptee learns to love her Asian eyes and finds familial connection and meaning through them, even though they look different from her parents'. Her family bond is deep and their connection is filled with love. She wonders about her birth mom and comes to appreciate both her birth culture and her adopted family's culture, for even though they may seem very different, they are both a part of her, and that is what makes her beautiful. She learns to appreciate the differences in her family and celebrate them.
Ferris
DiCamillo, Kate, author.
jFICTION Dicamill Kate
During the summer before fifth grade, Ferris Wilkey has her hands full with her little sister terrorizing the town, her Aunt Shirley moving into their basement and her grandmother seeing a ghost--one who has wild, impractical and illuminating plans.
Amy Wu and the Lantern Festival
Zhang, Kat, 1991- author.
jE Zhang
When Amy accidentally breaks her family's lantern, she learns to mend the old with the new to create a new tradition. Includes instructions on how to make homemade lanterns.
Into the goblin market
VanSickle, Vikki, 1982- author.
jE Vansickl
An ode to Christina Rossetti's classic poem and a clever homage to familiar fairy-tale villains, this story of two sisters will enthrall readers with its beautifully detailed art and enchanting writing.
Olivetti
Millington, Allie, author.
jFICTION Millingt Allie
Witty typewriter Olivetti and twelve-year-old introvert Ernest embark on a mission to find Ernest's missing mother that takes them across San Francisco.
Hello : how Nüwa created the world
Wang, Viola, author, illustrator.
jE Wang
Demonstrating the importance of language, community and communication, this...story follows Nüwa, a lonely young goddess-- and the only person on Earth--who longs for someone to talk to until she finds a way to create a friend whose 'Hello' creates magic.
Not nothing
Forman, Gayle, author.
jFICTION Forman Gayle
When troubled twelve-year-old Alex is assigned to spend his summer volunteering at a senior living facility, he forms a unique bond with a Holocaust survivor and learns lessons that change the trajectory of his life.
Little Shrew
Miyakoshi, Akiko, 1982- author, illustrator.
jFICTION Miyakoshi Akiko
This collection of three interconnected stories follows the life of Little Shrew as he goes about his everyday activities of commuting to work to reflecting on his hopes and dreams to welcoming his friends for a visit.
Orris and Timble : the beginning
DiCamillo, Kate, author.
jREADER DiCamillo Kate
Orris the rat lives alone in an old barn surrounded by his treasures, until the day his solitude is disrupted by a sudden flutter of wings and a loud screech. A small owl has gotten caught in a trap in the barn. Can Orris "make the good and noble choice" (as the king on his prized sardine can might recommend) and rescue the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies? And if he does, will he be ready for the consequences?
The Hotel Balzaar
DiCamillo, Kate, author.
jFICTION Dicamill Kate
At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta's mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform, and instructs Marta to roam as she will but quietly, invisibly like a little mouse. While her mother cleans rooms, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting of an angel's wing over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all the while dreaming of the return of her soldier father, who has gone missing. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story--in fact, seven stories in all, each to be told in its proper order. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father's disappearance lie in the countess's tales?
Roar-choo!
Cheng, Charlotte, 1982- author.
jE Cheng
When a dragon gets sick, his phoenix friend rushes to help and ends up needing his help in return.
Just keep walking
Downing, Erin Soderberg, author.
jFICTION Downing Erin
Two years after her parents' surprising and painful split, twelve-year-old Jo and her mom find themselves on the 100-mile hike on the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior's north shore--a journey that Jo had always looked forward to hiking with her dad. It's not a situation that either of them ever predicted they'd find themselves in, yet here they are in the wilderness with their entire lives stuffed into a pair of thirty-pound packs. What begins as a journey to prove to her father that she and her mom can make it on their own turns into a quest to rediscover their strength, build resilience, and prove that they can survive--both for themselves and for each other.
The boy and the elephant
Blackwood, Freya, author, illustrator.
jE Blackwoo
A boy cherishes an overgrown piece of land where he befriends an imagined elephant formed by the trees, but when builders arrive to clear the space, he must devise a plan to save his cherished friend.
My Mama is a work of art
Acabado, Hana, author, illustrator.
jE Acabado
A young boy admires his mother's body art and each part of her life her tattoos show.
Birthday soup
Chang, Grace Seo, author.
jE Chang
Korean American Maia learns the importance of a mother's love while making a traditional birthday soup.
"Buffalo Fluffalo" was ranked the Best of Children's Books by ICPL Staff for 2024.
- Becky