Kiese Laymon, award-winning author and MacArthur Fellow, is out with a new picture book. City Summer, Country Summer celebrates the deep bonds of friendship forged among three Black boys on a summer journey to visit their grandmothers in Mississippi.  

The George M. Johnson memoir is No. 1 for the first time after Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer held the top spot the last three years. Two Ellen Hopkins titles made the list.

The author of Joyful Song, Heather Has Two Mommies, and Hachiko Waits shares the questions, anxiety, and outcome of a planned school visit in Missouri.

Jones, a library media specialist at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Louisville, KY, received the 2025 award, announced today by SLJ and sponsor Scholastic. Two School Librarian of the Year finalists were also selected: Tatanisha Love of Southwest Academy Magnet School for Science and Engineering in Baltimore, MD; and Jennifer Mathews of the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in Colorado Springs, CO.

To inspire students, Tim Jones proves a little fun goes a long way. For his work transforming the school library into a hub of learning and inspiring students and staff with compassion and humor, Jones has been named the 2025 School Librarian of the Year.

What's the favorite part of her job? Turning reluctant readers into bookworms, says Tatanisha Love, library media specialist at Southwest Academy Magnet School for Science and Engineering in Baltimore.

At the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, Jennifer Mathews built a library from scratch and learned American Sign Language and braille to better serve her preschool through 12th grade students. 

With expertise, empathy, and innovation, librarians have supported students and patrons through COVID-19.

Author Kelly Yang shares her unique COVID-19 experience, which reminded her of the power of stories, which "give us hope and light when our tank is empty."