Lists for Kids and Adults Reflect America’s Diverse Local Literary Heritage
The 56 affiliated Centers for the Book of the Library of Congress have chosen books, called Great Reads, that will be recognized at the 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival.
Every year since 2002, these Library affiliates have chosen a book to celebrate at the Book Festival in the Library’s Roadmap to Reading — a vast space at the festival where every center has a table to promote their book choices as well as other aspects of their state’s or territory’s unique literary heritage. Each Center for the Book affiliate chooses its Great Reads titles.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels
“The titles named are as diverse as the states and territories that choose them,” said Guy Lamolinara, head of the Center for the Book Affiliates Program. “The Roadmap to Reading and the participation of the affiliate Centers for the Book make the National Book Festival a truly national event.”
The Library of Congress Center for the Book (https://www.loc.gov/programs/center-for-the-book/about-this-program/) has affiliates in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and Northern Marianas. These affiliates carry out the center’s mission of promoting books, reading, libraries and literacy, as well as their local literary heritage.
The 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival is Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Authors from across the nation will participate in programs that bring writers directly in touch with their readers. Authors who will be featured at the festival will be announced this summer.
The 2024 Great Reads for Kids are:
A
Alabama: Charles Ghigna, “The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry: 101 Favorite Poems for Children”
Alaska: Nasugraq Rainey Hopson, “Eagle Drums”
American Samoa: Marilyn Down, “Tasi of American Samoa”
Arizona: Phoebe Fox, “On the Verde River”
Arkansas: Cathy Melvin, “Cypress Knees and Tupelo Trees: Discovering Plants and Animals of the Swamp”
C
California: Lilliam Rivera, “Barely Floating”
Colorado: Meg Long, “Cold The Night, Fast The Wolves”
Connecticut: Cindy L. Rodriguez, “Three Pockets Full”
D
Delaware: Michelle Meadows, “Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles (Who Did It First?)”
District of Columbia: Leah Henderson, “Your Voice, Your Vote”
F
Florida: Sara E. Echenique, “Our Roof Is Blue”
G
Georgia: Mo Netz, “The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines”
Guam: Oliver Sacks, “The Island of the Colorblind”
H
Hawaii: Kaylin Melia George, “Aloha Everything”
I
Idaho: Randy’L Teton, “It’s Her Story: Sacajawea”
Illinois: Sarah Aronson, “Abzuglutely!: Battling, Bellowing Bella Abzug”
Indiana: Gabrielle Balkan, “What a Map Can Do”
Iowa: Molly Griffin, “Ten Beautiful Things”
K
Kansas: Grant Snider, “One Boy Watching”
Kentucky: Brittany J. Thurman, “Forever and Always”
L
Louisiana: Ruby Bridges, “I Am Ruby Bridges”
M
Maine: Maryann Cocca-Leffler, “Fighting for Yes!: The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann”
Maryland: Rosa Chang, “My Indigo World: A True Story of the Color Blue”
Massachusetts: Linda Coombs, “Colonization and the Wampanoag Story”
Michigan: Katie Yamasaki, “Shapes, Lines and Light: My Grandfather’s American Journey”
Minnesota: Cori Doerrfeld, “Beneath”
Mississippi: Alice Faye Duncan, “Traveling Shoes: The Story of Willye White, U.S. Olympian and Long Jump Champion”
Missouri: Pedro Martín, “Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir”
Montana: Linda Elovitz Marshall, “Bob Marshall: Defender of the Wilderness”
N
Nebraska: James Solheim, “Eat Your Woolly Mammoths!: Two Million Years of the World’s Most Amazing Food Facts, from the Stone Age to the Future”
Nevada: Sophie Sheppard, “The Moon’s Tear: A Desert Night’s Dream”
New Hampshire: Amy Makechnie, “The McNifficents”
New Jersey: Wendy Mass, “Lo & Behold”
New Mexico: Daniel W. Vandever, “Herizon”
New York: George Sleden, “Cricket in Times Square”
North Carolina: Eileen Heyes, “Bountiful Red Acres: Two Farms, Two Families, and A Year on the Land”
North Dakota: Lindsey Undlin, “Spiral”
Northern Marianas: Adora Jay San Nicolas, “Hafa Sinentete-mu?”
O
Ohio: Chiquita Mullins Lee and Carmella Van Vleet, “You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce! The Storied Life of Folk Artist Elijah Pierce”
Oklahoma: Eddie Chuculate, “This Indian Kid: A Native American Memoir”
Oregon: Dane Liu, “Laolao’s Dumplings”
P
Pennsylvania: Kelly Starling Lyons, “Ty’s Travels: Camp-Out”
Puerto Rico: Sara Gavrell Ortiz, “La coquí nómada y el mar de estrellas” (Spanish version) / “Lani: the Nomad Coquí and the Sea of Stars” (English version)
R
Rhode Island: Hayley Rocco, “Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough”
S
South Carolina: Varian Johnson, “The Parker Inheritance”
South Dakota: Billy Mills & Donna Janell Bowman, “Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills”
T
Tennessee: Savannah Allen, “The Nature Journal: A Backyard Adventure”
Texas: Barb Rosenstock, “The Mystery of the Monarchs: How Kids, Teachers and Butterfly Fans Helped Fred and Norah Urquhart Track the Great Monarch Migration”
U
U.S. Virgin Islands: CM Rohan, “Ziggy on the Rock”
Utah: Ally Condie, “Matched”
V
Vermont: Dan Nott, “Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day”
Virginia: Kelly Ann Jacobson, “Robin and Her Misfits”
W
Washington: Ellie Peterson, “How to Hug a Pufferfish”
West Virginia: Marc Harshman & Anna Egan Smucker, “Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece”
Wisconsin: Maria Parrott-Ryan, “Mysterious Glowing Mammals: An Unexpected Discovery Sparks a Scientific Investigation”
Wyoming: Catherine Barr, “The Wolves of Yellowstone: A Rewilding Story”
The National Book Festival Roadmap to Reading is made possible by the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
