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Librarian, author, and editor Angie Manfredi wowed Youth Services Summit participants with her lightning-fast book talking skills during her “2020 in Books ICYMI” presentation. Covering a range of titles for readers birth to eighteen, Manfredi strategically highlighted books outside the obvious award-winners and bestsellers. Books that are worth librarians’ money and should be in collections everywhere. Manfredi’s reminder: your collection matters. Your collection “tells the story to your community about who is welcome and who is seen.”

I encourage you to check out the whole presentation, as Manfredi’s enthusiasm is infectious and had me placing all sorts of holds and orders. Covering it all would be a very long blog post, so here are some highlights.  See her entire presentation and her slide deck at the end of this blog post.

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Board & Picture Book

​According to Manfredi, “nobody does board books better than poets,” which makes Curls by Ruth Forman, illus. Geneva Bowers (Little Simon) and the rest in the 4-book series must-buys. Another must-buy that is perfect for a storytime refresh is Bedtime for Sweet Creatures by Nikki Grimes, illus. Elizabeth Zunon (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky). 

​Noting that holiday collections should include “all holidays for all children,” Manfredi recommends Binny’s Diwali by Thrity Umrigar, illus. Nidhi Chanani (Scholastic) and Alex’s Good Fortune by Benson Shum (Penguin Workshop) as two that might help fill gaps in collections. 

​“It’s okay to acknowledge scary things and collective trauma,” reminded Manfredi as she talked about All of a Sudden and Forever: Help and Healing After the Oklahoma City Bombing by Chris Barton, illus. Nicole Xu (Carolrhoda Books). This nuanced and careful introduction to one of history’s worst tragedies shows how sometimes bad things happen but healing can come from that. 

Here is a bibliocommons list of board books and picture books that Manfredi recommended in her presentation.

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Readers & Chapter Book

​Manfredi shared tons of great comics suggestions, including highlighting the recent trend in early reader comics. For those looking for the next Gerald & Piggie, try the Fox & Rabbit series by Beth Ferry, illus. Gergely Dudás (Amulet Books) or the Bunbun and Bonbon series by Jess Keating (Graphix). Raina Telgemeier fans should dive right on into Twins by Varian Johnson, illus. Shannon Wright (Graphix), Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley (RH Graphic), and the Shirley and Jamila series by Gillian Goerz (Dial). 

​Another publishing trend Manfredi shared was the boom in 80-112 page, highly-illustrated chapter books. She specifically called out three publishing imprints: Aladdin QUIX (Simon & Schuster), Acorn (Scholastic), and Harper Chapters (HarperCollins). Smaller publishers like Capstone are getting in the game as well, with series like Astrid and Apollo by V.T. Bidania, illus. Dara Lashia Lee (Picture Window) and Sadiq by Siman Nuurali, illus. Anjan Sarkar (Picture Window).

For older readers, Manfredi’s seeing a lot more horror and science-fiction. Two highlights: Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon (Scholastic) and Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt (Feiwel & Friends).

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Young Adult

​Take Manfredi’s word for it: vampires are back in YA publishing and anthologies are coming in hot. For both, Manfredi recommends Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Córdova & Natalie C Parker (Imprint). But the two books from 2020 Manfredi says she was thinking about all year were Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles (HarperTeen) and Parachutes by Kelly Yang (Katherine Tegen Books), both realistic fiction. Manfredi’s highest praise, though, went to The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (RH Graphic), a graphic novel she calls “one of the best YA books ever.” (I 100% agree with her on that assessment!)

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Watch the session from 9/25/2021

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Manfredi's Slide Deck

Click here to see Manfredi's slide deck.  You will need to log into Google in order to view it.

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For More Information

To wrap it all up, Manfredi shared some tips & tricks for keeping up with publishing:

• Read Children’s Book Council Hot Off the Presses (free)
• Read PW Children’s Bookshelf Newsletter & on sale calendar (free)
• Let publishers market to you (if you want, how you want) by reaching out to them

If you liked Manfredi’s presentation and want more, her series of similar talks for the State Library of Iowa can be found here: Check It Out! (2021) and Check It Out! (2019). You can also find her on Twitter @misskubelik, her blog Fat Girl Reading, or connect with her via email.

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Author

Alec Chunn
Eugene Public Library
​CSD Secretary