The American NAtional Book Awards Announces Its 2016 Longlist For Yound People's Literature

For sixty years, the mission of the National Book Foundation and the National Book Awards has been to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America.

About the books:

'Booked' by Kwame Alexander (320 pages)
​Readers follow Nick's trials and triumphs on and off the pitch in Kwame Alexander's New York Times-bestselling follow-up to 'The Crossover'. This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match!

'Raymie Nightingale' by Kate DiCamillo (272 pages)
​New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving yet witty story of an unforgettable summer friendship. For fans of Jacqueline Wilson, David Almond and Katherine Rundell.

​'March: Book Three' by Andrew Aydin & John Lewis & Nate Powell (256 pages)
​Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, joins co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to bring the lessons of history to vivid life for a new generation, urgently relevant for today's world.

​'When the Sea Turned to Silver' by Grace Lin (384 pages)
A breathtaking, full-colour illustrated fantasy inspired by Chinese folklore, a companion to the Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestseller 'Where the Mountain Meets the Moon', which has sold over 250,000 copies in all formats.

'When the Moon was Ours' by Anna Marie McLemore (288 pages)
​To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel s wrist, and rumours say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumoured to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

​'Burn Baby Burn' by Meg Medina (320 pages)
While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel. 

​'Pax' by Sara Pennypacker (288 pages)
A moving story of the extraordinary friendship between a boy and his fox, and their epic journey to be reunited. Beautifully illustrated by multi-award winner, Jon Klassen.

'Ghost' by Jason Reynolds (192 pages)
Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down in this first electrifying novel of a brand-new series from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winning author Jason Reynolds. 

'Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story' by Caren B. Stelson (144 pages)
This striking work of narrative nonfiction tells the true story of six-year-old Sachiko Yasui's survival of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 and the heartbreaking and lifelong journey to find peace. This special book offers readers a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II and their aftermath. 

'The Sun is Also a Star' by Nicola Yoon (384 pages)
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?