ABC Group Unveils 2019 Best Books for Young Readers Catalog Cover Art

The 2019 ABC Best Books for Young Readers catalog cover will feature art from Babymoon, written by Hayley Barrett and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Candlewick). The cover art was chosen by the ABC Children’s Group Advisory Council from publisher submissions.

This year’s catalog will feature titles for children and teens that have been recommended by booksellers at American Booksellers Association member stores. Booksellers at all ABA member stores are encouraged to submit title recommendations by Wednesday, July 3, via the catalog’s online submission form; booksellers’ recommendations for the Kids’ Indie Next Lists as well as Indies Introduce picks will also be considered for the catalog.

Titles must be published in the year 2019, though holiday titles will not be included so stores can use the catalog year-round. Suggestions are needed in the following categories: infant/toddler, picture books, nonfiction, activity books, early readers, middle grade, YA, and graphic novels. 

This year, the ABC Group is also encouraging booksellers to recommend titles that are bilingual, feature diverse characters, have strong female characters, or have been translated into other languages. It is recommended that booksellers nominate titles that are bestsellers and buzzworthy books, but also unique finds.

The 2019 catalog is scheduled to land in stores in early September; a catalog order form will be available to ABA member stores later in the summer.

ABA publisher partners are also invited to submit titles for inclusion in the catalog via the publisher submission form on BookWeb. Questions about the catalog should be addressed to ABC Children’s Group Manager Gen de Botton.