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What’s captured reader attention the last seven days? Top picks in middle grade and graphic format books, along with the political climate and the potential impact on schools and libraries.

SLJ's 2024 best middle and high school nonfiction selections run the gamut from insightful memoir; thoughtful explorations of cultural, biological, and environmental phenomena; to unrelenting exposures of dark times in our world's sociopolitical history—and the crucial lessons we must learn from the past.

The blossoming ranks of stellar biographies for young readers continue to crowd the shelves. Japanese athletes hit their summits in two vastly different ways, an author attempts to right the record on Rosalind Franklin, and a forgotten sports hero at last gets his due. And that's just the start of the Best Books in the category of nonfiction for the elementary grades. Come have a look.

Herewith, authors who have not won a Newbery Medal, including those who have won at least one Honor and some of the many excellent writers who haven’t yet been awarded any Newbery recognition. Emily and Steven kick off the conversation on "Heavy Medal."