Books in USBBY Outstanding International Books List - Grades 9-12
An initiative of the United States section of the International Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) to produce an annual list of the outstanding children's books from around the world. The aim is to promote the best of international children's literature, introduce young people to outstanding authors and illustrators from other countries, and help children and young people in the United States see the world from diverse perspectives.
2026
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hidden Girl | Louise Bassett | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| The Bees: The Women Who Rocked Lithuania | Akvilė Magicdustė | Winner | Log In To Like | |
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Solo | Kwame Alexander | Winner | Log In To Like |
| Old as Stone, Hard as Rock: Of Humans and War | Alessandro Sanna | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Self Portrait | Ludwig Volbeda | Winner | Log In To Like |
2025
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crash Landing | Li Charmaine Anne | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Loud: Stories to Make Your Voice Heard | Anna & Elenora et al. Cercignano & Antonioni | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| The Book of Denial | Ricardo Chávez Castañeda | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Ukraine: Remember Also Me: Testimonies from the War | George Butler | Winner | Log In To Like |
2024
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savage Her Reply | Deirdre Sullivan | Winner | Log In To Like | |
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Pardalita | Joana Estrela | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Okinawa | Susumu Higa | Winner | Log In To Like |
| Catfish Rolling | Clara Kumagai | Winner | Log In To Like | |
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Stateless | Elizabeth Wein | Winner | Log In To Like |
2023
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Amazona | Canizales | Winner | Log In To Like |
| Ironhead or, Once a Young Lady | Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Shuna’s Journey | Hayao Miyazaki | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| This is Our Place | Vitor Martins | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa 1910 – 1948 – A Graphic History | Richard Conyngham | Winner | Log In To Like |
2022
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking in Two Worlds | Wab Kinew | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| All the Colors of Life | Lisa Aisato | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Carry On: Poetry by Young Immigrants | Simon Boulerice | Winner | Log In To Like | |
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Freedom Swimmer | Wai Chim | Winner | Log In To Like |
| When the World Was Ours | Liz Kessler | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| War | José Jorge Letria | Winner | Log In To Like |
2021
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunted by the Sky | Tanaz Bhathena | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River | Zhiying Yu | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Deeplight | Frances Hardinge | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Somebody Give This Heart a Pen | Sophia Thakur | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Blue Flag, Vol. 1 | Kaito | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Blood Moon | Lucy Cuthew | Winner | Log In To Like |
2020
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ye | Guilherme Petreca | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| This Place: 150 Years Retold | Various Authors | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| Perception: A Photo Series | K.C. Adams | Winner | Log In To Like | |
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Questions I Am Asked about the Holocaust | Hédi Fried | Winner | Log In To Like |
| The Things She’s Seen | Ambelin & Ezekiel Kwaymullina | Winner | Log In To Like | |
| The Casket of Time | Andri Snær Magnason | Winner | Log In To Like | |
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Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black | Marcus Sedgwick | Winner | Log In To Like |