“With great power comes great responsibility.” These words reverberate through our heads each year as we select the six finalists for the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature. It’s a job we take seriously; after all, the books we choose will be read for generations to come. This year we were joined by jurors Christopher A. Biss-Brown, curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia, and Michelle H. Martin, the Beverly Cleary Endowed Professor in Children and Youth Services in the Information School at the University of Washington. We’re delighted with our choices; these books will stir the imagination, serve as healing balms, and remind readers that they aren’t alone.

Our two picture books are both informational texts that take refreshingly original approaches to their subjects. There Was a Party for Langston (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, 2023) demonstrates that Hughes’ poetry has the power to provoke laughter, tears, and physical movement. That last item is at the heart of this soaring ode, which sees a host of authors gather to celebrate the opening of the Langston Hughes Auditorium at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Jason Reynolds’ verse positively sings, while the handmade stamps by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey bring to life a high-stepping soiree where the likes of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka cut loose and where Hughes’ words leap and cavort across the page.

We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America (Orchard/Scholastic, April 16) is a much-needed counternarrative to textbooks that leave out the stories of marginalized peoples and to the recent rise in anti-Asian sentiment. Writing in verse that’s by turns galvanizing and reassuring, Joanna Ho speaks eloquently of resistance, courage, and community; the titular pearls are a masterful metaphor for Asian Americans’ ability to persevere—and even triumph—despite oppression. Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya’s accompanying portraits of ordinary people are commanding yet startlingly intimate; this is a work that’s vital for a true understanding of U.S. history.

Our middle-grade finalists are two profoundly moving works of fiction. Sherri Winston’s Shark Teeth (Bloomsbury, Jan. 16) follows Kita as she attempts to keep herself and her siblings out of foster care despite their mother’s neglect. Winston’s vigorous prose captures the protagonist’s youthful voice perfectly; readers who rarely see their own families represented in literature will feel embraced by this tale that balances Kita’s devastating pain with her determination and hope.

Inspired by the true story of the Grand Mosque of Paris, whose members worked to save Jewish Parisians during World War II, Hiba Noor Khan’s Safiyyah’s War (Allida/HarperCollins, May 7) centers on an 11-year-old Muslim girl who, despite her fear, begins to take perilous risks when the Nazis invade. Khan blends an immersive sense of setting, gripping suspense, and beautifully realized characters. In Safiyyah, readers will find a protagonist whose courage and empathy are unmatched—a hero to light the way in our own troubled times.

Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow (Candlewick, 2023) has already made a big splash as both a 2023 National Book Award Finalist and a 2024 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book. The protagonist, Ian, faces struggles shared by too many young people across the U.S.—he’s living in poverty with a single mother who grapples with opioid addiction. In his YA debut, which combines literary sophistication with an accessible voice that will hook even reluctant readers, Cadow evinces a deep respect for rural communities and practical, hands-on ingenuity and intelligence. Frequent flashes of humor, the deep love between a boy and his dog, and an abiding love for nature buoy the story, sustaining an overall sense of hope, even in the face of tremendous hardship.

Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo (Make Me a World, Feb. 6) is a YA verse novel that beautifully showcases the celebrated author’s gifts. Elhillo, whose 2021 YA debut, Home Is Not a Country, earned her a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor and made the National Book Award longlist, has also won awards for her poetry for adults. Sixteen-year-old Samira, who’s growing up in Washington, D.C., has a passion for poetry and a deep curiosity about the world beyond her tightknit community. Yet after being exploited by a charismatic and manipulative man in his 20s whom she met in an online poetry forum, Samira turns crushing betrayal into positive change and growth.This is a profoundly nuanced story of girlhood and empowerment.

Please join us for a livestream of the Kirkus Prize ceremony on the Kirkus Reviews YouTube page, Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon are young readers’ editors.