CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command.

Speculative and Science Fiction for Children and Teens

Compiled by Merri Lindgren and Megan Schliesman

Speculative and science fiction can imagine futures that challenge children and teens to think critically about society today. It can also offer intriguing perspectives on what life on earth, or in space, might look like in the coming centuries. Whether funny (occasionally) or frightening (from a little to a lot), it's a genre that is rich with possibilities.

The books on this list are divided into the following thematic categories:

Too Close for Comfort? Eye-opening--and sometimes unsettling--looks at the present or future that shed light on our society and our world today
Travels through Time: From time-bending journeys into the future to alternate histories recasting the past
Aliens Here, Aliens There . . . : Close encounters with beings from other worlds often illuminate human nature
Dystopias and Disasters: Whether the breakdown of society is caused by war and greed or global warming, these bleak futurescapes offer hope, usually in the form of one or more young protagonists in search of something better

In cases of series (e.g., "The Hunger Games"), we have only listed the first book.

Many of the books could have fit in more than one category. And a number of them span both the speculative/science fiction and fantasy genres. You might also be interested in our two CCBC fantasy bibliographies, or searching “Speculative Fiction” in our Recommended Book Search.

Too Close for Comfort?

Munmun
by Andrews, Jesse
Abrams/Amulet, 2018. 404 pages. Age 12 and older

Boy 2.0 (#1)
by Baptiste, Tracey
Algonquin/Hachette/Workman, 2024. 293 pages. Ages 9-13

The Tree and the River
by Becker, Aaron
Illustrated by Aaron Becker. Candlewick, 2023. 30 pages. Ages 4-9

Out of Body
by Davenport, Nia
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2024. 265 pages. Age 13 and older

On the Edge of Gone
by Duyvis, Corinne
Abrams/Amulet, 2016. 456 pages. Age 14 and older

The Last Cuentista
by Higuera, Donna Barba
Levine Querido, 2021. 320 pages. Ages 10-13

Beautiful Blue World
by LaFleur, Suzanne
Random House/Wendy Lamb Books, 2016. 210 pages. Ages 8-12

Summer of Salt
by Leno, Katrina
HarperTeen, 2018. 256 pages. Age 13 and older

We Set the Dark on Fire
by Mejia, Tehlor Kay
HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books, 2019. 364 pages. Age 13 and older

The Rest of Us Just Live Here
by Ness, Patrick
HarperCollins, 2015. 317 pages. Age 13 and older

Tentacle & Wing
by Porter, Sarah
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 263 pages. Ages 9-13

Alone Out Here
by Redgate, Riley
Buena Vista/Hyperion, 2022. 392 pages. Age 13 and older

Bone Gap
by Ruby, Laura
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2015. 345 pages. Age 14 and older

Travels through Time

Midnight at the Electric
by Anderson, Jodi Lynn
HarperTeen, 2017. 257 pages. Age 12 and older

The Diviners
by Bray, Libba
Little, Brown, 2012. 578 pages. Age 13 and older

Dragons in a Bag
by Elliott, Zetta
Illustrated by Geneva B. Random House, 2018. 154 pages. Ages 7-10

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer
by Giles, Lamar
Illustrated by Dapo Adeola. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Versify, 2019. 304 pages. Ages 8-11

Rust in the Root
by Ireland, Justina
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2022. 439 pages. Age 13 and older

The First State of Being
by Kelly, Erin Entrada
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2024. 253 pages. Ages 9-12

A Wrinkle in Time
by L'Engle, Madeleine
Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan, 1962. 211 pages. Ages 8-12

Razorhurst
by Larbalestier, Justine
Soho Teen, 2015. 309 pages. Age 14 and older

Countdown to Yesterday
by Marr, Shirley
Simon & Schuster, 2024. 259 pages. Ages 9-12

Da Vinci's Cat
by Murdock, Catherine Gilbert
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2021. 278 pages. Ages 9-12

Burn
by Ness, Patrick
HarperCollins/HarperTeen, 2020. 371 pages. Age 14 and older

The Art Thieves
by Rogers, Andrea L.
Levine Querido, 2024. 384 pages. Age 13 and older

When You Reach Me
by Stead, Rebecca
Random House/Wendy Lamb Books, 2009. 208 pages. Ages 10-13

Aliens Here, Aliens There ...

Landscape with Invisible Hand
by Anderson, M. T.
Candlewick, 2017. 149 pages. Age 13 and older

First Day on Earth
by Castellucci, Cecil
Scholastic Press, 2011. 160 pages. Age 13 and older

We Are Definitely Human
by Fang, X.
Illustrated by X. Fang. Tundra, 2024. 48 pages. Ages 4-8

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything
by Gilliland, Raquel Vasquez
Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse, 2020. 415 pages. Age 12 and older

Boom!
by Haddon, Mark
David Fickling Books, 2010. 194 pages. Ages 8-11

We Are the Ants
by Hutchinson, Shaun David
Simon Pulse, 2016. 451 pages. Age 14 and older

Exo
by Lee, Fonda
Scholastic Press, 2017. 384 pages. Age 12 and older

Miss Meteor
by Mejia, Tehlor Kay and Anna-Marie McLemore
HarperCollins/HarperTeen, 2020. 392 pages. Age 12 and older

Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature
by Pyle, Nathan W.
Illustrated by Nathan W. Pyle. Harper/HarperCollins, 2021. 36 pages. Ages 5-9

We're Not From Here
by Rodkey, Geoff
Crown/Random House, 2019. 249 pages. Ages 9-12

Prime Baby
by Yang, Gene Luen
Illustrated by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim. First Second/Roaring Brook, 2010. 56 pages. Age 9 and older

Dystopias and Disasters

The Scorpion Rules
by Bow, Erin
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2015. 374 pages. Age 13 and older

The Hunger Games
by Collins, Suzanne
Scholastic Press, 2008. 420 pages. Age 12 and older

The Marrow Thieves
by Dimaline, Cherie
Cormorant/Dancing Cat Books (DCB), 2017. 234 pages. Age 14 and older

The Getaway
by Giles, Lamar
Scholastic/Scholastic Press, 2022. 382 pages. Age 14 and older

The Summer Prince
by Johnson, Alaya Dawn
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2013. 289 pages. Age 15 and older

Legend
by Lu, Marie
Putnam, 2011. 336 pages. Ages 12-15

Agnes at the End of the World
by McWilliams, Kelly
Little, Brown, 2020. 417 pages. Age 13 and older

The Shadow Speaker
by Okorafor-Mbachu, Nnedi
Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2007. 336 pages. Ages 11-14

Lizard Radio
by Schmatz, Pat
Candlewick, 2015. 280 pages. Age 13 and older

Scythe (Arc of the Scythe, Book 1)
by Shusterman, Neal
Simon & Schuster, 2016. 433 pages. Age 14 and older

Dry
by Shusterman, Neal and Jarrod Shusterman
Simon & Schuster, 2018. 390 pages. Age 13 and older

Orleans
by Smith, Sherri L.
Putnam, 2013. 324 pages. Age 12 and older

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.