While many associations, journals, bloggers, and libraries publish their lists of best kids’ books of the year right at calendar’s close, some important ones do arrive later in the winter and even into spring. With summer on the horizon, we want to share these with you so that you can restock your shelves for vacation reading.
CCBC CHOICES
First up is the large list from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, published annually by the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. This list is created by a group of professional librarians who curate the Center’s collection, an institution offering a wide array of access points for collection developers across the continent. The CCBC Choices list reflecting 2025 best kids’ books presents an array of topics and age recommendations. Each listing includes full bibliographic information and multiple access points support collection building focuses on subjects, age or format interest, and more. This year’s list includes THIS IS NOT A SMALL VOICE, published by Nosy Crow; THE PLAYDATE, published by Lantana; CHANGING TIDES, published by Tiger Tales; PEE AND POO, published by NubeOcho; HAVE A GOOD TRIP, MOUSSE!, published by Transit Children’s Editions; and three from Gecko Press: TWIGS AND STONES, SO TIRED, SO WIDE AWAKE, and DIGGERS, DOZERS, AND DUMPERS.
ALSC NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOKS
The Association for Library Service to Children’s Notable Children’s Books list is published annually, reflecting selected titles from the previous calendar year, by the division of the American Library Association specializing in professional services and materials for those from birth to age 14. Divided into groups by age, the newest selections for Younger Children includes CROCO, published by Tapioca Stories; DOWNPOUR, published by Red Comet Press; ASTRO, published by Transit Children’s Editions; HARRIET TUBMAN, FORCE OF NATURE, published by What On Earth!; and OF THE SUN, published by Barefoot Books. Listings include full bibliographic information and are arranged by recommended age level.
CAPITOL CHOICES
Capitol Choices is a now-30-year-old group of Washington, DC, librarians, teachers, booksellers, and children’s literature specialists who work each year, all year, to identify their recommendations of the most outstanding titles of the year as Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens. The list is divided by age level, with each title given a one-line annotation as well as full bibliographic detail. The current list includes BLUE SKY MORNING, published by Floris Books; DOWNPOUR, published by Red Comet Press; FRANK’S RED HAT, published by Walker Books Australia; and HARRIET TUBMAN, FORCE OF NATURE, published by What On Earth!.
BANK STREET BEST BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
Bank Street College of Education disseminates its Best Children’s Books of the Year annually. This is a lengthy, fine-grained collection, built with clearly stated parameters by dozens of children’s literature professionals, and arranged both topically and by recommended age. Entries include full bibliographic information, annotations, specific reading age recommendations, and coding for such attributes as Outstanding Merit, Diversity, or specialized format. The 2025 edition has now been published in June 2026 and includes many titles with which we are familiar and pleased to see here. Because of this list’s length and coding structure, we have tried here to carry over the age categories (in blue), the names of sublists (in bold italics), and codings (in italics).
In the Under Five category Bank Street recommends SUNDAY, published by Blue Dot Kids Books; BLUE SKY MORNING, published by Floris Books and particularly coded both for Outstanding Merit and Diversity; GET DRESSED, BELLY BUTTON!, a Board Book also coded for Outstanding Merit and Diversity, and THE FIERCE LITTLE WOMAN AND THE WICKED PIRATE, both published by Gecko Press; and EMMIE BUILDS SOMETHING NEW, published by Red Comet Press. Under Concept Books for this age group, they recommend five Board Books we love: TUMMY TIME: PARK, published by Nosy Crow; UPSIDE DOWN ANIMALS, published by Tiger Tales; and EGG, EGG, EGG!, MY FIRST BLACK AND WHITE BOOK: PLAY!, and MY FIRST BLACK AND WHITE BOOK: TOUCH!, all published by Post Wave. For this age category, recommended for Humor, there are HANK MEETS FRANK, from Tiger Tales; OUT AND ABOUT, published by Helvetiq; and, noted for Outstanding Merit, THE MONSTER IN THE LAKE, published by Gecko Press. Two titles in the Social Emotional Learning list for this age category both received the annotation for Diversity: CHANGING TIDES, published by Tiger Tales, and THE RAINBOW SHEEP, published by Beaming Books.
Recommended for Ages Five to Nine Fiction, find 15 of our friends’ books among ten different topics. A SEED IN THE UNIVERSE, published by Post Wave, is among the Concept Books for this age group. The Family & Community list includes KWESI AND NANA RUBY RUBY LEARN TO SWIM, published by Barefoot Books, and indicated for its Diversity. CIRCUS OF SHADOWS, published by Cicada Books, is in the list of Fantasy titles, as are two noted as Read Alouds: MR. NORTON’S NEW HAT, published by Tiger Tales, and HAVE A GOOD TRIP, MOUSSE!, published by Transit Children’s Editions. Under Historical Fiction, we find CHIDORI, published by Pajama Press, and noted for its Diversity. GIVING THANKS WITH HALMONI, published by Red Comet Press, and THE REMEMBERING CANDLE, published by Barefoot Books, are both listed under Holidays & Religion, and both are noted for their Diversity. WHO ATE STEVE?, published by Nosy Crow, appears in the Humor list. The Science Fiction list includes ASTRO, published by Transit Children’s Editions. Three books published by Floris Books are listed in the topic of Social Emotional Learning: THE GRUMPY GHOST UPSTAIRS, THE SLIGHTLY SPOOKY TALE OF FOX AND MOLE, and, noted as having Outstanding Merit and presenting Diversity, MY HOME IS IN MY BACKPACK. Nosy Crow’s RECYCLING DAY is listed under Ecology. The STEM category includes SALMON RUN, published Red Comet Press, and noted here for Outstanding Merit.
Books in the Ages Nine to Twelve category include both fiction and nonfiction titles we love. In the Fantasy list there are two published by Walker Books Australia: LOSING THE PLOT, and, noted both for Outstanding Merit and as a Read Aloud recommendation, EVIE AND RHINO. Folk and Fairytales includes THE EDGE OF THE SILVER SEA, published by Floris Books. GIANT, published by Little Island and recommended as a Read Aloud is listed a Historical Fiction selection. The Humor list includes the Graphic Novel TRIAL AND ERROR, published by Creston Books, and THE VERY FINE CLOCK, published by Transit Children’s Editions. Noted for Outstanding Merit, THIS IS NOT A SMALL VOICE, published by Nosy Crow is listed among the Poetry books, and is noted for Diversity. HARRIET TUBMAN, FORCE OF NATURE, published by What On Earth!, appears on the Biography & Memoir list and is noted for Outstanding Merit, Diversity, and as a Read Aloud. Nosy Crow’s SECRETS OF THE DEAD is on the History list. The STEM list includes BRIDGES, published by Post Wave and tagged as a Graphic Novel; and OMNIBIRD, published by Gecko Press.
Under Science Fiction in the category Ages Twelve to Fourteen, Little Island’s SOMEONE’S BEEN MESSING WITH REALITY is listed.
The Ages Fourteen and Up category lists Little Island’s THE GONE BOOK, tagging it Mature. The Adventure & Mystery list for this age includes THE HIDDEN GIRL, published by Walker Books Australia, and tags it both for Diversity and as Mature.
Get Reading!
Just when you thought you had tracked down all the kids’ books listed as the best for 2025, here’s a whole new slate for your summer reading!
