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Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault by Megan Clendenan and A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila are the Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck award winners, respectively.

From sensory-filled illustrations to relentlessly funny characters, the 2025 Best Picture Books make for excellent read-alouds, heartfelt one-on-ones, and heartrending reads.

These Best Transitional Books of 2025 for beginning, emerging, and newly independent readers include relatable friendship tales, challenges overcome, and everyday slice-of-life stories that are pitch-perfect for the age group.

The Best Middle Grade titles of 2025 feature action-packed fantasies, resonant realistic fiction, and heart-pounding horror stories for tweens.

The 2025 YA Best Books list has a choice for every teen—long-anticipated companion novels, adorable rom-coms, and genre-bending romantasy.

Vibrant anthologies, powerful celebrations of groundbreaking figures, and volumes filled with concrete poems and traditional rhymes make their appearance on our Best Poetry list.

From poo and tentacles to contemplative picture book biographies, this year’s picks for the Best Nonfiction for Elementary readers are filled with facts, information, and wonder.

This year’s Best Nonfiction for Middle and High School students features true crime, an inclusive puberty book, sports titles, and lots of STEM.

Every one of our picks on the Best 2025 Graphic Novel list, ranging from early readers to adaptations of popular kid lit prose, has illustrations to be pored over and a narrative to be enjoyed.

 The 2025 Best Manga roundup features haunting sci-fi, slow-burn romance, and charming friendship tales for middle grade and YA readers.

Whether they are returning home or going somewhere new for the holiday break, the promise of a magical Christmas romance awaits these teens.

Elephants, mice, and dragons make their appearance in these fun and festive board books and picture books.

These two titles explore the drama, the excitement, and the endless moving parts involved in the world of theater.

These picture books that celebrate found families, friendship, and connection are great choices for holidays shelves.

The new Children’s Booker Prize to be given for fiction written for ages 8–12 will launch in 2026 and first be awarded in 2027.

The books that shine here, including the latest from Leslie Patricelli and Mo Willems, keep it simple, are all heart, and let babies be babies and preschoolers be preschoolers.

There can never be too many Halloween books! Check out these recently reviewed board books and picture books to round out Halloween displays and programs. 

The game is afoot! Give these chapter book and middle grade capers to fans of whodunits and thrillers.

There’s not a dull moment in these transitional books for the main characters and their siblings!

Whether it's the latest book in a favorite series or the next great read, librarians will find plenty of options to keep their most voracious patrons satisfied.

Bright illustrations, silly situations, and a sense of continuity and rigor in skill-building are the hallmarks of this season's decodable series.

These picture book series offer a sweet escape into education or entertainment.

The gentle stories in this collection of early readers feature warm, inviting illustrations and focus on navigating family and friendships.

These cheerful chapter books span a wide range of reading interests and genres and are a bastion of diverse stories and characters.

A chill is in the air, and there is no better time to be immersed in a juicy middle grade series.

These hi-lo titles have all the adventure, intrigue, romance, and drama that will engage striving readers.

Wild adventures, goofy characters, and candy-colored illustrations dominate this collection of graphic novels.

The books in these YA series serve up a generous dose of big feelings.

Hidden identities, action and survival, and, of course, true love can be found in these new and ongoing manga series.

Why should Christmas in July get all the summer holiday glory? This list of Halloween board books and picture books is perfect for those who want to get into the spooky spirit despite the summer heat.

Bestselling author Rory Power’s new YA novel Kill Creatures is a tour de force of teenage friendship, crushes, and revenge. Here, she discusses it with SLJ. 

These eight forthcoming board books and picture books will be available long before December. Turn on some Christmas tunes, grab a Santa hat, and peruse these holly, jolly offerings.

These three titles feature tweens with parents navigating incarceration and detention in the United States.

In these stories, tween and teen protagonists with a range of abilities face real and fantastical challenges, from time loops to dust storms to going viral. Share these titles with readers in time for Disability Pride Month in July, and all throughout the year.

The winners of the 2025 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards are I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely, illus. by Matt James; Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay; and Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. Leon Egan shares about Lover Birds in this latest installment.

In these books that take place in part during the first semester of college, characters learn more about themselves during this time of transition—and maybe fall in love along the way.

These three novels explore the fun, freedom, and complications of life on vacation for tweens.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. A. A. Vacharat shares about This Moth Saw Brightness in this latest installment.

These reviews cover volumes in new and ongoing series for young people at every stage of their reading journey.

Rigorous, research-based phonics readers for librarians, educators, and families who are supporting readers at a variety of levels.

These bright additions to picture book series will allow children to go on new adventures with familiar characters.

Old friends and new skills take center stage in these silly and warm books that kids will be thrilled to encounter on the road to independent reading.

A robust collection of chapter books filled with gentle high jinks and diverse characters.

Whether it’s harrowing tales of survival, epic fantasy, spine-tingling horror, or silly derring-do, the name of the game in these series installments is adventure.

These slim, accessible series have all the drama, intrigue, and action older students are looking to read.

From The Smurfs to the Pizzaplex, these reviews will help librarians keep up with this high-demand format.

These reviews cover continuations of YA series or duologies, where young revolutionaries become queens, friends become enemies, and enemies become allies.

Romance, action, and incredible art take center stage in these new and continuing manga series.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. Mina Ikemoto Ghosh shares about Hyo the Hellmaker in this latest installment.

In this popular Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. Adina King shares about 'The House No One Sees' in this latest installment.

In these three novels, the pace and proximity of small-town life play a vital role in characters’ disparate journeys that are ultimately bids for safety, recognition, and belonging.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. Trisha Tobias shares about Honeysuckle and Bone in this latest installment.

These three books poignantly explore characters whose relationships to the past heavily influence their present.

As we mark five years since COVID-19 emerged in the United States and consider the lasting impacts of the global pandemic, this list of books for young readers of all ages features representations of anxiety, grief, coping techniques and, most of all, hope.

These starred YA debuts released during the first three months of 2025 feature propulsive, thought-provoking plots from authors we’re sure to see more of in the future.

From magic to murder, these YA novels set at boarding schools are full of secrets and page-turning plots to keep readers guessing.

SLJ reviews of YALSA's Excellence in Nonfiction Award titles and the winner and honor books of the 2025 Robert F. Sibert Informational Award, administered by ALSC.

Bestowed annually, the William C. Morris Award honors a young adult title written by a first-time author writing for teens. The 2025 winner: Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo. Four honor books were named.

The First State of Being, a middle grade novel about time travel, Y2K, family, friendship, anxiety, and loss, earned Kelly the coveted award.

These selections combine witty dialogue, incongruous situations, goofy characters, and silly plots to keep young readers entertained.

Keeping engaging series fiction in the hands of young patrons as they build habits and discover a love of reading is a priority. Fiction Series Made Simple is designed to help librarians maintain fresh and fun collections.

A careful examination of decodable sets designed to support burgeoning readers and their grown-ups on the path toward reading fluency.

Picture book series that help readers consider their place in the world.

This season’s additions to early reader series appeal to developing passions in science, animal welfare, and more.

Additions to beloved, well-established series and exciting new adventures await readers in this season’s middle grade selections.

The best of these hi-lo titles hit on the perfect mix of layered characterization, compelling plots, and sharp writing that will appeal to readers of any skill level.

These graphic novels series and sequels bring lessons about friendship, care, and self-determination into sharp focus.

NCTE has announced Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of American Indian Boarding Schools by Dan SaSuWeh Jones and The Last Stand by Antwan Eady, illus. by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey, as the 2025 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck award winners, respectively. 

Whether portraying a humble farming community, a home in the south of Korea, a synagogue filled with love and hope, or a neighborhood where more than small things are mended, the best picture books of 2024 celebrate how those working together are the models for humanity we want our children to witness.

Shifa Saltagi Safadi's novel in verse about an immigrant family, the 2016 Muslim ban, and a boy trying to balance school and family earned the prestigious prize.

Gripping fantastical journeys, family secrets, unbridled joy, and inconceivable loss: in these pages, tweens are facing it all. These 26 middle grade titles are exemplars across genre of the power of truth telling and embracing one's authentic self, even when it seems impossible. 

These coauthored narratives offer readers the opportunity to experience a novel from multiple perspectives, expanding worldbuilding, character development, and plot lines, proving that there are always two (or sometimes three or four) sides to every story.

Family members who collaborate talk about the dynamics (and ground rules) of their creative partnerships.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. In the latest installment, Wen-yi Lee shares about The Dark We Know. 

This thankful season, children can read all about dinosaurs, crayons, and even turkeys enjoying food, fun, and family. 

10 entertaining books for young children about patience, impatience, apologies, and more. 

This roundup of 2024 books centering Native American stories offers something for every reader to enjoy this November and all year long.

As we gear up to a presidential election, these titles can help young readers to better understand the past, present, and future of the voting process.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. In the latest installment, Rebecca Stafford shares about Rabbit & Juliet.

In these 18 YA horror titles, inclusivity across race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, mental health, physical ability, and more are highlighted, reflecting the diverse lives and needs of young adults.

Librarians responding to our 2024 Transitional Books Survey had a lot to say about their favorite series. Here's why "Fly Guy," "Mercy Watson," and others stand out to them. 

Explaining why they write about children who are grieving, authors describe experiences from the loss of a family member to concerns about gun violence.

With Haitian communities under attack in Ohio and across the country, share these titles that feature Haitian American representation or are by Haitian American authors, including picture books by Tami Charles and YA novels by Ben Phillipe and Ibi Zoboi.

These short story collections center diverse characters and stories in creepy, readable tales.

Here are SLJ's reviews of the books that made the longlist for the 2024 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, including six books with SLJ stars.

Empathetic rapport, masterful pacing, pitch-perfect accents—it's all in a day's work for the top-notch talents behind audiobooks including "Horrible Harry," The Hate U Give, No Kimchi for Me!, All American Boys, and others.

Women's Equality Day, celebrated on August 26th, commemorates the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. In these titles, mothers and grandmothers take their daughters and granddaughters along with them to polls, to show the children the importance of exercising the hard-won right for women to vote.

At the Newbery Caldecott Legacy Awards Banquet during ALA Annual, Caldecott winner Vashti Harrison and Newbery Medalist Dave Eggers shared previously unknown, very personal stories about the difficult events that led to the creation of their award-winning books.

This year's Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners include Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith, Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson, The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day, and Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford.

A New York City blackout and romance in Taipei provide the settings for some of these teen books.