30 Fantastic Works from Brian Floca, Jasmine Warga, and Sean Qualls | Web Starred Reviews, December 2025 

As we closed out 2025, many books rose to the top, including lots of manga and new offerings from middle grade favorites Gordon Korman and Sara Pennypacker.

Tiny Worlds: A Story About Appreciating the Small Things (Cicchese) ©2026 by Brittany Cicchese

Spanish

JARAMILLO, Susie. Sana, Sana: A Boo Boo Book. (Canticos Bilingual Nursery Rhymes). Encantos. ISBN 9781954689084.
MENDEZ, Jasminne. La historia de mi furia. tr. from English by Keyla Medina Rosa. Vintage Español. ISBN 9798890984548. 
SCHU, John. Este es un cuento. tr. from English by Ana Izquierdo. illus. by Lauren Castillo. (Este es nuestro mundo). Candlewick. ISBN 9781536250640. 

 

Board Books

BÚZIO, Carolina. Toddler Talk: Muddy Farm! (Toddler Talk: Bk. 3). Nosy Crow. ISBN 9798887773094.

 

Picture Books

CICCHESE, Brittany. Tiny Worlds: A Story About Appreciating the Small Things. Candlewick. ISBN 9781536236521.
EVANS, Katie. Broccoli Is Trying to Kill Me. illus. by Savannah Allen. Holiday House. ISBN 9780823459612.
FLOCA, Brian. Island Storm. illus. by Sydney Smith. Holiday House/Neal Porter. ISBN 9780823456475.
HUNT, Matt. How To Find a Yeti. Nosy Crow. ISBN 9798887772127. 
KERBEL, Deborah. Gotcha Day. illus. by Udayana Lugo. Orca. ISBN 9781459839663. 
MARINO, Gianna. We All Belong. Philomel. ISBN 9780593528839.
ZIMMERS, Natasha. Tiny Hiker. illus. by Jaimie MacGibbon. Orca. ISBN 9781459842908.

 

Transitional

SNEVE, Virginia Driving Hawk. The Summer of the Bone Horses. illus. by Steph Littlebird. Abrams/Amulet. ISBN 9781419759550.


Middle Grade

DODD, Lily Berlin. The Last Ember. (The Aerimander Chronicles: Bk. 1). Farrar. ISBN 9780374393120. 
KORMAN, Gordon. Hypergifted. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063429291. 
PENNYPACKER, Sara. The Lions’ Run. illus. by Jon Klassen. Macmillan/Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9781250392817.
WARGA, Jasmine. The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan. Macmillan/Balzer + Bray. ISBN 9781250387189.

 

Young Adult

BAYRON, Kalynn. Make Me a Monster. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781547615865.

Manga

HIMEKAWA, Akira. Kamudo, Vol. 1. VIZ Media. ISBN 9781974757800. 
MO XIANG TONG XIU & STARember. Heaven Official’s Blessing (The Comic), Vol. 1: Tian Guan Ci Fu. illus. by STARember. (Heaven Official’s Blessing). Random. ISBN 9780593984369.
NABEDA, Yoshio, Hiroshi Takano & Jiro Nitta. The Climber, Vol. 1. illus. by Shin’ichi Sakamoto. (The Climber). VIZ Media. ISBN 9781974751525.
SHINDO, Masaoki. RuriDragon, Vol. 1. (RuriDragon). VIZ Media. ISBN 9781974738311.
TAMURA, Ryuhei. Cosmos, Vol. 1. (Cosmos). VIZ Media. ISBN 9781974754649.
UMAR, Huzayfa. Orisha, Vol. 1: With Great Power. (Orisha). Quarto/Rockport. ISBN 9780760390320.

 

Nonfiction

BROWN, Elizabeth. The World Entire: A True Story of an Extraordinary World War II Rescue. illus. by Melissa Castrillón. Chronicle. ISBN 9781452170985.
CARGILL-MARTIN, Honor. The Six Queens of Henry VIII. illus. by Jaimee Andrews. Sourcebooks. ISBN 9781464258213.
GIBEAULT, Stephanie. The Dog Who Saved the Bees. illus. by David Hohn. 40p. Sleeping Bear. ISBN 9781534113329.
HAIDT, Jonathan & Catherine Price. The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World. illus. by Cynthia Yuan Cheng. Penguin/Rocky Pond. ISBN 9798217111909.
QUALLS, Sean. Fros, Fades, and Braids: A Brief History of Black Hair in America. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063144279.
STEWART-SHARPE, Leisa. Comeback Creatures: Discover the Wild Things Once Thought Extinct. illus. by Lucy Rose. Quarto/Wide Eyed Eds. ISBN 9780711288362. 
WILSON-MAX, Ken. The Big Green: A Story About the Great Green Wall of Africa. Candlewick. ISBN 9781536249538.
 

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