Each year, we follow the latest children's book releases and publish an annual roundup of our favorites. From board books to nonfiction to books in Spanish, discover something great for all the young readers in your life!
Explore More 2023 Staff Picks for Kids:
Styx and Scones are a cat and a dog who live with two friendly witches. When the witches leave, Scones finds what looks like a stick and wants to play with it. Styx wants to play too. Soon, magic is everywhere!
Pedro Martin's grown up in the U.S. hearing stories about his legendary abuelito, but during a family road trip to Mexico, he connects with his grandfather and learns more about his own Mexican identity in this moving and hilarious graphic memoir.
Jin is helping Halmoni in the garden for her birthday celebration, but where's Joon? Besides the big mess in the kitchen, Jin and Halmoni see no signs of Joon anywhere. Where could he have gone? Luckily, Halmoni has a hunch. She sends Jin on an errand through her magical portal into the wondrous world of Korean folktales with its dazzling landscapes and curious characters. In this land of enchantment, Jin and Joon meet familiar friends and foe before reuniting to embark on a new mission to fix Halmoni's magic pot.
It was supposed to just be a normal basement--some storage boxes, dust, you know, the usual basement stuff. But when Milo is sent by his mother to fetch a sock from the basement of the historic home they've moved into, Milo finds a door in the back that he's never seen before. Turns out that the basement of his house is enormous. In fact, there is a whole world down there. As Milo travels ever deeper into the Basement World, he meets the many Things that live in the shadows and gloom...and he learns that to face his fears he must approach even the strangest creatures with kindness.
July Chen sees ghosts. But her dad insists ghosts aren't real. So she pretends they don't exist. Which is incredibly difficult now as it's Hungry Ghost month, when the Gates of the Underworld open and dangerous ghosts run amok in the living world. When July saves a boy ghost from being devoured by a Hungry Ghost, he becomes her first ever friend. Except William is not a ghost. He's a wandering soul wavering between life and death. As the new friends embark on an adventure to return William to his body, they unearth a ghastly truth--for William to live, July must die.
Meet Mika! Mika is a young explorer who faces familiar-yet-not-fully known objects and obstacles around her house. Today's newest challenge? The "howler" that roams her living room and hallways sucking up dust bunnies and--even her socks! But the howler isn't as dangerous as it appears, and young Mika is soon brave enough to face it. The first in a series of books for the youngest comics readers, enjoy the sweet, simple, and delightful Mika and the Howler.
Shelley Frankenstein is a little girl with a rather infamous family heritage! She loves to be scared and assumes all other kids feel the same. To prove her theory, Shelley and her assistant brother, Iggy, set about creating new toys to horrify their playground peers. But all of their experiments backfire in a completely unexpected way. What a disappointment! Then one day, they stumble upon a pretty spooky place--the Frankenstein family graveyard--which gives Shelley an idea for the ULTIMATE monster... CowPiggy! Will this new creation send everyone running in terror, like a proper monster should? Or will love and silliness triumph?
Is it a worm? Is it a snake? No! It's a caterpillar... and it's on its way to one of the most magical transformations in the insect world, from a crawling digestive tube to a fluttering glasswing, luna moth, or monarch on its journey across thousands-of-miles. In the latest addition to KEVIN MCCLOSKEY's beloved Giggle and Learn series, young readers will explore how caterpillars morph into the many different moths and butterflies that help pollinate our world. Growing up is scary, but caterpillars can lead the way!
A work of fiction inspired by a true story, Matt Tavares's debut graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports. It is 1975 in Indiana, and the Wilkins Regional High School girls' basketball team is in their rookie season. Despite being undefeated, they practice at night in the elementary school and play to empty bleachers. Unlike the boys' team, the Lady Bears have no buses to deliver them to away games and no uniforms, much less a laundry service. They make their own uniforms out of T-shirts and electrical tape. And with help from a committed female coach, they push through to improbable victory after improbable victory. Illustrated in full color, this story about the ongoing battle of women striving for equality in sports rings with honesty, bravery, and heart.
Listen! Hear a tale of mallow-munchers and warriors who answer candy's clarion call! Somewhere in a generic suburb stands Treeheart, a kid-forged sanctuary where generations of tireless tykes have spent their youths making merry, spilling soda, and staving off the shadow of adulthood. One day, these brave warriors find their fun cut short by their nefarious neighbor Grindle, who can no longer tolerate the sounds of mirth seeping into his joyless adult life. As the guardian of gloom lays siege to Treeheart, scores of kids suddenly find themselves transformed into pimply teenagers and sullen adults! The survivors of the onslaught cry out for a savior--a warrior whose will is unbreakable and whose appetite for mischief is unbounded. They call for Bea Wolf.