Alt: A slow zoom in on Tupac Shakur's face. He's leaning his head back and blinking slowly, looking blank.

The Associated Press has created a holiday gift guide of some of the standout books for kids from 2025. Giving a book is a great way to share the love of reading.

OpenAI ordered to pay undisclosed damages for training its language models on artists’ work without permission

Publishers Weekly has announced their picks for the best books of 2025. The juvenile picks are broken into three categories. Here are the picture book selections: PICTURE BOOKS Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa: Join the Quest with Peru’s Famed Scientist and Potato Expert by Sara Andrea Fajardo, illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal Cranky, Crabby Crow by Corey R. Tabor…

To Activate Space Portal Lift Here by Antoinette Portis Publisher: Neal Porter Books Publication Date: October 7, 2025 Reviewed from copy provided by publisher ISBN: 9780823459858 Turning the pages of this book activates a space portal that lets readers be the first to interact with alien creatures! As the portal opens, the readers can see an orange and a yellow alien, who are just as surprised to see the reader and just as shocked that aliens are real.

The Newest Gnome by Lauren Soloy  Publisher: Tundra Books Publication Date: October 7, 2025 Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley ISBN: 9781774887202 Return to the world first shared in The Hidden World of Gnomes with this second book set in The Pocket. When a new mushroom circle is discovered, the gnomes know that a new gnome is about to arrive. It is Grolly Maru, a fuzzy brown gnome with stand up ears.

The 10 winners of the 2025 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books have been announced. Nearly 800 books were judged purely on the basis of artistic merit. Here are the 10 winners: Broken by X. Fang Dragon Flower by Chen Jiang Hong; translated by Alyson Waters Fireworks by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Cátia Chien The Lighthouse Keeper…

The Spy in the Museum: How Rose Valland Saved Art from the Nazis by Erin McGuire Publisher: Beach Lane Books Publication Date: September 16, 2025 Reviewed from copy provided by publisher ISBN: 9781534466173 Rose Valland lived in Paris and was the curator at the Jeu de Paume Museum. She loved all kinds of art, but Hitler and the Nazis did not approve of modern art and destroyed it in their war across Europe.

"This return represents more than the restoration of land — it is the restoration of balance, dignity, and our sacred connection to the places our ancestors once walked."

CHILDREN'S LIT 9 Contemporary, Indigenous Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens - SLJ 9 Sensational Indigenous YA Books to Make You Think - Book Riot 10 Great New Children’s Books Out in November That Explore the Skies - Lit Hub Is a giant picture book about a bus the new Harry Potter... in Denmark? - Diggit Magazine It will take more than the new Children’s Booker Prize to arrest the dramatic decline in reading enjoyment…

The shortlist for the 2025 An Post Irish Book Awards has been announced. The awards celebrate the best of Irish writing across a variety of genres and categories. Below are the shortlisted titles for the juvenile categories: CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR - JUNIOR An Fia sa Choill by Sadhbh Devlin, Anastasia Melynkova (not available in US) Badger Books…

Free Piano (Not Haunted) by Whitney Gardner  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Publication: July 1, 2025 Reviewed from copy provided by publisher ISBN: 9781665938129 In 1980, Vision was a teen pop star, singing in front of large crowds. Today, Margot is trying to catch the attention of people online with her music, but her ukulele isn’t cutting it.

Night Chef by Mika Song Publisher: Random House Graphic Publication Date: October 28, 2025 Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley ISBN: 9780593303153 A raccoon has grown up living in the wall of a human restaurant where she emerges at night and cooks. She must make do with ingredients she finds on the window sill and in people’s lockers. When she tries to make ramen, she needs an egg.

The Old Sleigh by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey  Publisher: Norton Young Readers Publication Date: November 4, 2025 Reviewed from Netgalley e-galley ISBN: 9781324054122 Caldecott Honorees return with the third in a series that started with The Old Truck and The Old Boat. This time the story is set in the winter with a holiday nod. A child and father load their sleigh with firewood and distribute it throughout the nearby homes.

PICTURE BOOKS Bunny Ballet by Nora Ericson, illustrated by Elly MacKay A Day with No Words by Tiffany Hammond, illustrated by Kate Cosgrove Forests by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Kalen Chock A Knot Is Not a Tangle by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Vesper Stamper Look Up by Azul López, translated by Shook Making Art by Diana Ejaita Mama Car…

How do we live when it feels like everything is burning? We just do. And we be kind, and we bake.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS 7 Nature-Themed Graphic Novels to Inspire Kids to Explore the Great Outdoors - SLJ 77 Picture Book Series That Encourage Readers to Embrace the Journey - SLJ Children learn to read with books that are just right for them – but that might not be the best approach - The Conversation The Children’s Booker prize will tell kids that they matter…

Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom by Jessixa Bagley (9781665922326) Jazzy comes from a long line of witches who make the brooms that all of them ride. But Jazzy is different. She's not excited about learning magic spells or about learning to ride a broom. It's not until Jazzy sees her first bicycle that she finds her passion. Soon she is zipping around secretly on a bicycle that she made with the help of her best friend and Fiona, her pet bat.