News & Features

With every book, Jashar Awan comes a little closer to establishing himself as the chronicler extraordinaire of what most people see as childhood's mundane moments, and it's magic.

Finding Spanish-language books for older readers continues to be a challenge, but we’ve curated this list that includes translations of Jason Reynolds and Raina Telgemeier’s popular titles and a Spanish-original YA about an undocumented teen.

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.

The July issue—“the stars so far”—is our halfway point on the path to Best Books in December. SLJ reviews editors stand back to take a look at a beautiful, blossoming list of notable books.

 AI-generated booklists are possible—and even published. So what is the value of human curation?

These six titles show that good things come in small sturdy packages. Board books, for the pre-literate and newest readers, continue to surprise and delight in equal measure, and fly off the shelves for story hours.

From Pakistan to Spain to ordinary neighborhoods, the power of books has never been more visible than in these 65 gems plucked from the mines of picture books published in the first half of 2025. 

New readers will feel proud of their ability to read these fun, outstanding stories on their own.

From rollicking fantasy to heartbreaking realism, these excellent additions to the middle grade and hi-lo genres will have something for every tween to enjoy.