These informational works for kids of all ages shine a light on the many contributions Black icons, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Serena Williams, and Malcolm X, and more, have made on American culture.

The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller leads holds this week. The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, illustrated by Cynthia Yuan Cheng, enters the NYT Children’s Middle Grade Hardcover Best Seller list at No. 1. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine announces Beth Is Dead as the inaugural pick for its new Sunnie Reads Book Club, which is run “by and for Gen-Z readers.”

Blessings are all around in these gentle picture books that exalt sharing and gratitude in a manner accessible to children.

Since our July 2025 Stars So Far ­issue, SLJ has starred over 300 additional titles, reviewed in print and online from June through ­December. From board books and ­holiday titles to professional reading and manga, this list highlights must-have ­selections for every collection need.

Creativity is an increasingly important skill for students to learn in a world where machines can perform rote tasks and calculations—and for the fifth straight year, Crayola will be hosting free lessons and activities that foster student creativity during its annual Crayola Creativity Week.

Join Flynn the fly on an unforgettable adventure under the sea!

“It's important to us that our books have staying power. We want to publish books that resonate today and that will be resonant twenty years from now,” says Associate Publisher Susan Dobinick of Astra Books for Young Readers. Two such titles are Astra’s new books celebrating Black history.

From a first-words title on the hardware store to Mo Willems’s counting book featuring The Pigeon, these sturdy volumes will engage little ones.

This roundup includes YA, poetry, nonfiction, and picture books about first love, monkeys, and influential Latine people who made an impact on history.