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I like picture books. I’m reading picture books to recommend to carers of small humans but really honestly mostly for me, because … pictures, with stories.
Here’s a list of recent children’s books. Many thanks to publishers below, and to Edelweiss for review copies.
Huck and Loona – Emily Kilgore, Florence Weiser
October 2024, Beaming Books
Huck and Loona are besties who don’t love all of the same things, and this is about how they learn to work through it—although it feels like Huck does all of that work. Very cute!
Black Joy – Charnaie Gordon, Lhaiza Morena
January 2025, Becker&mayer!kids
Jaden has noticed a dilapidated wall with graffiti on his way to school, in the middle of which is a big red heart. He starts to think about all the different kinds of love in his life, his family, and community, and decides the wall could do with an update—to reflect all of those, for others to think about and enjoy. So he recruits his family and community for the project.
A picture book that celebrates Black Love Day, and a perfect read for Black History Month. Highly recommended!
Dear Black Boy – Martellus Bennett
January 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A sweet and very simple picture book to encourage Black boys to stand tall and reach for the sky. Reads almost like poetry, and aimed mainly at African Americans.
January 2025, Blue Dot Kids Press
A gorgeously drawn book whose story takes place in the protagonist’s imagination. Martin and Maize, his dog, seeking a change from the ordinary, find places to go one Sunday. Everyone else in the family is busy, so off they go on their own to see ice caps, lava flows, dragons, and more. Their adventurous Sunday is a huge success.
Yayoi Kusama – Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Ryoko Ichikawa
February 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
I love Kusama, and am delighted to see a version of her biography for children. It touches only very lightly on her mental health struggles, so you won’t have too much explaining to do (or can choose how much you want to) when reading with your small human. Also lovely for how it explains her work, both textually and through very pretty and representative illustrations throughout the book.
My Life on the Mountain – Marion Brand
February 2025, Helvetiq
This sweet and simple little book follows a shepherdess as she goes through a day, describing her various tasks. The colour palette is limited to red and blue and there isn’t a lot of text, so young readers can have a go at reading on their own.
Runaway Blanket – Nancy Deas, Mike Deas
February 2025, Orca Book Publishers
A sweet little story for bedtime for tots. Particularly liked the mention of extended family (it takes a village!).
March 2025, Beaming Books
Little Peg goes on an adventure with her barnyard friends but (perhaps because she’s so little) she’s intimidated by everything along the way. It takes her a minute to realise that she’s conquered every obstacle in spite of her fear, and what she finds at the end of the adventure is worth the effort.
March 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A little monster realises on Photo Day at school that they’re an only—well, child monster, when siblings gather for group pictures and they’re just…the one. They ask their dad why this is, and it becomes a teaching moment about families and love. A delightful and wonderfully heartwarming story from the village of Bonglibod, full of boogers and funny shop names; excellent reading, and highly recommended.
April 2025, Blue Dot Kids Press
Gorgeous artwork in this rhyming story about a little girl and a day at the seaside. Talks about the wonders you can find in the ocean, and the value of nature to us, as well as how to protect it. Recommended.
April 2025, Cicada Books
This is a delightful picture book about nine historical empires and kingdoms: Minoan Civilisation (2200-1450 BC), the First Persian Empire (550-330 BC), Vikings (800-1050 Ad), Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333 AD), the Kingdom Of Benin (1200-1897 AD), Mongol Empire (1206-1368 AD), the Mali Empire (1226-1670 AD), the Aztec Empire (1300-1521 AD), and the Kingdom Of Ayutthaya (1350-1767 AD). It features factual and thoughtful snippets about these, with fun and distinctive illustrations. A fantastic addition to any library, and very well done.
The Paper Bridge – Joelle Veyrenc, Seng Soun Ratanavanh
April 2025, Floris Books
This is a unique picture book where the illustrations are photographs of scenes created with kirigami. I think readers of the physical version of this book may get more out of it because it will have some physicality left; the digital version felt lacking somehow, and the story was not all that engaging (the real charm of the book being the images and how they were made).
April 2025, Blue Dot Kids Press
A very sweet book about exploring outside, with (appropriately) huge illustrations and not a lot of text, so is suitable for littler ones. Recommended.
Slice of Mallow: Second Slice, Vol 2 – Adam Foreman
April 2025, Andrews McMeel Publishing
I enjoyed the first volume of Slice of Mallow and was excited to read the second. It’s an equally charming comic book for young readers, with bold and simple illustrations and humorous dialogue between the characters. This time, we meet Mallow’s other friends, Jelly—who’s a little envious of Mallow—and Pizza, as they go on new adventures together. Delightful.
William Kamkwamba – Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Kirsti Beautyman
April 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
I always welcome stories that bring African heroes to the attention of the Global North, and am particularly pleased for this one aimed at children. William Kamkwamba is the brilliant Malawian engineer and inventor whose story was the subject of the movie “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”; as a young boy out of school because his family could not afford it, he made windmills to supply electricity for his village. This book tells that tale, and also tracks his career and achievements since then in a timeline at the end of the book.
Lovely for the sensitive portrayal of Kamkwamba’s life so far, and is also wonderful for the appropriate illustrations. Representation is not always done well, but here it is done perfectly.
Afia in the Land of Wonders – Mia Araujo
April 2025, Scholastic Press
Afia is a restless soul, quite unlike her twin, Aya. As you would expect, life provides her with temptation, what looks like an exciting adventure: leaving home with an enigmatic and attractive boy. And also as you would expect, things are not what they seem, and do not go to plan.
This is one of the most magical and engaging fairytales I’ve ever read. Possibly one large part of it is that it is familiar: the characters and story are based on West African mythology and culture, with traditional Western fairytale tropes and themes thrown in. But it’s also because of Araujo’s arresting writing style and incredible attention to detail: she tells us all about Afia’s internal thoughts, what she’s doing and seeing, and the world around her without overwhelming the reader. The illustrations are also fantastic (partial/sketched and more elaborate) and help with visualising Afia’s world. It’s all very well done.
This is already one of my favourite reads of the year, and I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of this fantastic story.
Good Morning Space – Linda Bondestam
April 2025, Yonder
This rather quirky (mainly because of the wonderful illustrations) and dreamy story is Sweetie’s morning with aliens and spaceships and all kinds of things. Very imaginative.
What’s Love All About Minimoni? – Rocio Bonilla
April 2025, Albatros Media
Minimoni chatters away to her dog on their walk and while they play about all the things she thinks love is and isn’t. Very cute and whimsical.
Octavio and His Glasses – Marc González Rossell
May 2025, Kids Can Press
What I love most about this book is the limited palette—yellow, black and white—and the illustration style (like, or actually charcoal). That’s what I’m really drawn to, even though it’s also a sweet story about how getting glasses can change a child’s life. Recommended.
May 2025, Kids Can Press
I love this little story that’s about Saul, who is small and loves the sea, and who tried to become a sailor “but the Navy wouldn’t have him.” So he does the next best thing and enrols in Pirate College. He earns his Pirate Diploma, but it’s not easy: he’s not rough and tough, is easily distracted, lacks focus 🙂 And when he finally finds a pirate crew willing to take him on, he discovers that he’s not at all like the other pirates.
After a trial by gangplank, Small Saul and the other pirates work out that with his Small Saul talents, it’s ok for Small Saul to just be his unique self, and that by doing that he brings something special to life on their ship.
A cute and encouraging tale.
Wind Stop Blowing! – Laura Alary, Sue Teodoro
May 2025, Skinner House Books
The wind won’t stop bothering Benjamin Snooks—except the wind is just doing what the wind does. Beautiful illustration work, and an interesting story.
So Devin Wore a Skirt – Shireen Lalji, Lucy Fleming
May 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
There’s a celebration at home for Nanabapa’s birthday, and Devin can’t find anything to wear… Until he spots his sister’s deep blue sparkly skirt. When he tries it on, it makes him feel wonderful, and more importantly, like himself. At first he’s shy to show the rest of the family when he finally goes down to join them; but they accept him just as he is.
The Most Magnificent Team – Ashley Spires
May 2025, Kids Can Press
This is a story about cooperation—how we may (prefer to) do things differently, but sometimes when we work together we come up with new and better ways to get a job done.
Circus of Shadows – Lidia Brankovic
May 2025, Cicada Books
I confess to feeling quite chilled in the middle of the book; your small humans may be, too. But I’m always intrigued by children’s books that explore darker feelings, and this one does—and does so well. Very imaginative and unique, with wonderful illustrations and a happy ending. Recommended.
Mission Moon – Sarah Mühlebach, Marshall Yarbrough
May 2025, Helvetiq
This is an excellent reference book for kids of all ages, and is something I would definitely add to my library. It’s full of facts and dates about humanity’s activity in space, from the recent past to fact-based speculation about the future. Highly recommended.
The Village Beyond the Mist – Sachiko Kashiwaba, Miho Satake, Avery Fischer Udagawa
May 2025, Yonder
In this bewitching tale that carried me away, Lina is sent off to Misty Valley for school holidays, a place that he mysteriously doesn’t explain to her and that doesn’t appear to be known to locals in the region. That’s ok, though, because it runs out the umbrella she’s carrying—it’s “white with red polka dots, and the end of its handle [is] fashioned into a clown’s smiling face”—knows the way.
What she finds in Misty Valley is Picotto Hall and the unusual people who live there, as well as all of the odd neighbours… And an enchanted bookstore, a ship chandler’s shop and its grumpy parrot, a bashful tiger, a quirky pottery shop, and more.
It’s a wonderful coming-of-age tale about dealing with all kinds of people (and animals) and learning the value of work, with a magical twist, and it reminds me of all the fairytales I loved as a child. If the young (middle grade) person in your life doesn’t really enjoy reading, this may pull them in. And if they do, this will charm them.
Wild Your World: Birds – Camilla de La Bedoyere, Philip Giordano
May 2025, Design Eye
A delight for me as a lover of birds, and the richly coloured illustrations will appeal greatly to young (and older) readers. Also packed with excellent information on birdlife around the globe, and highly recommended for family and other libraries.
May 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
A simple little story wherein Bear learns to share… Or not. Bear has things his friends want—a cookie, a nice space on a bench, a book—but he doesn’t know how to say no when they ask; so he ends up with nothing. And that makes Bear very, very unhappy. Delightful illustrations, and a starting point for talking to small humans about sharing, and how to say no.
Fiona and the Peculiar Praise – Rennie Dyball, Maine Diaz
May 2025, 4U2B Books
Fiona (a cat) doesn’t want to just be called cute and gorgeous and pretty all the time, because she’s more than that. But that’s what happens as she goes about her day—until the evening, when a little girl points out to her family that she’s also *smart*. Delightful illustrations and a cute story with a hidden message.
Yves Saint Laurent – Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Klas Fahlén
June 2025, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Enjoyable book about the great designer’s life, with wonderful illustrations.
Sleep Sheep! – Kerry Lyn Sparrow, Guillaume Perrault
June 2025, Kids Can Press
Such a funny and very charming bedtime story about Duncan, who finds every excuse not to go to bed. His exasperated mom finally puts everything he usually asks for in his room, and teaches him how to count sheep. Duncan meets his match, however, in Sheep 68. Very highly recommended. (Also, the illustrations are exceptional!)
Steve a Rare Egg – Kelly Collier
June 2025, Kids Can Press
Steve is the silliest horse you’ll ever meet, and in this, the second volume about him, he encounters a thingamabob that’s round, red, and floaty. In typical Steve fashion, declares that it’s an egg, adopts it, and proceeds to make his friends co-carers. He’s in for a surprise though.
Just as delightful as the first volume about Steve the Horse, and also highly recommended.
Harare Review of Books 
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