Holiday Gift Guide 2025: Books to Brighten Every Reader’s Season
Not sure where to start your holiday shopping? We’ve curated our favorite books of 2025 to help you discover great gifts for readers of all ages and interests.
The Monster the Lake
Interest Level: Preschool – Kindergarten
In this monstrously good picture book, Eric the duck is nervous to swim in the lake for fear of what might live there. He reluctantly follows his friends and discovers that something spectacular indeed lives beneath the surface.
Frank’s Red Hat
Interest Level: Preschool – Grade 1
Frank is a penguin with ideas. Mostly terrible ones. That’s why his fellow penguins are nervous when he shows them his strange new creation. It was something they’d never seen or expected to see in their cold and colorless Antarctic world—a red hat.
String Ball
Interest Level: Preschool – Grade 2
When a curious kitten stumbles upon its young owner’s string ball craft project, slips inside, and begins to roll, a series of rollicking adventures unfolds! This nearly wordless picture book employs a limited palette and offers a fresh new approach from beloved author-illustrator Chris Monroe.
All the Cats
Interest Level: Preschool – Grade 3
Nicola Kent presents . . . all the cats! Short cats, tall cats, careful-not-to-fall cats. Itchy cats and scratchy cats—can you see the matching cats? Spot the miles and miles of cats jam-packed into this chunky, feline picture book! Can you spot yours?
And, Too, the Fox
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
This joyful poem about a fox introduces U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón to a new generation. Her brief, keenly observant poetry paired with lush illustrations brings the fox to life, to the delight of readers of all ages.
I Truck
From the Series On the Move
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
Honk! Honk! Follow along as a semitruck travels cross country with a load of toys. Turbo-powered text and illustrations will appeal to truck-loving kids everywhere!
Catching Kindness
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
If crankiness is catchy, kindness can be just as infectious. Within a grumpy grocery store, one child watches how his act of kindness grows, with one kindness leading to another and finally returning to him when he needs it most.
S’More Is Enough
From the Series Food for Thought
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
Meet Graham. He’s a s’more! But Graham wonders what more could he be? What more should he be? This book champions little ones and helps them just enough to find their “good enough.”
The Library in the Woods
Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 5
When Junior moves to Roxboro in 1959, new friends bring him to an incredible place: a library for African American residents. This story is a tribute to the power of books and the resourcefulness of the Black community.
Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch
From the Series Ivy Newt in Miracula
Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 6
Young witch Ivy Newt’s parents have disappeared, and foul work is at play! Ivy and her shape-shifting friend Tom travel through Miracula, via broomstick and magic carpet, to rescue Ivy’s kidnapped parents.
Omnibird
Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 7
This highly illustrated, playful field guide to common international birds brings the art of observology to the science of ornithology, showing the many ways these familiar creatures are remarkable if you take time to look.
Zeyna Lost and Found
Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
In 1970, twelve-year-old Zeyna is visiting Pakistan with her family when her parents vanish. They’ve been linked to a jewel heist, and aspiring detective Zeyna sets out to find them and clear their names.
Ask Scarlett
Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
Scarlett explains why nature helps the brain, how it supports creativity, how it helps kids become planet protectors, and how being outside has healthy benefits for mind and body! This is published in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation®.
The Big Tournament
From the Series Magda, Intergalactic Chef
Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 8
Twelve-year-old Magda’s gift for inventing unique and delicious dishes earns her a spot in the famous intergalactic cooking tournament, but she discovers a conspiracy to rig the competition and steal the prize: the world-healing Nectar.
The Girl Who Couldn’t Lie
Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 8
Priya frequently bends the truth to keep her friends, family, and gymnastics coach happy. But when she gets her beloved late grandmother’s bangle stuck on her wrist, she finds herself incapable of telling a lie.
Ultrawild
Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 12
Join maverick inventor Steve Mushin as he unleashes an avalanche of scientifically plausible inventions to fight climate change, rewild cities, and save the planet. This book celebrates problem-solving and big ideas.
Wild Song
Interest Level: Grade 8 – Grade 12
In 1904, sixteen-year-old Luki travels from the US-controlled Philippines to the World’s Fair in Saint Louis, Missouri, where she discovers a wider world, confronts dangerous secrets, and wrestles with difficult choices.
Lullabies for the Insomniacs
A teen with bipolar disorder fights for survival and self-understanding in Ella Grace Foutz’s memoir in verse, balancing poignancy with moments of levity as she navigates the complex terrain of mental illness and mental health.
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