The most recommended kids books

Who picked these books? Meet our 2,536 experts.

2,536 authors created a book list connected to children's books, and here are their favorite children's books.

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Book cover of Hooky

James Hider Author Of Ripe

From James' 10-year-old's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Journalist Writer Traveler History buff Probably not an AI

James' 3 favorite reads in 2023

Plus, James' 10-year-old's favorite books.

James Hider Why did James' 10-year-old love this book?

My daughter became obsessed with this series of books.

She is hugely into witches and magic and the first inklings of boyfriends and girlfriends and all the varieties of childhood friendships and rivalries. She is also dyslexic, and the fact that this is a graphic novel really helped her get into reading, for which I am eternally grateful.

By Miriam Bonastre Tur,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hooky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Two twins, one prophecy, and a whole lot of hijinks. From WEBTOON, the #1 digital comic platform, comes a fantastical story about twin siblings Dani and Dorian who have missed the bus to magic school and scramble to find a mentor to teach them before their parents find out. Perfect for fans of The Okay Witch and the 5 Worlds series.

When Dani and Dorian missed the bus to magic school, they never thought they'd wind up declared traitors to their own kind! Now, thanks to a series of mishaps, they are being chased by powerful magic families seeking the…


Book cover of Town Is by the Sea

Wendy Orr Author Of Cuckoo's Flight

From my list on to bring history to life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by history, and when I dreamed of being an author, imagined I’d write historical fiction. However, it took many writing detours to arrive there. (Nim’s Island, by the way, has no basis in historical fact!). When I first imagined the story that led to the Minoan Wings trilogy, I fell in love with researching this era, which is particularly intriguing because there are virtually no written records. Visiting the ruins of a four-thousand-year-old town on Crete under the guidance of an archaeologist who had not only excavated there but had become passionately involved with my imaginary characters, was an absolute highlight of my life. 

Wendy's book list on to bring history to life

Wendy Orr Why did Wendy love this book?

This is a picture book, but not for very young children. The quiet, almost understated text and art add to the power of the story: a small boy’s experience of coal mining in Nova Scotia in the 1950s. (Though it wasn’t written till 2017). Reading it as an adult, and despite having lived in Nova Scotia as a teenager, I was completely rocked and almost disorientated as I began to grasp the reality of it. I’m not sure which aspect I found more disturbing – imagining the men in the long dark tunnels under the sea, or the boy’s complete acceptance that he would follow this way of life in his turn.  

By Joanne Schwartz, Sydney Smith (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Town Is by the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

While a young boy enjoys a summer's day, his thoughts constantly return to his father, who is digging for coal deep under the sea.

"An atmospheric, haunting story" - The Bookseller

Stunning illustrations by Sydney Smith, the award-winning illustrator of Footpath Flowers, show the striking contrast between a sparkling seaside day and the darkness underground where the miners dig. This beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of mining history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a mining town will enthral children and move adult readers, as a young boy wakes up to the…


Book cover of Spider School

Kate Lum Author Of What! Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story

From my list on kids' stories for bedtime, travel-time, and fireside.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a New Englander by birth, a Canadian by circumstance, and a Nova Scotian by choice. For as long as I can remember, I’ve told stories, first to my little sister—a captive audience—then to my children, then at my book readings, and now on my podcast, Kate and Friends, which I’m lucky enough to record with two professional musicians. For me, the ultimate test of a story is whether it can be told without visual aids. While I love picture books, and the way an artist can deepen a child’s experience of a story, I gravitate to satisfying, stand-alone tales with a good twist. They’re difficult to write, easy to remember, and great fun to tell! 

Kate's book list on kids' stories for bedtime, travel-time, and fireside

Kate Lum Why did Kate love this book?

One of my daughter’s perennial favourites, I read this so often I had it memorized, and found it great to tell even without the hilarious pictures. In this story, Kate is facing her first day of school. So miserable is she at the very idea, she gets out on the wrong side of the bed. So of course, everything goes wrong! Her school is a dungeon, her teacher is a gorilla, and the dinner lady serves spiders, snails, and snakes for lunch. Brave Kate fights back, runs home, and saves her own day when she gets up all over again, on the right side of the bed. This is, underneath, a story about attitude, and reassures kids about the reality of school by comically exaggerating one child’s fears. But it’s also great fun to tell, with silly voices, unexpected developments, and a fine arc of tension till Kate decides to…

By Francesca Simon, Peta Coplans (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spider School as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Every child's worst nightmare is brought to life by Fancesca Simon's enchanting and witty text and by Peta Coplans' bright, bold and quirky illustations. This funny, original book is full of charm and humour - and it has a happy ending!


Marvelous Jackson

By Laura Anne Bird,

Book cover of Marvelous Jackson

Laura Anne Bird Author Of Crossing the Pressure Line

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Reader Nature lover Meditator Coffee drinker Wisconsinite

Laura's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Since losing his mom, thirteen-year-old Jack Wilson has spent most of his time seeing just how much trouble he can get away with so that he feels like a winner at something. But he takes his mischief too far and is faced with the possibility of unbearable consequences. He knows it’s time to make a big change.

After rediscovering the love of baking he once shared with his mother, Jack is sure that his new sense of purpose will help him stay on the right path, so he throws himself into learning the finer points of sprinkles and scones—and…

Marvelous Jackson

By Laura Anne Bird,

What is this book about?

After losing his mom, a struggling thirteen-year-old boy in northern Wisconsin rediscovers the love of baking he once shared with her and decides to audition for the world-famous, big-hearted Marvelous Midwest Kids Baking Championship television show in Chicago. Jack is sure that his new sense of purpose will help him stay out of trouble, so he throws himself into learning the finer points of sprinkles and scones -- and hopefully even mending his broken relationship with his dad.


Genres
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Book cover of The Race to Save the Lord God Bird

Rebecca E. Hirsch Author Of Where Have All the Bees Gone?: Pollinators in Crisis

From my list on for teens who care about the environment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of more than eighty books on science for young readers. My books for teens include The Monarchs Are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery, Climate Migrants: On the Move in a Warming World, and Where Have All the Bees Gone? My books have won many honors, including a Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, a John Burroughs Association Riverby Award for nature writing, and a place on Booklist's Top 10 Books on the Environment & Sustainability for Youth for 2020. I hold a PhD in cellular & molecular biology, and my background as a professional biologist informs my writing.

Rebecca's book list on for teens who care about the environment

Rebecca E. Hirsch Why did Rebecca love this book?

Hoose tells the fascinating history of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a magnificent creature of the swamps and forests of the southeastern US. The book sweeps through two hundred years of history as the bird is hunted, harassed, and its habitat destroyed. By the twentieth century, the birds are so scarce that ornithologists launch the first of many searches, heading into the swamps to find evidence of the bird. To this day, the mystery remains maddeningly unsolved: does the ivory-billed woodpecker still exist or is has it been driven to extinction? A haunting story and one that might make you cry.

By Phillip Hoose,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Race to Save the Lord God Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The tragedy of extinction is explained through the dramatic story of a legendary bird, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and of those who tried to possess it, paint it, shoot it, sell it, and, in a last-ditch effort, save it. A powerful saga that sweeps through two hundred years of history, it introduces artists like John James Audubon, bird collectors like William Brewster, and finally a new breed of scientist in Cornell's Arthur A. "Doc" Allen and his young ornithology student, James Tanner, whose quest to save the Ivory-bill culminates in one of the first great conservation showdowns in U.S. history, an…


Book cover of Garcia & Colette Go Exploring

Nidhi Kamra Author Of Simon's Skin

From my list on space exploration.

Why am I passionate about this?

Who doesn’t like space? I love learning about space! Tip: Picture books are easier to comprehend compared to graduate courses – there’s only so much of Newton-Euler dynamics, inertia tensors, eccentricity vectors, etc. one can handle. Plus, there are no nasty mind-boggling equations in picture books. I mean, do you really want to calculate the maximum flight path angle and the true anomaly at which it occurs? Or solve Kepler’s equations for hyperbolic eccentric anomaly? No, right? Always stick to the picture book if you have a choice! I mentioned some fun picture books (fiction and non-fiction) with amusing or complementing illustrations that helped me on my journey to understanding space. Enjoy!

Nidhi's book list on space exploration

Nidhi Kamra Why did Nidhi love this book?

Garcia the bunny craves to shoot up to space while Colette the fox dreams of exploring the deep seas. Garcia builds a rocket and Colette, a submarine. Off they go on their separate adventures with their peanut butter sandwiches, of course! In this cleverly worded book, the author compares the two journeys – their similarities and differences, and how the two friends miss each other’s company. Garcia and Colette finally find a way to enjoy their interests together. The illustrations complement the words perfectly. A great read for little humans.

By Hannah Barnaby, Andrew Joyner (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Garcia & Colette Go Exploring as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

'THE FULL-SPEED-AHEAD ENTHUSIASM ... IS INFECTIOUS'
-- Kirkus, starred review


Best friends Garcia and Colette are eager to go exploring -- only they can't agree on where to go. Garcia loves everything about space and Colette is obsessed with the sea.

Garcia builds a rocket ship and Colette constructs a submarine, but even though they find amazing things on their journeys, they soon realise they each left something very important back home ...

From new talent Hannah Barnaby and bestselling Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner comes a book about friendship, adventure and compromise.



PRAISE FOR GARCIA AND COLETTE GO EXPLORING

'full…


Book cover of Shadowshaper

Shelly X. Leonn Author Of The Ghost and the Wolf

From my list on girl MCs who are owning life.

Why am I passionate about this?

My novel choices were part of the Afterschool Literacy & Building Modules for an organization called LitShop. It encourages growth in literacy, making, building, and leadership in girls ages 10-15 in St. Louis, Missouri. I’m honored to lead the writing classes. All of the LitShop books feature strong girls who believe they can make and build their way to a better world, and I aim to include similar characters in my stories. Stories can provide us with motivation, inspiration, and companionship, and all of these books have done just that… for the girls of LitShop as well as myself.

Shelly's book list on girl MCs who are owning life

Shelly X. Leonn Why did Shelly love this book?

Before reading this book, I had no idea city-based fantasy novels could draw me in as powerfully as stories with more “traditional” fantasy settings. But Mr. Older’s depiction of Brooklyn as a living, breathing landscape made me a new believer in urban magic. And the main character Sierra’s shadowshaping feels like its own form of beautiful, youthful rebellion. Art can save us, if only we breathe our power into it. I stop and stare at most graffiti murals now, waiting for them to move a little.

By Daniel José Older,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shadowshaper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Come to the crossroads, to the crossroads come

Sierra Santiago planned an easy summer of making art and hanging with her friends. But then a corpse crashes the first party of the season. Her stroke-ridden grandfather starts apologizing over and over. And when the murals in her neighborhood begin to weep real tears . . . Well, something more sinister than the usual Brooklyn ruckus is going on.

Where the powers converge and become one

With the help of a fellow artist named Robbie, Sierra discovers shadowshaping, a thrilling magic that infuses ancestral spirits into paintings, music, and stories. But…


Book cover of San Domingo: The Medicine Hat Stallion

Emily Hayse Author Of These War-Torn Hands

From my list on capturing the poignant beauty of the American West.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I can remember, I've been captivated by the American West. Was it that cowboys were brave and if you had integrity it was most certainly put to the test? Was it that everyone rode horses and I was a horse crazy girl? Whatever it was that struck me, it stayed. I have treasured the West ever since, through books, film, art, and most recently, a fantasy western trilogy of my own. 

Emily's book list on capturing the poignant beauty of the American West

Emily Hayse Why did Emily love this book?

I read this book for the first time when I was probably nine or ten and I think this was one of the books that really started it all. It put words to what I felt about the West...the glory of the wide plains, the kind of guts it took to survive, the love of a boy and a horse, and the lengths they would go for each other. It's a perfectly wistful and beautiful western. 

By Marguerite Henry, Robert Lougheed (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked San Domingo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Synopsis coming soon.......


Book cover of Fast Pitch

VP Anderson Author Of Blood City Rollers

From my list on team spirit for the girls, gays, and theys.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve yearned to be part of a BFF-ship, like Anne Shirley-Cuthbert searching for her Diana Barry or Nancy Drew seeking her crewmates Bess and George. As I grew, I realized what I really wanted was to be part of something bigger than myself, working toward a common goal and solving problems bravely and creatively. In any given role, I’ve sought to find the best possible team for the job. Now that I’m a full-time creator, I’ve continued to prioritize people and collaborative practice over any given outcome. Sometimes, we win, sometimes we learn. But the important thing is that we try/learn together.

VP's book list on team spirit for the girls, gays, and theys

VP Anderson Why did VP love this book?

This book has everything: found family, family scandal and mystery, and sports drama galore!

As someone who always wanted to play softball but was scared of striking out, the bravery of this story on all fronts inspired and thrilled me. Stone balances sports and STEM in such a creative way, showing rather than telling young fans they don’t have to go all in for one column or clique. They can be a little bit of everything and never be “too much” for their true team.

By Nic Stone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fast Pitch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.


Book cover of Code Name: Serendipity

Frank Morelli Author Of Breaking News

From Frank's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Word wizard Reader Educator Life-long learner Caped crusader

Frank's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Frank Morelli Why did Frank love this book?

Amber Smith’s first-person narrator, fifth grader Sadie Mitchel-Rosen, will warm your heart from the opening page of this book.

Struggling to grasp the impact of a newly diagnosed learning difference and a grandfather with dementia, Sadie befriends a stray pup named Dewey and quickly forms a telepathic relationship with her furry friend that helps her save his life while also strengthening her own familial bonds.

If you’ve ever formed an everlasting attachment to one of your fur babies, you’ll most definitely love this book.

By Amber Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Code Name as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Fans of Katherine Applegate, Holly Goldberg Sloan, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt will love New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith’s heartwarming middle grade debut about family, friendship, and the magic connection between a girl and her dog.

Eleven-year-old Sadie’s school year is off to an awful start. Her best (and only) friend has moved away, her older brother is a jerk (as always), and her beloved Gramps is having more and more trouble keeping his memories straight. But when she comes across a stray dog, she discovers something wonderful and magical—she and the dog, Dewey, are able to communicate telepathically.…


Book cover of The Library Bus

Angela Burke Kunkel Author Of Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built

From my list on children’s books celebrating libraries.

Why am I passionate about this?

Angela Burke Kunkel is an author, school librarian, and former English Language Arts teacher. She has experience working with all types of young readers, from the reluctant to the voracious, and has taught in both alternative and public schools, including a New Mexico middle school with a nationally-recognized dual education program. She is passionate about ensuring equitable book access for all children, and has published articles and participated as a panelist on these issues.

Angela's book list on children’s books celebrating libraries

Angela Burke Kunkel Why did Angela love this book?

The Library Bus offers a glimpse into the importance of mobile libraries, showing how one bus run by a mother and daughter delivers books, school supplies, and lessons to other young girls in Afghanistan. Told of the course of one day, with the bus leaving Kabul in the very early morning and ending at bedtime, the story explains the restrictions women and girls faced under Taliban rule in a clear and age-appropriate way.

By Bahram Rahman, Gabrielle Grimard (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Library Bus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Author Bahram Rahman grew up in Afghanistan during years of civil war and the restrictive Taliban regime of 1996-2001. He wrote The Library Bus to tell new generations about the struggles of women who, like his own sister, were forbidden to learn.

It is still dark in Kabul, Afghanistan when the library bus rumbles out of the city. There are no bus seats-instead there are chairs and tables and shelves of books. And there are no passengers-instead there is Pari, who is nervously starting her first day as Mama's library helper. Pari stands tall to hand out notebooks and pencils…


Book cover of Hooky
Book cover of Town Is by the Sea
Book cover of Spider School

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