The most recommended new children's books

Who picked these books? Meet our 136 experts.

136 authors created a book list connected to new children's, and here are their favorite new children's books.
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Book cover of Cape

Caroline Kusin Pritchard Author Of Where Is Poppy?

From my list on talking about death and loss with your kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a childrenā€™s book author who typically centers humor at the heart of my books but who dipped into heartache to tell this specific story. As a former educator with four kiddos of my own, Iā€™ve been able to witness the myriad ways kids cope with grief, everything from hiding out in blanket forts to holding a backyard funeral service for a beloved pet roly-poly. I hope my book, Where is Poppy? offers kids comfort, peace, and preparation for their own unique journeys with loss. I studied creative writing and political science at Stanford University and hold an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. 

Caroline's book list on talking about death and loss with your kids

Caroline Kusin Pritchard Why did Caroline love this book?

Oof. This book. Itā€™s an absolute treasure. Itā€™s so rare to find a story told from the perspective of a child navigating the day of a funeral that includes the often angry resistance to all that is happening, as well as the deep redemptive power of memory.

I fall straight into the rich, kid-centered illustrations, in part because of the sparse and exactly right prose that allows the images to speak for themselves. Once I pieced together where the titular cape came from and how the child narrator uses it in the story, it was like the best kind of gut punch. 

By Kevin Johnson, Kitt Thomas (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cape 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?

When a child loses the person in his life that he loves more than anything, he uses his cape as protection from his grief. On the day of the funeral, he uses it to block out the pictures and stories people share, refusing to acknowledge the memories that keep bubbling up. He won't think about them. He doesn't want to.

He avoids the memories, until he no longer can.

He remembers then. Their laugh, their smile, the moment they gave him the cape. The cape transforms, becoming a source of comfort and strength as the child navigates the sadness andā€¦


Book cover of Someone Is Always Watching

Mads Rafferty Author Of Deadly Occupants

From my list on spooky books for the season.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been fascinated with the paranormal since I was a little girl and used to talk to the old lady on the edge of my bed. That old lady turned out to be my grandma, who had passed when I was in my motherā€™s womb. My entire family is touched by the curiosity and love that comes with the paranormal, so much so my mother is a working psychic medium. For years, I have spent every birthday attending haunted houses with a paranormal team to ā€œinvestigate.ā€ For some strange reason, I love to be terrified, and I fear I will never stop chasing the thrill. 

Mads' book list on spooky books for the season

Mads Rafferty Why did Mads love this book?

I felt like I was on the Truman Show reading this book. With every page turned I knew something was wrong, that something odd was happening but I couldnā€™t have ever thought in my wildest dreams that what was occurring was the plot twist.

As I found out what was happening along with the main characters, I was shocked.

This book truly made me feel like I was reading a YA version of Donā€™t Worry Darling, the movie. 

By Kelley Armstrong,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Someone Is Always Watching 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?

Their lives are a lie. Their memories may not be real. A new young adult psychological thriller by #1 NYT bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong.

Blythe and her friends ā€” Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya ā€” have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives. 

The strange happenings culminate in a shockingā€¦


Book cover of Cape
Book cover of Someone Is Always Watching

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