One title is for young readers and the other is for middle grade, but both books share the importance of the cultural holiday that begins on December 26 and has been celebrated since 1966.

The 2025 YA Best Books list has a choice for every teen—long-anticipated companion novels, adorable rom-coms, and genre-bending romantasy.

This year’s Best Nonfiction for Middle and High School students features true crime, an inclusive puberty book, sports titles, and lots of STEM.

Every one of our picks on the Best 2025 Graphic Novel list, ranging from early readers to adaptations of popular kid lit prose, has illustrations to be pored over and a narrative to be enjoyed.

SLJ chats with the Pura Belpre–winning artist about the creative process for this year’s December Best Books cover.

In Dietrich’s book, Owen rooms with a prince of Hell; in Joyce’s book, the Princess of Hell plans an escape with Nate.

SLJ has selected 191 titles for our 2025 Best Books of the year! Take a look at our fabulous December issue cover, dedicated to this year's list.

The Best Middle Grade titles of 2025 feature action-packed fantasies, resonant realistic fiction, and heart-pounding horror stories for tweens.