21 Exemplary Titles, Including Nonfiction from Ibram X. Kendi and Erin Entrada Kelly | Web Starred Reviews, May 2025

This month, an illustrated poem by Joy Harjo stands out, along with Spanish, Holidays, and Back-to-School titles, among others.

The Remembering Candle (Goldberg) ©2025 by Selina Alko


Holidays

GOLDBERG, Alison. The Remembering Candle. illus. by Selina Alko. Barefoot.

 

Back-to-School

CLAPHAM, Katie. The Tour at School. illus. by Nadia Shireen. Candlewick.

 

Spanish

DELAUNOIS, Angèle. Carlito’s Butterfly/La mariposa de Carlito. tr. by Ann Marie Boulanger & Patricia Bendito Gordon. illus. by Augusto Mora. Orca. BL

RYAN, Pam Muñoz. El Niño (Spanish Edition). tr. from English by Pam Muñoz Ryan. illus. by Joe Cepeda. Scholastic en español. SP

TONATIUH, Duncan. Pancho conejo y el coyote: La fábula de un migrante. Abrams. SP

 

In the World of Whales (Cusolito) ©2025 by Jessica Lanan


Picture Books

BEATON, Kate. Shark Girl. illus. by Kate Beaton. Roaring Brook.

CUSOLITO, Michelle. In the World of Whales. illus. by Jessica Lanan. Holiday House/Neal Porter.

JUDGE, Lita. Old Blue Is My Home. illus. by Lita Judge. Abrams.

STREMER, Jessica. Wonderfully Wild: Rewilding a School and Community. illus. by Josée Masse. S. & S./Beach Lane.


Middle Grade

CALLANS, Jess. Ollie In Between. Feiwel & Friends.

 

YA

BROOKS, Nick. Up in Smoke. Holt.

CITRA, Becky. Like a Bird. Second Story.

MALDONADO, Crystal. Get Real, Chloe Torres. Holiday House.

VAN NESS, Jonathan & Julie Murphy. Let Them Stare. HarperCollins/Storytide.

 

Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit (Golden) ©2025 by Paola Escobar


Nonfiction

GOLDEN, Molly. Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit. illus. by Paola Escobar. HarperCollins/Clarion.

KELLY, Erin Entrada. At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom. Greenwillow.

KENDI, Ibram X. Malcolm Lives! The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers. Farrar.

SCHARFF, Kate. We Need to Talk About Divorce: An IMPORTANT book About Separation, Stepfamilies, and Feeling Heard. illus. by Annika Le Large. Neon Squid.

YONG, Ed. An Immense World (Young Readers Edition): How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets. illus. by Rebecca Mills. Random/Bright Matter.

 

Poetry

WEIL, Zaro. I Hear The Trees: Untamed Poems From Mother Earth. illus. by Junli Song. Welbeck.

HARJO, Joy. For a Girl Becoming. illus. by Adriana M. Garcia. Norton.

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