“Connection is really the thing that we’re leaning into with this batch of picture books,” says Mary Kate Castellani, publishing director at Bloomsbury Children’s Books. “Connection to the past, connection across cultures to give readers this eye into a culture that’s different from theirs, and that deep human connection.”

The connection theme runs through other publishers’ new picture books, too. Kyra Ostendorf of Free Spirit Publishing also emphasizes how picture books help kids connect with each other. “Our picture books provide skills and strategies to navigate everything from making friends to social situations like bullying,” she says. “And we don’t shy away from tough topics.” She says that one of Free Spirit’s books about food insecurity, for example, will help a hungry child feel seen while helping their classmates gain empathy and understanding about what that child may be experiencing.

Picture books can also help young readers forge valuable connections with themselves. Cathy Taylor, national accounts manager at Tuttle Publishing, which has titles introducing mindfulness to kids, says, “The world is a volatile place right now, and mindfulness can help children focus on the world that is immediately in front of them. Focusing on little slices of joy or gratitude can aid in managing the stress of all the things that kids may feel powerless to change.”

These essential life lessons and many others are beautifully conveyed and illustrated in the latest crop of picture books that publishers shared with us below.

Bloomsbury Children’s Books

An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Children’s Books publishes 50 titles a year. The frontlist spans genres and ages from board books to young adult crossovers. Here, Publishing Director Mary Kate Castellani introduces three new Bloomsbury picture books for ages 4–8 that meet our current moment.

“Whether they’re bridging cultures or illuminating things that we want kids to be thinking about, all three of these books do a beautiful job of building connections so kids can understand things they're hearing about today with a broader context and more information,” she says.

Best-selling, Caldecott Medal–winning author Carole Lindstrom’s new picture book, The Gift of the Great Buffalo, illustrated by Aly McKnight, February 2025, ISBN 9781547606887, fills in some of the gaps in children’s historical fiction. Lindstrom tells the story of a young Métis girl, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, who is determined to help her family track the buffalo they need to survive the long winter. The story gives readers a glimpse into the community-centric buffalo hunts of the 1860s. And McKnight’s bold, vibrant watercolors immerse readers in the prairie setting where the buffaloes roamed. 

“We used this line that before there was a Little House on the Prairie, there was a little teepee on the prairie,” Castellani says. “These people [the Ojibwe] were real. They had large communities and so much more to their lives beyond what is portrayed in a lot of the older books for children about earlier times.”

Ezra Jack Keats Award–honoree Zahra Marwan wrote and illustrated Sakina and the Uninvited Guests, April 2025, ISBN 9781547613427. When a sandstorm hits her city, Sakina reluctantly goes with her mother to a museum instead of to the beach. She’s bored by the collection and mystified by her mother’s emotional reaction to it. But a lion, a jaguar, and a crocodile (all inspired by real-world art with special meaning for Marwan) stand out to Sakira and begin to evoke the wonder and awe of encounters with historical art.

Later, Sakina realizes the art has stayed with her—literally. The crocodile, lion, and jaguar—three uninvited guests—have hitched a ride home in her backpack, extending her connection to the past. “There’s a gorgeous line that says, ‘I hope they'll remember me.’ And it’s so beautiful, this desire to be remembered, to have people know you, through a child’s lens,” Castellani says. Marwan’s multilayered, whimsical art brings these deep human truths to life on the page.

The Friendship Train by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Boris Kulikov, June 2025, ISBN 9781547608027, tells a little-known, heartwarming true story. After World War II, when many Europeans were on the brink of starvation, Washington, D.C. journalist Drew Pearson proposed the idea of a Friendship Train to run from the West Coast to the East Coast, collecting food to be donated abroad. Americans banded together: children donated their allowances, sold newspapers, and collected provisions from neighbors to load onto the boxcars headed for the East Coast then to Europe.

Meticulously researched by Levy, all the book’s details are factually accurate. “It’s about how a small kindness can grow into something bigger and even kids can make a difference,” Castellani explains. “The Friendship Train shows what it means to be part of the broader landscape of humanity and that your neighbors are not so far away. They’re not so different from you.”

Groundwood Books

Toronto-based Groundwood Books is one of the oldest Canadian publishers of children’s books. The company produces about 30 titles a year, ranging from board books to YA fiction and nonfiction. But the company may be best known for its beautiful picture books.

“Our current publisher, Karen Li, characterizes our list as joyful, justice-oriented, and forward-thinking,” says Senior Publicist Kristen Brassard. “We’re known for being ahead of the curve and unafraid of tackling stories that might be difficult or controversial.”

One Can by Lana Button and Eric Walters, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant, September 2025, ISBN 9781773067346, is a timely book for ages 3–6 about food insecurity that epitomizes Groundwood’s philosophy. An unnamed child is excited to donate their favorite food, Zoodelicious, as the hundredth can in a drive at school for people in need. The teacher put a snowflake sticker on the can, marking it as the last one. But a few days later while unpacking bags at home, the child notices the same stickered can among their groceries and is surprised to discover that his family are the people in need.

“I think that socioeconomic diversity is still really underrepresented in picture books,” Brassard says. “This book, to me, does that important work and shows kids that it’s okay to accept help when you need it and that it means a lot to give as well as to receive.”

In A Single Dreadlock by Xaiver Michael Campbell, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes, September 2025, ISBN 9781773069388, ages 3–6, Lovie moves from Jamaica to Newfoundland with his dads. When school starts, kids make fun of the single dreadlock his hair formed over the summer. But later, his grandmother visits and explains that developing dreadlocks is a beautiful, natural process. When he goes back to school with a full head of dreadlocks, he proudly teaches his classmates what he’s learned.

“Xaiver Michael Campbell is from Jamaica and moved to Newfoundland himself. He identifies as Black, Jewish, and gay, and I love how he’s incorporated all those different elements of his own identity into this story,” Brassard says. “But somehow he makes it such a universal story about self-acceptance and self-confidence that I think any kid will be able to find an entry point.”

Sequoia Kids Media

Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, Sequoia Kids Media is the school and library imprint of Chicago-based Phoenix International Publications. The imprint publishes about 35 titles each year for ages 2–10, including picture books, graphic novels, ebooks, audiobooks, read-alongs, and look-and-finds.

Author and illustrator Sally Anne Garland used the true story of astronauts taking a bag of seeds into space on the Apollo 14 mission as the jumping off point for The Moon Seed, January 2025, ISBN 9798765409886. In this reimagining for ages 4–8, a seed travels to space, returns to earth, is planted, and grows, stretching toward the moon, where it longs to return.

“It’s really about finding the joy and the beauty right where you are and seeing the beautiful things that are already around you,” says Senior Marketing Manager Casey Griffin. Garland’s dreamlike art perfectly illustrates this message.

Bright summer colors in the fun, cartoonish art of It’s Boring Being a Cat by Adam Bestwick, illustrated by Chris Cady, August 2025, ISBN 9798765412183, will grab readers ages 4–8. Told in rhyme, Cat’s story is that he’s tired of being a cat and wants to be something else. But his friend Dog helps him explore his options, including being a lion and a polar bear. Cat realizes that being a cat isn’t so bad after all. “It’s silly and rhyming, and Dog is a very, very patient and good friend to Cat,” Griffin says.

Not-So-Bad Guys Vampire!, ISBN 9798765412107, and Not-So-Bad Guys Snow Monster!, ISBN 9798765412114, are the first two titles in a new series for ages 4–8 written and illustrated by Michael Buxton, coming out in August 2025.

In Vampire!, Count Derek is excited to move into a creepy castle in a new town and make new friends. But the townspeople are a bit wary of him. Derek throws a party to try to win them over—and it works. “It’s a really fun story about perspective and seeing others for who they actually are versus what they look like or what you’ve heard about them,” Griffin says.

In Snow Monster!, Abominable Simon loves his quiet life in the mountains. But when humans show up to ski, sled, and trash his home, Simon gets upset. His rage scares everyone except one little girl, who finds the courage to listen to his side of the story. “It’s a great story, again, about perspective and also how your actions have consequences and can affect other people,” Griffin says.

Free Spirit Publishing

Free Spirit Publishing has been an imprint of Teacher Created Materials since its 2021 acquisition. Its 35 frontlist titles a year range from baby and toddler board books through teens, plus trade titles for educators and parents.

“SEL is always our starting point,” says Publisher Kyra Ostendorf. “We have lots of picture books with wonderful stories, but even those further SEL themes.” All Free Spirit picture books also include backmatter for adults that reinforce their messages.

Authors Mary Rand Hess and Randy Preston, taking inspiration from their theater backgrounds, teamed up with illustrator Marilena Perilli to create “The Mini-Musical Tales from Bird Mountain School,” a new series of three picture books for ages 7–11, coming in September 2025.

All three stories take place at Bird Mountain School and celebrate creativity and expression. Characters break into song throughout the musical stories. “The books are partially written in song,” Ostendorf says, “not that you must sing them as a reader. You can chant them.” All three books also have downloadable music and scripts for kids to perform.

The first title in the series, Bravo for Backstage, ISBN 9798885544030, is about managing disappointment and the importance of people and things that aren’t visible. Chicken Predicament, ISBN 9798885544061, is about the value of teamwork. And The Great Dance-On, ISBN 9798885544092, is a celebration of individuality, creativity, and speaking up for yourself.

A nonfiction title for ages 6–10, Tummies Flip, Hearts Skip by Kris Downing, illustrated by Vivian Mineker, September 2025, ISBN 9798885543811, is about how feelings feel. “Free Spirit has a lot of books about how feelings feel, but this one stands apart with its imagery,” Ostendorf says. “We wanted a book whose illustrations evoke the feelings.” Instead of a situational story, this book helps kids think about and understand how emotions feel in their bodies by letting the art do the work. A glossary of emotion and sensation words is included as backmatter.

Tuttle Publishing

In 1948, Vermont-based Tuttle Publishing opened an outpost in Japan and established itself as a leader in English-language books about the arts, languages, and cultures of Asia. Tuttle’s more than 100 new titles a year span a broad range of categories, including children’s picture books.

My First Book of Zen, written and illustrated by Tracy Gallup, August 2025, ISBN 9784805318980, for ages 8 and up, features scenarios requiring kids to navigate emotions. Beautiful watercolor illustrations accompany the guidance of Zen, encouraging kids to listen, notice, and see the wonder in the world around them.

“In today’s world, there are so many things you can’t control,” says National Accounts Manager Cathy Taylor. “But being able to pause, take a breath, look around you, and see what you can manage is a powerful thing for children.” She also points out that the dreamlike illustrations invite kids to turn away from outward distractions and go inward to explore their imaginations, inner peace, and inner wisdom.

Tuttle’s bilingual children’s collection includes fables and folktales for children ages 5–13 featuring two languages (English followed by a second language, separated by asterisks) on each page. “A book with two different languages is useful for children growing up in multilingual households, so they can explore the differences and similarities between the languages and also feel a connection to family and heritage,” Taylor says. “But it’s also useful for anyone learning the language for the first time, even adults.”

Philippines-based school librarian and educator Zarah C. Gagatiga wrote Filipino Folktales for Children, illustrated by Corazon Dandan-Albano, October 2025, ISBN 9780804856133, a collection of seven Filipino stories in Tagalog and English. “The Philippines has an incredibly rich cultural heritage with many languages and dialects with their own folk stories, tales, games, and songs,” Taylor says. “But these folktales all offer timeless, universal messages about love, kindness, respect, family, and community that resonate with readers from all backgrounds.”

Egyptian American author Hadil Ghoneim’s Arabic Folktales for Children, illustrated by Ayah Khamis, September 2025, ISBN 9780804858076, features eight stories in English and Arabic from oral and written sources from across the Arabic-speaking world. “There are tales about friendship, overcoming challenges, and staying true to yourself,” Taylor says. “The lessons in these fables are tucked in as warm, funny moments. And gorgeous artwork brings the witty stories to life.”

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