We’re excited to share this year-end roundup of children’s and YA books published in 2025 by independent literary publishers. Read our year-end roundups of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art and drama as well.
Picture Books
Wings and Whispers: Tales of Friendship, Volume 1 by Kaelen Felix
Prolific Pulse Press | March 17, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-962374-36-1
This children’s book consists of “stories about friendship filled with vivid and detailed illustrations of the many animals that learn to live together and encourage each other in Lily Brooke Swamp.”
Good Morning, Space by Linda Bondestam
Translated from the Swedish by A. A. Prime
Yonder | April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781632063830
This children’s book features “abundant humor, interactive cutouts, and plenty of Easter eggs for those with a curious eye.”
Willow and the Storm by Ethan Tapper
Green Writers Press | April 22, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-9891784-6-9
Illustrated by Frances Cannon, this children’s book is “meant to help children develop a better understanding of forest ecology as well as to improve their understanding of, and relationship to, the end of human life.”
Translated from the Portuguese by Juliana Barbassa
Transit Books | May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9798893380026
This picture book is “the story of language that takes on a life of its own, leading young readers through the hilariously ashimpish life and grammar of a mysterious word.”
Gecko Girl / Lagartijita by Daniel Chacón
Translated from the Spanish by Alaíde Ventura Medina
Piñata Books | May 31, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89375-014-0
This bilingual picture book for ages four to eight “follows a young girl who wakes up to an unfamiliar face in the mirror.”
¿Qué es un poema? / What Is a Poem? by Jovi de la Jara
Piñata Books | May 31, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89375-016-4
de la Jara’s bilingual children’s book “describes the endless possibilities available in writing poetry; words can rhyme, run off the page or even be invented!”
Cascarones: An Easter Surprise / Cascarones: Una sorpresa de Pascuas by Alicia Salazar
Translated from the Spanish by Alaíde Ventura Medina
Piñata Books | May 31, 2025
ISBN: 9798893750157
In this picture book, “a young girl named Victoria eagerly anticipates Easter and the confetti-filled eggs, or cascarones, she and her parents make for the holiday.”
Watch Out for Falling Iguanas: A Children’s Picture Book by Edwidge Danticat
Akashic Books | July 1, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-63614-232-6
Illustrated by Rachel Moss, this picture book “teaches children about iguanas’ unique behaviors while celebrating the bonds between generations and the wonders of the natural world.”
Tree Spirits Around the World by Louise Wannier
Red Hen Press | September 16, 2025
ISBN: 978-0-9909976-7-2
This illustrated children’s book “helps children explore and appreciate the diversity our planet has to offer, and the spirits that tie us together.”
Frank the Frog by Colin R. Brooks and Matthew J. Peake
Green Writers Press | October 21, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-9923988-7-8
In this children’s book, “the rhythmic text and bold, colorful imagery appeal to young listeners and early readers alike, while the pairing of words and images also holds the attention of adult readers.”
Restless Books | November 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781632064097
“What begins as a scary almost-accident turns into a road-trip adventure, and then a lasting friendship between a truck driver and the moose who joins him for a ride” in this picture book.
Books for Young Readers
Translated from the Spanish by Martin J. Perazzo and Paul David Martin
Seven Stories Press | February 25, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-64421-400-8
This children’s book illustrated by Luis Demano is an “essential, definitive visual guide and history to the variety of human rights and protections—great for activists, rights defenders, and young readers who love visual learning.”
I Want You to Know by Mona Damluji
Seven Stories Press | March 18, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-64421-441-1
According to Aya Ghanameh, this poem with illustrations by Ishtar Bäcklund Dakhil “offers young readers a meaningful way to explore the complexities of family heritage, displacement, and the lasting effects of war.”
Golden Threads by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
Ayin Press | March 25, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-961814-21-9
This book for middle-grade readers “will take people of all ages on a journey into the multi-faith world of Morocco’s craftspeople, inspiring generative conversations about art, labor, community, and technology for years to come.”
Regal House Publishing | April 1, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-64603-551-9
In this children’s novel, “the Borensteins and twelve other Jewish families have left behind the deadly pogroms of Eastern Europe only to find life nearly as harsh in 1911 Mill Creek, Wisconsin.”
The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba
Translated from the Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa
Yonder | May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781632063922
In this middle-grade novel that inspired Spirited Away when it was first published in Japan fifty years ago, a gust of wind “leads Lina down a secret path between the trees to a strange and incredible world.”
Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign by Sara Shacter
Regal House Publishing | October 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781646036356
According to Beverly Patt, “readers will be rooting for Georgia as she attempts to balance her scientific ambitions with the needs and feelings of those around her” in this children’s novel.
Young Adult
Finding Normal by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Regal House Publishing | January 21, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-64603-563-2
According to Val Emmich, this young adult novel is a “riveting tale of two not-so-‘normal’ teens (and a baby raccoon) who are on the lam and heading across the country toward self-discovery, self-acceptance and each other.”
Under The Light Of Fireflies by Lee Sanders
Flare Books | January 21, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-96351-101-7
This novel is a “big-hearted coming-of-age debut about a tiger, a Russian, a model airplane, unexplainable disaster, and a bewildered twelve-year-old boy just trying to find his place in the world.”
The Heron Witch by Marnie Reed Crowell
Green Writers Press | February 25, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-9883820-4-1
According to Doug Tallamy, this young adult novel based on tracking data from a real-life Great Blue heron is a “delightful tale about a city girl’s adventures in a Maine fishing village.”
The Nothing Club by Cathy Beveridge
Ronsdale Press | May 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781553807285
In this novel, “four delinquent teens are inadvertently pulled into a criminal investigation that challenges their deepest values and misconceptions.”
In the Company of Wolves by Antonio Farías
Piñata Books | May 31, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89375-011-9
In this young adult novel, “a boy on the cusp of manhood observes the importance of family, respect for the natural world and the impact of war as he considers who he will become.”
The Closest Thing to a Normal Life by Michael Méndez Guevara
Arte Público Press | May 31, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89375-013-3
According to Matt Mendez, this book “navigates the complexities of grief and shows how our deepest relationships ultimately shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.”
Radhika Rages at the Crater School by Chaz Brenchley
Wizard’s Tower Press | June 26, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-917950-01-5
In this young adult science fiction novel, “The Crater School has taken in children from all across the province, which means from many different cultures and creeds, but never yet a half-Indian army brat who absolutely doesn’t want to be there.”
Finding Ramanta by Robyn Dabney
Fitzroy Books | December 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781646036219
According to Adriana Allegri, in this YA novel readers “will find enormous inspiration in Klarke’s determination and passionate resolve to uncover the truth despite the personal cost, anguish, and peril.”
