Best Kids’ Books of January 2025

Your favorite outcasts are back following their adventures in A Royal Conundrum (our overall Children’s Book of the Year for 2024), and this time, all of San Francisco is at stake. With mysterious happenings, cryptic clues and (un)natural disasters rocking their world, can the Misfits get to the bottom of it before it’s too late?

There’s something off about this funhouse — and these best friends are on the case. Sarah, Hannah and West know how to outsmart any escape room, and they’re determined to make the local abandoned funhouse their next conquest — except, they quickly realize not everything is as it seems. A wicked fun adventure story with a tender core, get your sleuthing on and join the journey to uncover decades old secrets in Lindsay Currie’s latest.

Amanda Gorman was inspired to take action after watching a 2013 speech by Malala Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, Gorman has been named the first National Youth Poet Laureate and become an inspiration in her own right. This book continues her mission to elevate and encourage people of all ages.

An enemies-to-lovers rom-com with just the right combination of cozy, wit and weird. Erin’s thirteenth birthday is finally here, and all she wants is to be elected president of the Multicultural Leadership Club at school. Instead, she’s let in on an unbelievable family secret — her dad is Cupid. Yeah, THAT Cupid. Sharply written, with bantering dialogue, characters you’ll quickly grow attached to and a spritz of magic, the list of reasons you’ll love this book is extensive. 

Dexter is an old soul, and when he’s forced to leave homeschooling behind, he learns seventh graders aren’t known for being accepting. After living with his grandma in the Pines retirement community for years, Dexter’s taste in clothes, music and movies are all vintage, and he doesn’t know how to connect with the other kids at school without making himself a target. Beloved author Gordon Korman is back with a quirky and raucous romp through middle school alongside one of our new favorite characters.

An uncertain future looms over the Clans, in-fighting threatens ShadowClan’s stability, and SkyClan’s leadership is dwindling. Can these cats manage the ever-changing world — or are things destined to fall apart? A brand-new branch in the bestselling Warriors universe, Warriors: Changing Skies brings even more feline fun to an already epic series. 

A story of friendship, learning and new beginnings, Mixed-Up follows one girl’s hardships in school, and the tight-knit group of classmates that help her along the way. Stella is so excited to begin a brand-new school year, but when she notices she can’t keep up with the rest of her classmates and her classwork starts to pile up, she’s afraid of facing the truth about what it could mean. This big-hearted read is perfect for fans of Dan Santat and Terri Libenson.

Used to always being on the move with her diplomat father, Ollie learns to grapple with the biggest challenge of all: putting roots down. When her parents drop the news that her latest school will be a permanent one — after just having the most mortifying first day of school ever — she has to figure out how to navigate popularity, bullies and long-term friendships. A story about accepting our quirks and oddities, Fresh Start follows Ollie’s journey to make friends at her new (permanent) school and embrace what makes her unique.

Is there anything better than one of our favorite authors writing a book about one of the silliest foods of all? Prepare to go bananas! Boisterous and filled with belly-laughs galore, Banana Bop! is a brilliant and buoyant read for the whole family. 

With lounging ladybugs and adventurous snails sliming their way through mushroom fields, The World Needs the Wonder You See is a reminder for all ages that we can all learn something from the world around us, if only we stop and look around a while. Bestselling author and co-creator of the Magnolia Network, Joanna Gaines returns with a delightful and imaginative tale set in the heart of nature.