Best Reads of Fall 2025

Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

Everyday Bean by Stephanie Graegin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So stinking cute!
I can use in a fiction/nonfiction lesson re: hedgehogs.
And then slide into "Not a Box" the next week.

 

The Wombats Go Wild for Words by Beth Ferry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My students' vocabulary has become smaller every year. They need more words.

 

Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The ghost is a brat ... but he did come with the house. But then, most ghosts are content to just float around the attic rather than stealing socks and EATING THE CHEESE!! Unforgiveable.

My pedantic side questioned the tic tac toe game, but I think I will add this to the Mock Caldecott list and let the kids cut out their own game pieces from this printable from the publisher.

Go, Sloth, Go! by Toni Yuly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not sure that I will use for Mock Caldecott, but will definitely add to my sloth lessons. And it's short and rhyming and has a chorus, so a good PreK readaloud as well.

Early Readers

A Great Fall: Three-and-a-Half Stories by Ame Dyckman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the words of our characters, I love it! It's perfect! Exactly the kind of book I need more of in my library. A "chapter book" for early readers with repetition and sweet silliness. I want to buy them all.

 

Kat & Mouse: I Like Cheese! by Salina Yoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Early reader graphic novel with a sweet message about friendship. Lovely.

Chapter Book

 

Troubling Tonsils! by Aaron Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yes yes yes yes!!!! Exactly what we need!!!

Twilight Zone for the elementary set.

Fantastic vocabulary, tons of illustrations, creepiness and grossness and I cannot wait to get it and share with the students!

 

Nonfiction

  

When Tree Became a Tree by Rob Hodgson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just as good as "When Cloud Became a Cloud."
Factual, adorable, love it.

 

This Book Bubbles Over: From the Ocean to Mars and Everywhere In Between by Nora Nickum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So much cool information!

 

Meanwhile Back on Earth by Oliver Jeffers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely for older kids or even adults ... could be a great kickoff to a history class. Sobering. I often say that I can't believe in this day and age, we are still killing each other as a way to decide who wins.



Rewriting the Rules: How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and Disability by Danna Zeiger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really good portrayal of a person's life and purpose ... although I would like to know a little more detail about her experiments and discoveries.

 

Butt or Face? Volume 3: New York Times Bestselling Series by Kari Lavelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty disgusting facts this time around - reminded me of Haiku, Ew! Like so disgusting I don't know that even I who laughs at poop jokes would be able to read it out loud. I did mention it to some 2nd graders as we kicked off our Mock Sibert unit, and they begged me to bring it in. I'll let them be the test readers. And will still definitely buy.

For Grownups

   

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just don't overthink the details.

Mock Caldecott Winners - 2013-2026

 

2026: This Book is Dangerous!

 

2025: The Squish

 

2024: 100 Mighty Dragons, All Named Broccoli

 

2023: I Want to Be a Vase

 

2022: Off-Limits

 

2021: Snail Crossing

 

2020: Who Wet My Pants?
(second GC win in a row for Zachariah!)

 

2019: Niblet and Ralph

 

2018: Creepy Pair of Underwear!

 

2017: School's First Day of School
(second GC win for Christian Robinson!)

 

2016: I'm Trying to Love Spiders

 

2015: Gaston

 

2014: Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great

 

2013: This is Not My Hat (ALA Winner!)

AASL: I.B.3 - Generating products that illustrate learning; II.B.1 - Interacting with learners who reflect a range of perspectives; II.C.1 - Learners exhibit empathy with and tolerance for diverse ideas by: 1. Engaging in informed conversation and active debate. 2. Contributing to discussions in which multiple viewpoints on a topic are expressed.; III.B - Learners participate in personal, social, and intellectual networks; III.D.1 - Actively contributing to group discussions; V.A.1 - Reading widely and deeply in multiple formats and write and create for a variety of purposes.

Common Core: SL.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1/2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups; SL.2 Ask and answer questions about/recount or describe key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media; RL.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text; RL.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events; W.1 Write opinion pieces in which they name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure

Rhode Island Cross-Curricular Proficiencies: Collaboration - Incorporate diverse perspectives to promote an exchange of ideas with reasoning and evidence; Communication - Organize information to communicate ideas and responses when using any mode of communication

Rhode Island School Library Curriculum Priority Skills: 1.1 - Develops own opinion about a topic with evidence to support the opinion; 3.2 - Participates in collaborative conversations with peers and adults to share ideas and information

Options 

Mock Newbery 2026 - December Meeting

I didn't attend the first meeting of the season, because every book I started on the list - even if it was phenomenal writing - made me think "None of my students would read this." The second list has some slightly more kid-friendly titles, although none of them blew me away. Posted with results from the meeting. 

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent portrayal of grief and the guilt that can come with it.

Verdict: KEEP

 

The Experiment by Rebecca Stead
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was so good until it wasn't! I just reread a bunch to see if I had missed anything, but no, it doesn't seem clear at all as to why (view spoiler)[everyone ran out of the ship ... wouldn't they want to stay on it because they thought their mission was over and they were going home? (hide spoiler)]

I may still buy it for the library because kids ask for sci fi every so often and maybe they won't be as nitpicky about it. Because the first 75% or so was quite engrossing.

Verdict: KEEP

 

Is It Real?: The Loch Ness Monster by Candace Fleming
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved the setup and the way that Fleming walks the reader through assessing the evidence ... but after she asks you to make your decision 2/3 of the way through, she then presents decades more of research.

Verdict: KEEP

 

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was fine.

Some lovely turns of phrase.  
Even if I found the original premise a bit ridiculous.
And then rolled my eyes at the end.
I am jaded.

Verdict: KEEP

 

The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

No real surprises, except for how they were able to afford so much sausage and so much sugar.

Verdict: DROP

Outside by Jennifer L. Holm
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Heart surgery? Dog memories? I kind of guessed the big twist, and wasn't going to mind it too much because the target audience hasn't encountered as many stories like this yet, but the Wind/Poppy subplot took me out of it. Just silliness.

Verdict: KEEP

 

Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Too much going on, and it also suffers from the "stick some returns in the sentences to make it look like poetry" syndrome.

Verdict: DROP

Best Reads of July - August 2025

I did read a lot of grown-up mysteries and thrillers this summer, but they all ended up being, in the words of Jamie Tartt, "poo peh." However, I loved a ton of nonfiction for kids. Click on the titles below to read publisher summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

We Are the Wibbly! by Sarah Tagholm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SO ADORABLE.

I will try to line up as a readaloud for when K is doing frogs as part of their animal unit.

 

 

Island Storm by Brian Floca
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gorgeous illustrations.

Could tie in nicely to a weather-related lesson.





This Book Is Dangerous! by Ben Clanton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So the reader is kind of torturing Jelly, but I think the kids will love it. And it's a great example of a book where you need the illustrations to support the text, or else it doesn't make sense.

 

 

Fireworks by Matthew Burgess
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BEAUTIFULLY written with exquisite onomatopoeia.

The History of We by Nikkolas Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lyrical text and stunning artwork.

 

 

Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right by Mo Willems
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This reminds me that I need some lefty scissors ...

Will probably do as a readaloud during our schools' "Courage" unit of the Choose Love program. Sneaky way to get in some DEI.

 

Nonfiction

  

I'm a Dumbo Octopus!: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods by Anne Lambelet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I learned so many things, especially about Caribbean reef squids, cuttlefish, and blanket octopuses! It helped that the font was big enough for me to read easily.

Doing this as a readaloud will be a bit tough, but I definitely want to share it with students ... and find more quality nonfiction graphic novels. Hoping that Lambelet has another one in the works.



A Line Can Go Anywhere: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa by Caroline McAlister
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Comprehensive, lyrically written. I had never heard of Ruth Asawa, but now I am fascinated.

I will plan to pair the RICBA nominee from George Takei with this, and then see if I can loop in the art teacher for a related activity.

 

 

Sleuth & Solve: History: 20+ Mind-Twisting Mysteries by Victor Escandell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ooh, I have been looking for riddles and escape room ideas, and this was great!

 


Toes, Teeth, and Tentacles: A Curious Counting Book by Steve Jenkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fish with legs are my favorite! Get over here, tripod fish and red-lipped batfish!

OMG the sea pig just blew my mind.

So of course this is a good book, because Jenkins (RIP) and Page.

 


Zero! The Number That Almost Wasn't by Sarah Albee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can hear my kids now: "Ms. Moore, this is library, not math class!"
To which I always respond: "Library is about EVERYTHING!"

What a great jumping off point for historical research, geography, timelines, and languages.

 


Japanese American Internment Camps by Laura Hamilton Waxman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

George Takei's "My Lost Freedom" is on the 2026 RI Children's Book Award list, and I am considering expanding the readaloud into a research unit. Maybe. A colleague thinks it might be too much for 5th grade. But it happened. And internments and killings are happening now. I can't believe this is real life.

 

Revolutionary Mary: The True Story of One Woman, the Declaration of Independence, and America's Fight for Freedom by Karen Blumenthal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So timely.

Oh, no. The endnotes say she owned a slave. Gross. So much for freedom.



We Carry the Sun by Tae Keller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Like false prophets
of profit,
oil companies prey
on human weakness
and pay politicians
to keep digging.
They bury truth deep
and bury us deeper."



What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean by Kirsten Pendreigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish Pendreigh were American, so I could use for Mock Sibert this year for the kids who were obsessed with the "bloop" last year. Extra star for decent rhyme/meter, especially in a nonfiction book.

 

Make a Pretty Sound: A Story of Ella Jenkins―The First Lady of Children's Music by Traci N. Todd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written.