I love reading books on my own and with my family. Family reading time is my favorite time of the day, and with kids of different ages, we read a wide variety of books. Here are my favorites of 2025:

Board Books

Your Island by Jon Klassen

Jon Klassen has entered the world of board books, and his books are fabulous. They are simple, but there’s always a little bit of a twist, enough to stand out and be special. The whole series is great for reading before bedtime (they end with everyone going to sleep).

Let’s Play by Hervé Tullet

Another great interactive book by Hervé Tullet. If you thought books were only for looking at, you need to pick up one of his books for your next storytime. This book follows a yellow dot on an adventure, and you have to participate too.

Picture Books: Fiction

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat

This book begins like a non-fiction book about animals but soon goes in a whole new direction as the narrator takes us on a journey about the dangers of fish. The narrator is revealed later in the story, along with other surprises. This is a super fun read.

The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed and Hatem Aly

Another fun book that breaks out of the normal mold. A boy is writing a book in rhyme, but his younger sister keeps switching the last word of his rhymes and takes the story off the rails. This book has fun rhyming, sibling struggles, and imagination by the ton.

Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis

This is an older book, 2016, but I had never read it before. The book is written in a made-up insect language, but by the end of the book, you can understand it. It has fabulous, imaginative pictures, and is a book kids will want to reread.

Storm Trucks by Charlotte Glaze

Kids and parents alike have loved my new picture book, Storm Trucks. Axel and his puppy have to face scary thunderstorms with imagination and construction trucks who live in the clouds. A great read about overcoming fear and sharing kindness with others.

Picture Books: Non-Fiction

Go and Do Likewise! by John Hendrix

This is a retelling of the parables of Jesus with the collage/ink illustration style of John Hendrix. I really think he handled the stories and the pictures in a really engaging manner.

The Noisy Puddle by Linda Booth Sweeney and Miki Sato

Learn about a vernal puddle ecosystem with this book that is both fun to read and filled with detailed and beautiful pictures that make you want to reach out and touch them. A great pick for stirring up wonder for the natural world.

Feathers Together by Caron Levis and Charles Santoso

Based on a true story, this is the adventures of two storks who are usually inseparable, but after one is injured, they have to live apart during migration season. It’s a story of hope and kindness that brings tears to my eyes when I read it. Such a sweet and moving story, I’m sure you will love it too.

Early Readers

Pepper & Boo: A Cat Surprise by Charise Mericle Harper

With my son learning to read with more confidence this year, we read a lot of early readers. This was one of the new-to-us ones that I actually loved. Two dogs, one cat. The dog is afraid of the cat, but the cat just wants us to understand what cats are like: what they do, what they eat, how they sleep. The combination is magic.

Our other favorite reads are classics for learning to read:

The Bike Lesson by Jan and Stan Berenstain

Little Bear tries to learn to ride a bike with help from his Dad, who shows him all the things not to do when riding.

Can I Play Too? (Elephant and Piggie) by Mo Willems

I love all the Elephant and Piggie books, but especially this one. We all roar with laughter when we read this one.

Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Again, pick any Frog and Toad book for a winner. Frog is all confidence and ready for life, while Toad is hesitant about everything, but they love to spend time and have adventures together.

Elementary-Age Books

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I think this one of her books has the best story arc. The tale of Almonzo Wilder as a young boy, learning to take care of horses on his farm in New York State in the 1866-67. He learns life lessons, hard work, and the rewards for doing what is right.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Using the children’s own problem areas against them, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle helps the mothers of her town cure their children of such ailments as Selfishness, Answer-Backer, or Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker. A classic because kids still deal with these ailments and still think it’s funny to think about how taking these things to extremes would look.

Middle Grade

The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson

Norvia is dealing with a lot of challenges in her life: moving, her mother remarrying, the challenges of being half-Native American, half-White in a town that doesn’t look like her. This is a sweet growing-up story that recognizes the feelings and mistakes of this age group well, and also has faith playing a role in her character growth.

Find Her by Ginger Reno

A challenging book, Wren is dealing with a missing mother and a town mystery of dead animals turning up in strange places. This book is touching, and while not everything is resolved by the end of the book (as things are in life), Wren has grown stronger in being able to face the future and keep working towards better days ahead.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

A fantasy in which Peter Nimble, the greatest thief who ever lived, has to go on an adventure to a mysterious kingdom full of magic and help overthrow an evil tyrant. We read this book out-loud as a family and have continued the story with Auxier’s other two Vanished Kingdom books.

Young Adult

The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix

A graphic novel biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer during his struggle to fight against Hitler. I love the addition of the drama and tension the images brought to the story, and felt it was very moving and thought-provoking.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Susanne Collins

I love The Hunger Games and found this prequel very moving. So, for anything who liked The Hunger Games, this is a winner.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

In a world turning to romantasy, this is a fantasy romance that is clean and sweet. Elizabeth lives in a world where books can be magical and alive, but all sorcerers are evil. She is falsely accused of a crime and thrown into a world of magic and danger and living books.

Adult

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

There are 8 volumes so far of Emma Lion’s journals, and I had to read all of them. They are set in 1883 London, and Emma is 20 years old. She is also likely to get herself into scrapes and try to avoid unpleasant situations in very unusual ways which could end up in disaster, but usually turn out. It reminded me of Anne of Green Gables meets Jane Austen meets Downton Abbey. I loved all of it.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

This story follows a man, Ove, who is quite grumpy and feels like life is over and not worth living anymore. He keeps being confronted by neighbors and strangers who need his help, and eventually help him live again. I loved this book and found his personality hilarious. Keep your tissues handy as well.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

A powerful read and true story of Corrie Ten Boom, a woman in her forties who finds herself in the middle of a human smuggling ring to save Jews from the Nazis. She is later caught and imprisoned by the Nazis, and this is the story of her faith in the middle of those horrific times and what God taught her through it. Absolutely a must read book.