My Top 10 Picture Books From 2025!
What was your favorite picture book of 2025? Below is some of the absolute best picture books I was able ot read in 2025! From the hundreds of picture books I read, these are the books that were the best from either a supportive standpoint or as a unique, fun read. Do we have any in common? If there are some you haven't read yet, be sure to add them to your holds at your local library!
I'm looking forward to seeing what 2026 has in store for us for another year of wonderful books.
Happy reading!
Want to see what made the top ten cut in 2023? Check out this list!
Best of 2024? Check out this list!
If you want to see even more of my favorites from 2025, check out my Instagram page or my Amazon Storefront, where I have my top fun picture books, environmental picks, and conversation starter of 2025.
Without any further ado and in no particular order, I present my top picture book picks of 2025!
Top Picture Books of 2025
Hilarious and unexpected, this narrative nonfiction is perfect for sharing with a wide variety of readers! Can you trust fish?
Looking for a laugh out loud read aloud? Look no further than this hit! Readers will love the contrast between the illustrations and text, the unexpecting dodo and the danger lurking close by!
I love Matthew Forsythe books! The beautiful illustration and a storyline readers don’t see come. Readers will be flipping the pages to find out what’s going to happen next and will laugh along the way with the absurdity of it all. Be sure to check out Mina and Pokko and the Drum, if you enjoy this one!
As an early childhood educator, I would be remiss not to include this one on my top picks of 2025. Finger rhymes are where it’s at for the littlest readers! Interactive and short, finger rhymes are perfect way to connect, play, boost language, work fine motor skills, and more, all in a brief period of time. Filled with finger rhymes and illustrations showing actions for readers to learn what to do and follow along. This would make the perfect baby shower gift or gift for kids 0-3 years old.
And the coziest read of 2025, a book that feels like a warm hug, The Blue Velvet Chair! A girl climbs into her favorite chair, the cozy blue velvet chair, and reminsces about the seasons passing by outside the window.
My top earth helper book of 2025! I love that the main character is a child leading the way to make a difference for amphibians where she lives. She takes many steps for action to protect them with the help of her family. The story is engaging, relatable to readers, readers are able to learn about becoming a citizen scientist and ways to help nature and amphibans. Great backmatter.
Based on the true stories from dogs at Working Dogs for Conservation, readers learn about how a shelter dog finds a forever home that is just perfect for him based on the skill set that no one else wanted. From troubled shelter dog to conservation hero, Tucker and his ability to save wildlife will leave readers amazed and wanting to learn more.
Together, a Forest
by Roz MacLean
From the first moment I read this one, I knew it would be included in my top books of 2025. Connections about how nature’s diversity and human diversity, disability and neurodiversity, help make the world a better place and belong in it? I’m in. Learn a bit more about nature and others with this terrific read.
Why does Mr. Gill keep an empty chair in the front of his class? This true story from a teacher’s childhood experience is one that will stick with you after reading. Every year Mr. Gill tells his class why there’s an empty chair in front of the classroom and why he wants to make sure everyone feels welcomed. An excellent share for a conversation starter about racism.
One of the most relevant reads of the year given all that has been happening in the world. This year people have been rising up, just as many of those before us have done. Inspiring and worth reflecting on.
Two Runners-Up
Anything
by Rebecca Stead, illustrated by Gracey Zhang
This is one of the best books about moving I’ve ever read for kids. What I love is the potential to recreate the way the dad helped the child through this tough transition. Thoughtful with a lovely connection between father and child highlighted, this one is wonderful.
Book bans and word bans have been huge this past year and this book was released at the right time. Yes, there are other books about book banning, but this book does a fabulous job weaving humor and reasons why not to ban books that stick. Great for conversations about the value of diverse perspectives.
