The 5 Best Children’s Books of the Year So Far

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

Caught between life and death himself, the fox Clare ferries lost souls into the afterlife. While it’s a precarious existence, it’s at least predictable—until a recently deceased badger named Gingersnaps leads Clare to investigate whispers of a growing danger in Deadwood Forest.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

Following her best friend Angel’s sudden death, Sage is left with heavy, conflicting emotions: guilt, anger, love, and overwhelming grief. Sage used to confide in Angel about everything, and without her, she doesn’t know where to turn. But when she joins a support group for girls who have also lost someone they loved, she begins to feel less alone and takes small steps toward healing.

City Summer, Country Summer by Kiese Laymon and Alexis Franklin

In the haven of “safeness” built between Grandmama’s pink shotgun home and Mama Lara’s ivory one, three Black boys—one from New York and two from Mississippi—spend their summer days together. In central Mississippi, they meet on porches. They walk in the cool forest. In an expansive garden with beans, cucumbers, and sunflowers, they play Marco Polo. Vibrant and textured, Franklin’s art includes swirls of clouds in wide skies, verdant fields, smiling faces, and dreamy magnolias blooming near a window. Laymon’s prose rings like poetry, and I keep reaching for this stunning meditation on love, vulnerability, the unspoken, joy, and possibility. —Connie Pan

Mr. Muffins: Defender of the Stars by Ben Kahn and Georgeo Brooks

For a Girl Becoming by Joy Harjo and Adriana Garcia

This picture book by Indigenous creators is magnificent, from Joy Harjo’s luminous poem celebrating a girl’s life, to Adriana Garcia’s gorgeous illustrations awash in swirls of warmth, joy, and love. It’s told from the perspective of a family welcoming the birth of a girl, passing on their wisdom as she grows, and letting her know that her family has always been there with her, welcoming and supportive. Horses form a common theme. Harjo’s poem sings, as always, and while I have always loved Garcia’s illustrations, these are possibly her best yet. It’s a stunning book that will be loved by children and adults alike. —Margaret Kingsbury