Hark! Bookstores are heralding a cornucopia of holiday and everyday choices for children and teens this December. While booksellers deemed Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man #14, Big Jim Believes, Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid #20, Partypooper, and Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris’s The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge the season’s staples, they shared additional recommendations for young readers.
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie (Knopf), and its sequel, The Poisoned King, are flying off the shelves at Wild Rumpus, the Minneapolis indie famous for its in-house menagerie of animals. Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire graphic novel editions (Graphix) and Abby Hanlon’s Dory Fantasmagory series (Puffin), as well as Jan Brett’s The Christmas Sweater (Putnam) are also hot picks for young readers. Reindeer Day was celebrated by local businesses in Wild Rumpus’s neighborhood, which is “always a big sales day” for the bookstore, according to co-owner and frontlist buyer Tim Otte, and the store hosted author Emily Kilgore for an outdoor storytime of her book, The Christmas Book Flood, illustrated by Kitty Moss (FSG). “Yes, it was cold,” Otte said, “but we are strong Minnesotans!”
In Washington, D.C., East City Books’s children’s buyer Amy Andrews recommended Cat Nap by Brian Lies (Greenwillow), for its “adorable cat, incredible art, and fascinating backmatter explaining the creation process.” And, she added, Don’t Eat Eustace by Lian Cho (HarperCollins) is “a quirky pick for fans of This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen.”
Aubrey Cece of Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, N.J., reported that, in picture books, she and her colleagues are “big fans” of The Snow Theater by Ryoji Arai, translated by David Boyd (Enchanted Lion), and she called The House with the Little Red Door by Grace Easton (Thames & Hudson) “our book of the month.” Cece is also getting numerous requests for Little Blue Truck Christmas by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Clarion).
David Landry at Class Bookstore in Houston said that the store celebrates both Christmas and Kwanzaa (December 26) with books such as Once Upon a Kwanzaa by Nyasha Williams and Sidney Rose McCall, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud (Running Press). “We’ve sold 10 copies so far, but Kwanzaa is coming up, so we anticipate selling many more this month,” he said.
Ryan Billingsley, “owner and lead father” of Dad Suggests Books in Fayetteville, Ark., said he has “seen lots of interest in” Victor D.O. Santos and illustrator Catarina Sobral’s People Are Weird (Milky Way), Bob Shea’s Bearsuit Turtle Makes a Friend (Abrams), Jon Klassen’s Your Places board books (Candlewick), and—for slightly older readers—Scott Campbell’s Cabin Head and Tree Head (Tundra). Campbell’s book is also a huge hit with Wild Rumpus customers, with Otte noting, “I’ve had multiple people ask about a sequel already.”
Billingsley ranks his store’s holiday hits each year, and the top three for 2025 are Saskia Gwinn and Daria Danilova’s Secrets from the North Pole (Frances Lincoln), Kyle Sullivan and Zoe Persico’s Tonight Is Krampus Night! (Hazy Dell), and Riel Nason and Byron Eggenschwiler’s The Little Ghost Quilt’s Winter Surprise (Tundra). “We definitely are handselling those this year,” Billingsley told PW.
The Little Ghost Quilt’s Winter Surprise was a popular pick at Folklore Bookshop in Midway, Utah, a postcard destination for skiing and hot cocoa. Co-owner Lindsey Leavitt has been telling customers about Santa’s First Christmas by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Sydney Smith (Viking, 2024). For customers who don’t need a holiday-specific title, she said, Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat (Dial) is “a repeat read-aloud—dang near perfect.”
For her regional readers and those who yearn for international locations, Leavitt has been doing a brisk business in Pippa & Poppy’s European Adventure by Tiffany Rosenhan and late Utah travel blogger Elise Caffee, illustrated by Heather Tycksen and published by Utah’s Jumelle Press. “We’re selling Pippa & Poppy daily as a gift,” Leavitt said, along with Jumelle’s YA title, A Promised Vengeance by Sara B. Larson, “a gender-swapped Count of Monte Cristo retelling.”
At Kids Ink in Indianapolis, Wendy Fitzgerald, one of the new co-owners who bought the store from Shirley Mullin in June, said the focus is on books by local authors, including Otto the Ornament by Troy Cummings (Random House), Yara’s Gingerbread Diva by LaNesha Tabb, illustrated by Felicia Whaley (Hightree), and Where to Take the Kids: Indianapolis by Katy Mann (Reedy Press). Local authors are also popular at Zenith Bookstore in Duluth, Minn., especially Margi Preus and her latest offering, Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built with Pennies, illustrated by Jaime Zollars (Abrams). “We always do well with Margi’s books,” said manager Sarah Brown, “and this book is just amazing. The story is a true one, with themes of resilience, feminism, and community, and the illustrations are fabulous; they convey the magnitude of what Snowshoe Kate achieved.”
While Sarah Arnold, marketing manager at Parnassus Books in Nashville, is handselling A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead, illustrated by Erin Stead (Roaring Brook), and If We Were Dogs by Sophie Blackall (Little, Brown), Linda Kass, owner of Gramercy Books in Bexley, Ohio, is recommending Knight Owl’s Little Christmas by Christopher Denise (Little, Brown/Ottaviano), and Jean Bartz at Books on Main in Friendship, Wis. is talking up Santa Claws by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Galia Bernstein (Holt). “Kids love dinosaurs, this book is adorable, and the illustrations are great,” she said. “My 14-year-old dino-obsessed daughter wanted a copy for herself.”
Other stores presented a tempting miscellany. For very young readers swept up in pop culture, Stacy Whitman of the Curious Cat Bookshop in Winsted, Conn., pointed to the Wicked-themed Little Golden Books I Am Elphaba, I Am Glinda, I Am Fiyero, and We Are Shiz, available individually or as a box set. “They’re one of the few ways that the littlest of kids can access books about Wicked that aren’t the original Wizard of Oz,” Whitman said. Kate Lockard Snyder at the Plaid Elephant Bookstore in Danville, Ky., said that Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese, illustrated by Devin Elle Kurtz (Greenwillow), “is my favorite, so I’m handselling it lots.”
At Browsers Bookstore in Olympia, Wash., children’s bestsellers include Annie Chen’s nonfiction Salmon Run: An Epic Journey to the Ocean and Back (Red Comet) and Ben Clanton’s This Book Is Dangerous! (Tundra), a Narwhal and Jelly picture book. And at the Best Bookstore in Union Square, newly opened in San Francisco, a local tie-in won the day. “We sold a pile of Dog Man books but the biggest seller—storewide, not just in kids’—was Santa Is Coming to San Francisco by Steve Smallman, illustrated by Reuben McHugh,” said co-owner Paul Bradley Carr. The Santa Is Coming series, which features specific U.S. cities and states, is published by Sourcebooks Kids’ Hometown World imprint.
MG and YA Lean into Fantasy, History, and the Classics
Just like the booksellers’ picture book picks this holiday season, the middle grade and YA selections mentioned were a blend of frontlist newcomers and backlist standbys. For Cece at Watchung, favorite middle reader series for customers include Percy Jackson, Spy School, Wildwood, City Spies, “and any James Ponti.”
Chris Baldock, owner of Epic Shelf, a pop-up bookstore in Springfield, Mo., that specializes in children’s and YA fantasy and adventure titles, sees “a surprising number” of young readers gravitating toward I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery (Candlewick), which is told from a dog’s perspective. “Copies are gone after every event,” he said. “Young readers are getting excited about historical fiction. This one doesn’t state a precise time or place, but it draws inspiration from the Irish Rebellion of 1798, which piques curiosity. It’s charming, heartfelt, and carries a beautiful message about loyalty and understanding.”
Plaid Elephant’s Snyder raved about Juniper’s Christmas by Eoin Colfer (Roaring Brook), which came out in paperback this year. “I force it on anyone I can,” she said. “It’s a fantastic middle grade story that combines wonder and magic with social justice —chef’s kiss.”
For middle grade readers, Landry at Class Bookstore is most excited about several offerings from Scholastic: Afia in the Land of Wonders, a re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland, by Mia Araujo, and the Last Gate of the Emperor series by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen. “A lot of our customers are actively pursuing books with characters that look like their children,” he said, “young Black protagonists. Even families that are not Black, they want to show their children that we live in a multicultural world by introducing their children to protagonists that look like people that they might encounter. It’s pretty cool.”
While Alan Gratz’s War Games (Scholastic Press) is the top seller for middle grade readers at Plaid Elephant, Snyder is also suggesting a collector’s edition of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (Sourcebooks Landmark). “It’s Kentucky-focused, about the pack horse librarians,” she said, “and the pretty sprayed edges have it flying off the shelves.”
East City Books’s Andrews said that the book she is most excited to share with young readers this holiday season is The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd (FSG). “This is my favorite kind of middle grade fantasy: witty, original, and high stakes, with determined young protagonists forging an unlikely friendship in pursuit of justice.”
Andrews also raves about two novels-in-verse for middle graders. The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (Bloomsbury) she said, is “phenomenally moving and a great, fast-paced pick for any reluctant reader,” and It’s All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango (Random House) is “perfect for young athletes or anyone struggling to adapt to new circumstances.” For teens, Andrews recommended her “sleeper hit of the year,” Scattergood by H.M. Bouwman (Holiday House/Porter), “This beautifully written, quietly devastating historical fiction made me cry,” she said. “It’s a great pick for readers who may feel they’ve aged out of middle grade but aren’t yet ready for the older teen protagonists in the young adult section.”
Jen Bischof, children’s book manager at Interabang Books in Dallas, said, “We have sold a ton of Kate DiCamillo’s Lost Evangeline (Candlewick), and I also love handselling The Wizard’s Guide to Magical Experiments” by A.J. Wood and Jo Rioux (Abrams). “My personal favorites have been Finding Lost by Holly Goldberg Sloan (Rocky Pond) and Kate McKinnon’s Millicent Quibb series (Little, Brown).”
For older readers, Bischof said, “Our YA book club selected Coldwire by Chloe Gong (McElderry) as our November subscription book, and they all emphatically loved it.”
Zenith’s Brown recommends Codebreaker by Jay Martel (Wednesday), describing it as “another book that appeals to young and old,” written under a pseudonym by a couple who are fixtures in the local theater scene. “It’s a compelling thriller that includes puzzles—what’s not to like?” she said. “I think this will be a great seller for years to come.”
Dad Suggests Books, which boasts a cozy, burrow-like reading room with a round hobbit door, unsurprisingly attracts devotees of famous fantasy. “I love to see how consistently popular The Neverending Story and The Hobbit are as gifts,” Billingsley said, along with Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King, and Struan Murray’s Dragonborn (Dutton). When it comes to teens, he added, “We consistently sell Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart, Neal Shusterman’s Scythe, S. Morgenstern’s The Princess Bride, the Lord of the Rings, and the Hunger Games series.”
Folklore’s Leavitt likewise hears “lots of requests for dragon books and the Impossible Creatures series, as well as sports and dance books for reluctant readers. The Academy series by T.Z. Layton (Sourcebooks Young Readers) does great for us, especially at the paperback price point. We’d love to see more funny YA books too!”
In middle grade, Leavitt’s customers are snagging Bobby Podesta’s graphic novel North for the Winter (First Second). Utahans also love the deluxe 20th-anniversary edition of Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy (Bloomsbury). Leavitt noted, “Beautiful reprint editions with sprayed edges and lovely covers are easy sells for us.”
For teens, Leavitt likes novelist Julie Wright’s retelling of the Peter Pan story, Wendy’s Ever After (Shadow Mountain), and—for the wintry vibe—Lynn Painter’s romantic comedy Fake Skating (Simon & Schuster), about a high school hockey player who’s too cool (at first) for his former childhood sweetheart. “We adore Lynn Painter,” Leavitt said. “Plus, there’s an ice-skating rink across the street from our store.”
