Top Elementary Books of the Year

Cat Kid Comic Club is back in session in this groundbreaking graphic novel narrative by Dav Pilkey, the worldwide bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator of Dog Man.

Flippy, Molly, Li'l Petey, and twenty-one baby frogs each have something to say.

Naomi and Melvin don't see eye to eye and Poppy perceives the world differently than her siblings.

Will the baby frogs figure out how to work together and appreciate one another's point of view -- both inside and outside the classroom?

Dog Man and Petey face their biggest challenges yet in the tenth Dog Man book from worldwide bestselling author and illustrator Dav Pilkey.

Dog Man is down on his luck, Petey confronts his not so purr-fect past, and Grampa is up to no good.

The world is spinning out of control as new villains spill into town.

Everything seems dark and full of despair. But hope is not lost. Can the incredible power of love save the day?

Dav Pilkey's wildly popular Dog Man series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including love, empathy, kindness, persistence, and the importance of doing good.

Printed with a dyslexia-friendly font, Aaron Slater, Illustrator tells the empowering story of a boy with dyslexia who discovers that his learning disability may inform who he is, but it does not define who he is, and that there are many ways to be a gifted communicator.

Aaron Slater loves listening to stories and dreams of one day writing them himself. But when it comes to reading, the letters just look like squiggles to him, and it soon becomes clear he struggles more than his peers.

When his teacher asks each child in the class to write a story, Aaron can’t get a single word down.

He is sure his dream of being a storyteller is out of reach . . . until inspiration strikes, and Aaron finds a way to spin a tale in a way that is uniquely his.

An uplifting story about the power of art, finding your voice, and telling your story even when you’re out of step with your peers from the #1 bestselling creators of Sofia Valdez, Future Prez and Ada Twist, Scientist!

It's okay to be afraid or to sometimes wander down the wrong path. Bestselling poet and activist Cleo Wade's What the Road Said features illustrations by Lucie de Moyencourt and encourages us to lead with kindness and curiosity, remembering that the most important thing we can do in life is to keep going.

The 1619 Project’s lyrical picture book in verse, adapted for audio, chronicles the consequences of slavery and the history of Black resistance in the United States, thoughtfully rendered by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and Newbery honor-winning author Renée Watson.

A young student receives a family tree assignment in school, but she can only trace back three generations. 

Grandma gathers the whole family, and the student learns that 400 years ago, in 1619, their ancestors were stolen and brought to America by white slave traders.

But before that, they had a home, a land, a language. She learns how the people said to be born on the water survived.

Dive into four new stories about Narwhal and Jelly becoming substitute teachers! The two best friends come across an enthusiastic school of fish one morning.

Unfortunately, Mr. Blowfish, their teacher, has come down with a cold, and class will have to be cancelled . . . until Professor Knowell (Narwhal) and Super Teacher (Jelly) volunteer to help out!

Narwhal's teaching methods may be unconventional, but with Jelly's help, the two teach (and learn) with their trademark positivity and humor.

Before they know it, the day is over . . . but what grade will Narwhal receive from Jelly?

A Schneider Family Award Honor Book for Middle Grade

Portico Reeves’s superpower is making sure all the other superheroes—like his parents and two best friends—stay super. And safe. Super safe. And he does this all in secret. No one in his civilian life knows he’s actually…Stuntboy!

But his regular Portico identity is pretty cool, too. All this is swell except for Portico’s other secret, his not-so-super secret. His parents are fighting all the time.

They’re trying to hide it by repeatedly telling Portico to go check on a neighbor “in the meantime.” But Portico knows “meantime” means his parents are heading into the Mean Time which means they’re about to get into it, and well, Portico’s superhero responsibility is to save them, too—as soon as he figures out how.

Only, all these secrets give Portico the worry wiggles, the frets, which his mom calls anxiety.

Plus, like all superheroes, Portico has an arch-nemesis who is determined to prove that there is nothing super about Portico at all.

Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives.

There's the whiskered man with the crossword puzzle; Milo imagines him playing solitaire in a cluttered apartment full of pets. There's the wedding-dressed woman with a little dog peeking out of her handbag; Milo imagines her in a grand cathedral ceremony.

And then there's the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler.

But when the boy in the suit gets off on the same stop as Milo--walking the same path, going to the exact same place--Milo realizes that you can't really know anyone just by looking at them.

From the New York Times bestselling team behind the I Am series comes a triumphant celebration of everyday courage: believing in ourselves, speaking out, trying new things, asking for help, and getting back up no matter how many times we may fall. 

When we picture someone brave, we might think they’re fearless; but real courage comes from feeling scared and facing what challenges us anyway.

When our minds tell us “I can’t,” we can look inside ourselves and find the strength to say, “Yes, I CAN!”

Words, sentences, and even worse, paragraphs fill up books. Ugh! So what's a reluctant reader to do?

Actor Max Greenfield (New Girl) and New York Times bestselling illustrator Mike Lowery bring the energy and laugh-out-loud fun out for every child (and parent) who thinks they don’t want to read a book.

Joining the ranks of favorites like The Book With No Pictures and The Serious Goose, this clever and playful read-aloud breaks the fourth wall and will have all readers coming back for laughs again and again!

Violet's family used to sit around their table to eat, laugh, share stories and most importantly, make memories. But recently, they've been too busy to sit down together.

Left alone, the table starts getting smaller and smaller until one day. it vanishes!

Violet knows exactly what to do to get the table back, but can she get her family to help too?

The possibilities are endless in this uplifting ode to the power of potential.

With lyrical text by bestselling author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and images by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt—the team behind CreativeSoul Photography—each page of The Me I Choose To Be is an immersive call for self-love that highlights the inherent beauty of all Black and brown children. 

Buried in the heart of every animal is a secret treasure.

Badger’s is the Spider Eye Agate, stolen years ago by his crafty and treasure-trade-dealing cousin, Fisher. Skunk’s is Sundays with the New Yak Times Book Review.

When Mr. G. Hedgehog threatens to take the Book Review as soon as it thumps on the doorstep, Skunk decides an adventure (“X Marks the Spot!”) will solve both their problems.

Badger agrees, and together they set off for his favorite campsite on Endless Lake. But all is not as it seems at Campsite Number Five. Harrumphs in the night. Unexpected friends.

Then Fisher appears, and Badger knows something is up.

Something involving secrets, betrayals, and lies.

And a luminous, late-Jurassic prize.

Where did the tree house come from?

Before Jack and Annie can find out, the mysterious tree house whisks them to the prehistoric past.

Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark...or will they become a dinosaur's dinner? 

For the first time in graphic novel--live the adventure again in the very first Magic Tree House book, with new art from comic artists Kelly and Nichole Matthews!

One father-son duo make a pizza so delicious, and so over-the-top with toppings, that it destroys the universe—and will surely melt readers' minds and hearts, like warm mozzarella.

It's a tale as old as time: a kid wants to make a pizza with his dad, but not just any pizza . . . he wants a pizza with everything on it. That's right, everything.

As the toppings pile on, this father-son duo accidentally create a pizza so delicious, so extravagant, so over-the-top, that it destroys the universe — and the cosmos go as dark as burnt crust.

Will anyone enjoy pizza ever again?

At turns heartwarming, hilarious, and completely out of this world, Kyle Scheele and Andy J. Pizza deliver a riotous adventure that will melt readers minds and hearts and leave them calling for a second helping.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book * A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book * An Amazon Best Children's Book * A New York Public Library Best Book

Dad wakes early every morning before the sun, heading off to work at the bakery.

He kneads, rolls, and bakes, and as the sun rises and the world starts its day, Dad heads home to his young daughter.

Together they play, read, garden, and―most importantly―they bake.

This lovely, resonant picture book was inspired by muralist Katie Yamasaki’s work with formerly incarcerated people.

With subtle, uncluttered storytelling amplified by her monumental and heartfelt paintings, she has created a powerful story of love, of family, and of reclaiming a life with joy.

Introducing a supremely hilarious graphic novel featuring an unstoppable, super-swine hero who boldly fights for justice . . . in between taking mud baths and eating tasty sandwiches.

Gary Yorkshire was your perfectly average, fuzzy pink pig who loved tasty sandwiches, video games, mud baths, and hanging out with his friends Carl the fish and Brooklyn the bat.

Until one day . . . a radioactive bat bite gives him powers he never would have dreamed of! Inspired by his old Crimson Swine comics, Gary decides that he'll use his powers for good and becomes (drumroll) Batpig!

Now he just needs a good zinger of a Batpig slogan, a spandex costume that flatters his rear end . . . and maybe a little advice about how in the world to defeat supervillains?

A state-by-state compendium of weird laws, quirks, one-offs, and unusual records only to be found in the wonderfully wacky US of A.

Only in America explores the strangest claims to fame and the most unusual place names every state has to offer.

Visit the city of Dinosaur, drop by the Pizza Museum, find out where it is illegal to feed a pig without a permit, and check out the world’s only “carhenge” (that’s right, Stonehenge reconstructed using cars). 

When Ms. Underwood asks if anyone wants to help Kyle, Zahra always volunteers.

She loves spending time with Kyle — he’s creative and generous, and he makes the funniest jokes at lunch.

But when Zahra’s other classmates start teasing her for helping him, she starts making choices she regrets. 

I Can Help is a gentle, sensitive portrayal of reaching out, facing peer pressure, and learning from past mistakes.

With thoughtful storytelling and poignant illustrations, this book will open discussions about choosing kindness in the classroom and beyond.

Two nations and a mother panda work together to nurture a “precious treasure” in the remarkable true story of a celebrity panda cub and his life at the Smithsonian National Zoo—and beyond.

Graphically arresting, packed with stunning full-color photographs, and vetted by the Smithsonian National Zoo, Bei Bei Goes Home paints a vivid picture of global conservation efforts—and international collaboration — in the guise of an ever-popular and beloved black-and-white ambassador.