Bank Street Books - The Best of 2025

Best books published in 2025 - AND yes there are some Australian titles - congratulations.

In evaluating books for their literary merit, the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee (CBC) recognizes the importance of diversity in children’s literature and acknowledges and celebrates the voices and cultures of all of our readers. Diversity encompasses the varied and unique identities, experiences, perspectives, and cultural communities of a book’s main and supporting characters, whose attributes include (but are not limited to):

• race  

• ethnicity 

• gender 

• abilities 

• sexuality

• class

• religion

• family structure

• local and global challenges

All children benefit from seeing themselves reflected in what they read, and from seeing characters with different identities, depicted accurately and without stereotypes, in texts and/or illustrations. The CBC values representations of characters who are change agents and advocates for social justice, inclusivity, and equity.

TIPS FOR READING WITH CHILDREN

• Show how much you enjoy reading along with your child.

• Discuss your reading together.

• If your child is willing, don’t stop reading aloud to them, even when they can read independently.

• Encourage your child to choose books to read aloud to someone else.

• Help your child to select books from a wide range of subjects, formats, and genres.

• Encourage your child to read, and reread, whatever they enjoy, even if it appears to be too easy or too hard.

• Find time for your child to visit and browse in libraries and bookstores.

• Let your child see you enjoying your own reading

You can see the whole list here. Or from a link here. 

AUSTRALIAN titles (I didn't look through the YA list):

Emmie Builds Something New written and illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall

A plucky mouse tinkers with wondrous mechanical inventions to scare off a newly arrived house cat. 

Bright, energetic drawings bursting with detail. 

Drop Bear by Phil Bunting

A koala’s tendency to apparently fall out of trees starts being wrongly attributed to bad intentions. What 

will stop the rumor mill? Humorous gouache, digital collage, and duct tape illustrations.

Found You! by Jane Godwin, illustrated by Sylvia Morris Note title change 'The Best Hiding Place'

Soft, tender illustrations depict a boy’s worry when the other children take too long to locate him during hideand-seek—and his relief at finally being found.

Afloat Kirli Saunders illustrated by Freya Blackwood

An Elder and a child gather people from many cultures together as they explore weaving in a changing world. A metaphorical tale of unity. Haunting mixed-media illustrations.

One Day a Mayfly by Shirley Marr, illustrated by Michael Speechley Note title change

A mayfly nymph emerges as an adult with only 24 hours to live and spends that time in discovery, wonder, and joy. Inviting pencil, ink, and gouache illustrations.

Dawn by Marc Martin

See the world come alive as the sun rises and animals, insects, and flowers greet the day. Spare text and 

elaborate watercolor, pencil, and digital illustrations.

Chickenpox by Remy Lai

When Abby, 12, and her younger siblings get the chickenpox at the same time, mayhem ensues. Clear, 

colorful illustrations. Based on the author’s childhood experience.

Evie and Rhino by Nerida McMullin

Evie bonds with shipwrecked Rhino, but he belongs to the Royal Melbourne Zoological Society. Can she keep him? Detailed grayscale illustrations.

Into the Bewilderness: A Graphic Novel written and illustrated by Gus Gordon

Luis the bear and Pablo the mole leave their cabin in the woods for an adventure in the Big City. Things 

don’t go exactly as planned. Soft clear artwork.

The Unlikely Heroes Club by Kate Foster

During spring break, Oli must attend daily socialization classes for autistic kids. Rescuing a stray dog provides unexpected opportunities for collaboration and friendship.

I also spied Every Monday Mabel; Island Storm illustrated by Sydney Smith; Pop goes the Nursery Rhyme by Betsy Bird; Odder; Orris and Timble; Bear and Bird; Don't trust fish; His fairytale Life by Jane Yolen; The House on the Canal; Lost Evangeline; The Forest of a Thousand eyes; Tyger; and The Endless sea.

On the 12-14 list I have read The Burning Season; All the Blues in the Sky; Busted; The Trouble with Heroes; Impossible Creatures (Book one and Two); Candle Island; Max in the Land of lies; and The Experiment. Pop a title in my search bar to read more.  

The High Street by Alice Melvin

Sally's in the High Street and this is what she needs ...

a yellow rose,

a garden hose,

a bunch of grapes,

some roller skates,

a cockatoo,

a tin kazoo,

a Persian rug,

a stripy jug,

a cherry tart,

a candy heart.

As you turn each page we see Sally enter each shop to make her purchases. Number one is a sweet shop; number two is a bakery; the china shop is number three; and there are antiques in number four. You can probably guess where she finds cockatoo, roller skates, grapes, and a hose but how will she find a yellow rose?

Each shop has a short rhyming text description and a fold out so readers can head inside each store. 

This shows the way the pages in this book fold open

There is something so deliciously old-fashioned about The High Street. ... From sweetshop to hardware shop, from antiques shop to greengrocer’s, for many children, looking inside these shops via the medium of this book will be a real discovery ... The High Street manages to convey the sense of wonder that a child would feel when entering these shops. The clever use of flaps allows to have first a view of the shop closed and as Sally enters, the young reader can open the flap and find himself stepping inside the shop too ... Library Mice

In 2007 you could even buy a little flat pack to go with The High Street:

From the author web page: A little girl called Sally travels down the titular High Street with a very eclectic shopping list. As she visits each shop the reader can open up the throw-out pages to reveal the life behind the shop front. I have always loved doll’s houses, and I think this book grew out of fond memories of opening up a tiny house to peep at the hidden world inside. I wanted to fill the book with details of the life both in and above the shops: the bustling café above the bakery; the band practicing in the music shop and the pigeon loft in the pet-shop roof. Now translated into nine different languages it's lovely to know that this book has been enjoyed around the world.

On social media I saw a post with a list of books that could be perfect for budding architects and this book The High Street caught my eye. Luckily for me I found it in a library this week. 

The post listed six titles - here are the other five: Georgian House Picture Book (Usborne); The House with the Little Red Door (Thames and Hudson); At Home in a Book (Penguin); Our House by Trudie Trewin (Scholastic); and Need a House call Ms Mouse.

Here are some other books I'd add to this list.:

A House that once was

If I built a house

The Hidden House

Boy oh boy I do wish I had discovered this book The High Street when it was published in 2011. I would most certainly have added it to my school library and possibly even gifted it to a friend or two AND I would have loved to put this book into the hands of a Kindergarten teacher to read alongside the Squeak Street series by Emily Rodda. This book would also be a fabulous read aloud to a preschool group. AND I now discover Alice Melvin is the illustrator of this book which I own and love:

Mouse's Wood

You could also pair The High Street with other stories about shopping lists with repeated refrains such as Shoes from Grandpa (Mem Fox); and Don't forget the bacon (Pat Hutchins).

Jane Yolen (1939-2026)

Image source: Wired Jan 23, 2013

A number of sad things happened to me today but the one that made me cry was reading that the world has lost the enormous talent of Jane Yolen. Of course we do have her books - books! Her final book was number 450. I would love to go to a library in the US and find all 450 that would be so fabulous.  Here are just a handful that I have shared on this blog beginning with one of my most favourite picture books to read aloud - Owl Moon.

Here is a brief biography and a partial list of her amazing books. And here is an interview from 2014 with Kidlit. 

Here is the Facebook post from her daughter: It is with profound sadness that I, along with my brothers Adam Stemple and Jason Stemple, share the news of our mother, Jane Yolen's passing. As you all probably know, she had one of the most brilliant creative minds of our time. This year, her 450th book published. She has been awarded 6 honorary doctorates and too many awards to mention here. She has mentored, inspired, and nurtured so many authors and illustrators through her words both on the page and off. But, beyond that, she was our mother and grandmother. ... But friends and fans alike, please know that she passed gently with no pain or stress, with my brother Adam’s music filling the room and me reading Owl Moon to her one last time.

Owl Moon

The Seeing Stick

I am the Storm

Love Birds

Switching on the Moon

Where have the unicorns gone?

The Stranded Whale

A Plague of Unicorns

How to Spot a Mermaid

Take Two

A kite for Moon

Sleeping Ugly

There are over 25 books in this series

Read my post about this book: Attack of the Black Rectangles

I am very keen to see this new book about the life of Robert Louis Stevenson:

Read more about this book here

You can read some Kirkus reviews of books by Jane Yolen.  

I am also keen to see these:

The largest single anthology of Jane Yolen's poetry, containing more than one hundred poems for all occasions-with fun black-and-white art throughout - 208 pages

The Last Word by AL Tait

I wonder which character in this story matches the author's own life experience. Her descriptions of the way Hayley flicks her hair resonated with me - I went to a High School where I was bullied by girls just like Hayley and her 'gang'. I now call girls (adult women) like this 'ponytail girls'. I laughed and cringed when I read:

"Hayley pouted her hair swinging like a pendulum. She used her hair a lot, Matilda noted, ... If Hayley wasn't pulling the end of her ponytail pensively, she was cocking her head just so in a move guaranteed to make it swish. Did she practice at home? ... surely no-one would actively spend time perfecting something like that? Surely?"

"flicking her hair over her shoulder."  AND "her sleek ponytail bouncing as she walked."

Bookseller blurb: There are two things Matilda Bell can count on: her best friend, Gemma, and being top of every class. But this year, everything has changed. Gemma has moved away, leaving Matilda all alone at school, and Will O’Connor has moved to town. Not only does Will disrupt every lesson—Matilda’s pet hate—but he’s somehow matching her grades with zero effort. If only Matilda could ignore him ... but Will gets under her skin in a way that no-one else ever has. When Will is forced to join the debating team, he and Matilda spend more time arguing with each other than winning debates. With their team losses mounting up, Gemma ignoring her calls and old enemies getting up to new tricks, Matilda feels like her life is out of control. Can Matilda find a way to work with Will so they can win as a team? Or will they end up hating each other in the process?

I do have one tiny quibble with this book - the publisher Scholastic say this series, called Two Hearts, is "a collection of standalone clean romance stories written by well-known Australian authors. Each title explores the excitement and challenges of first crushes and early relationships — with no sexual content and plenty of heart. The series’ bright, contemporary covers and strong branding signal to both readers and parents that this is romance for tweens done right."  I wish this description did not use the work tweens. I think this romance story will better suit junior high school readers aged 12+. It feels to me that today we are in too much of a rush to have our Primary School aged kids 'grow up'. The characters in this story are in Grade 8 in High School - character ages can be an easy way to judge the audience for a book. The bullying that happens to Matilda is cruel and emotionally wounding. 

"Hayley was clever in that mean, underhanded way that rats and cats were clever. She was also very pretty which meant people often didn't see ger teeth and claws until it was too late."

Will is also a complex character but we know only a little of his circumstances. Readers need to 'join the dots' to make sense of his changing moods and of course the whole story is told through Matilda's eyes. Finally, I know Primary students participate in debating competitions but again this is an aspect of the story, that yes I enjoyed but it is one that I do think more likely to appeal to a junior high school reader. And to my eye the cover is also designed to appeal to readers aged 12+.

Here is another text quote that deeply affected me:

"the betrayal was more painful than anything she'd ever felt. This was worse than Gemma ghosting her. It was worse than the nauseating numbness of being eight and having to pretend everything was okay as she'd sat in an empty room full of streamers and party hats. ... How did you argue with a bully who went straight to insults? You didn't, you just put your head down and walked away, trying not to make things worse ..."

Joy Lawn, a very respected Australian children's book reviewer, disagrees with me. In her view this book is perfect for 'tweens' - take a look at her review here. 

I was pleased to see the Kids' Book reviewer use the words 'early adolescence' when talking about The Last Word but then this reviewer labels the book 10+ which I think is too young. 

Alison Tait taps into a sophisticated understanding of how young people experience the often-difficult years of becoming teenagers, school life, friendships, bullies, love, and romance, and creates a compelling, multilayered story. Buzz Words

Here is the Reading Time review with lots of plot details.

I read The Last Word almost in one sitting so in spite of my criticisms this is a book that will appeal to young adolescents - especially girls who might relate to the peer group dilemmas faced by Matilda and they will also enjoy her slowly unfolding of her relationship with Will. I also enjoyed 'meeting' Will who approaches school and their debating competitions in a different and quite refreshing way. 

You can hear AL Tait reading the first 20 pages of her book here.

These are the books from the Two Hearts series by Kate Forster, Laura Sieveking, AL Tait and Yvette Poshoglian. As I said previously in this post to my eye the covers seem aimed at a Young Adult reader. I do like the way each book has decorated page edges. 

I previously talked about these books by AL Tait:

Danger Road

Willow Bright's secret plot

The First Summer of Callie McGee