Spare verse from Litwin affectingly builds to convey autumnal priorities, from food- to community-gathering, in this companionable picture book. A creaturely opening establishes the theme, spotlighting a sleek-nosed red fox and fluffy-tailed squirrels (“Gather acorns. Gather seed./ Gather all young mouths will need”). Eventually, the animals converge, and rhyming prose shifts to human-centered, with figures who “gather, cuddle, hug, greet.” It’s at this moment that Finkeldey’s wispy gouache and acrylic ink renderings shift from yam-colored outdoor scenes with the occasional blue accent to cerulean domestic spaces with rust accoutrements. Naturally, a feast is enjoyed by the group, pictured with skin of varying blues. Simple closing lines tie together animalian and non-animalian threads, articulating the way seasonal change unites species: “Gather outside. Gather in.// Cozy time can now begin.” Ages 3–7. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

Set against a backdrop of a snow-capped city apartment building, Goodman uses folk-style character and scene designs to visually enliven Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” As the traditional rooftop commotion stirs a child from sleep, the youth moves through a jam-packed apartment to greet the “right jolly old elf.” And this Santa is elfin in appearance, sporting pointed ears and fingers, and grasping a long, elaborate pipe. Santa moves through domestic panels tied together with a twisting red ribbon, embarking on a whirlwind of giving for children and mice, asleep and awake alike, across the building. Stylized acrylic gouache illustrations burst with charming details—from the art on the walls to the sweeping city landscape—that give the pages an air of lively late-night holiday bustle. All characters are portrayed with brown skin. A reproduction of the full poem concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

In Bradley’s color-saturated reworking of Clement C. Moore’s classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” an awakened child narrator heads downstairs to “seek out the truth and put things to right” about Santa Claus. At story’s start, a darkened living room is illuminated by a tree, a garlanded fireplace, and an ornamented wreath. Upstairs, four children, portrayed with brown skin, slumber “all nested close, snug tight in our bed,” the protagonist dreaming of elves engaging with a pink landscape filled with lollipops. After Santa’s arrival wakes the youth, a subsequent encounter reveals the figure, “his cheeks like hot cocoa,” whose presence offers a moment of happy kinship: “Who’d imagine that Santa could look just like me.” Though character designs can feel inconsistent, jovial reworked lines and chalky-hued digital illustrations leave a warm impression throughout. Characters are portrayed with arrayed skin tones and detailed hair textures. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

Side-splitting silliness ensues as Rex riffs on “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in this rollicking holiday read. The story begins simply, with the protagonist’s true love gifting a partridge in a pear tree. The next day, though, three more birds, including a second partridge and pear tree, arrive—with more to follow. “You’ve probably heard the song they wrote about me,” the speaker wryly states before a spread shows the worried-looking, pale-skinned figure surrounded by a crowd of cows, dancers, milkmaids, and pipers. When the group follows the protagonist on a family visit (“You don’t all have to come! I’m just visiting my mom!”), the subject discovers that what seems like an embarrassment of burdensome gifts could be a boon. And when the ensemble inadvertently starts a parade, the raucous event inspires joviality and selfless actions that reverberate throughout the protagonist’s community, echoing the original song’s rhythms as further hijinks unfold. Carefully sketched, energetic visuals alternate between comics-style panels and full-bleed spreads of the chaos. After the unwitting recipient embraces the troublesome presents’ potential to generate further generosity, a final plot twist further amps up the comedy, resulting in a fresh, truly uproarious Christmas yarn. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this comprehensive picture book, Dobbs and Mendoza share the history and lore of the flower known as both poinsettia and flor de nochebuena. The book begins with the Nahuas, who called the plant cuetlaxochitl and used it for medicinal and decorative purposes. Centuries later, during Spanish colonization, the flower appeared in a religious folktale about Pepita, a humble child who experiences a Christmas miracle. Following Mexico’s independence, U.S. ambassador to Mexico Joel Roberts Poinsett, an amateur botanist, sends cuttings of the plant back home, where it is named after him. Landscape-dominant digital illustrations are sprigged with the subject’s often-red bracts, while factual lines alternate with reiterative lyrical phrases, building to an inspirational takeaway: “Once you find... beauty, make it flourish, then give it back to the world.” Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. A contextualizing history and timeline conclude. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

Animator Podesta deploys economic pacing and sitcom humor in this cozy mid-1950s-set graphic novel debut. Twelve-year-old Virginia Kay and her father struggle to connect following her mother’s recent death. During the duo’s move from Arizona to Colorado three days before Christmas, Virginia meets a reindeer that inexplicably flies away, leaving behind a glowing compass. Upon arriving at their new home, her aunt Frances tries to lift Virginia’s spirits by decking the halls to the nines. Though Virginia isn’t feeling particularly festive, she bonds with chipper tween neighbor Benny Alvarez, with whom she shares the secret of her reindeer encounter and the glowing compass. Enlisting Benny’s older sister, the new friends embark on an adventure to reunite with the creature—and, perhaps, scrounge up some holiday cheer for Virginia and her father. Conflicts with zealous game hunters, suspiciously cheerful mall employees, and overworked Continental Air Defense operators inject hijinks into a story of family, trust, and imagination’s power to uplift during life’s bleakest turns. Flat coloring and simple backdrops emphasize the characters’ emotive facial expressions and fluid movements across illustrations that sparkle with vintage holiday-TV-special charm. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

Fifteen contributors—including Natasha Díaz, Kosoko Jackson, and Karuna Riazi—showcase myriad cultural holidays, festivals, and celebrations in this joyful anthology edited by Adler (Come As You Are). Arranged in calendrical order, the stories focus on intersectionally diverse teens navigating evergreen adolescent trials and tribulations against festive backdrops. In Kelly Loy Gilbert’s tense Lunar New Year–set selection “This Is How It’s Always Been” and Laura Pohl’s zealous ode to Valentine’s Day “P.S. I (Don’t) Love You,” queer high schoolers contend with romantic challenges. A teenager’s Persian Nowruz celebration coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown in Abdi Nazemian’s optimistic tale “A New Day.” And a college student visiting family in Texas for Juneteenth takes a stand against systemic racism in “Hill Country Heartbeat” by Candace Buford. “There’s nothing quite like being welcomed into someone else’s festivities... and feeling infused with the spirit of their joy,” Adler states in an introduction that deftly positions these festive tellings, which acknowledge northern-winter celebrations—including the Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa—alongside Holi, Eid, Diwali, and more, making for an expansive and jubilant assemblage. Ages 12–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Looking Glass Literary. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

Two Black high school seniors in Lansing, Mich., embrace the magic of the holiday season to further their own goals in this tender romance by Lockington (Forever Is Now). Influencer Lyric Watkins posts sponsored beauty and style content online and saves the money she earns to attend cosmetology school one day. Meanwhile, Lyric’s classmate, Juniper Jones, yearns to take a gap year and immerse herself in nature, traveling cross-country in an RV. While struggling to make content at a holiday event, Lyric encounters Juniper, who helps her capture the perfect festive photo. When the picture of the two girls goes viral as #couplegoals, Lyric and Juniper decide to fake-date, hoping the resultant paid sponsorships will help fund their respective dreams. As the pair become further embroiled in their ruse, the line between online performance and real-life love starts to blur. Simultaneously, both girls contend with personal challenges stemming from turbulent home lives. Via Juniper and Lyric’s alternating POVs—respectively rendered in poetic verse and intimate prose—Lockington crafts a heartwarming love story enriched by the characters’ well-rounded emotional depth. Jovial Juniper’s genuine enthusiasm for the season juxtaposed with hardworking Lyric’s more pragmatic approach to all things holly-jolly imbues the narrative with classic Hallmark movie vibes. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

Williams and McCall pen an accessible introduction to Kwanzaa’s tenets in this vibrant celebration of African American community, culture, and heritage. Framed around the Nguzo Saba—the seven guiding principles—contextualizing lines invite young readers to explore the concepts (“The first night of Kwanzaa is Umoja, which celebrates building bridges between family, friends, and community. Our family honors and shares the labors of love from our garden with our neighbors, embracing the principle of unity”). Traditions including lighting the kinara, making space for the mkeka, and pouring a libation for the diasporas are seamlessly woven into the narrative, grounding abstract values in everyday ritual. Cloud’s heavily populated illustrations portray joyful intergenerational gatherings, including a striking spread of ancestors looking on from the clouds, across this celebratory and informational resource. Characters are shown with various abilities, body types, and skin tones. A glossary concludes. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this intricately designed work, 1,500-year-old Head Elf Ivy Everjingle spills the tea about the unique magic that keeps Santa’s North Pole home and workshop humming. Gwinn carefully threads original exposition, well-known bits of folklore, and facts to create a playfully authoritative narrative about the place that powers Christmas around the globe. The elements come together on old-timey sepia-toned pages decorated with bordered text boxes and detailed spot illustrations. A humorous, informative vibe pulses through Danilova’s entertainingly meticulous artwork, which features cozy furnishings and clothing as well as the occasional labeled diagram. Among the nuggets revealed: Santa’s home sports solar panels, and the North Pole Post Office’s dome-shaped roof contains a “magical magnetic teleportation device.” Entertaining elf names and passages directly addressing the reader further add to this jam-packed seasonal accounting. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 6–8. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 07/25/2025 | Details & Permalink