Books for Kids and Tweens December 2025 |
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| The Last Ember: The Aerimander Chronicles by Lily Berlin DoddAerimanders are extinct. Or so the government would have you think. Centuries ago, the Kingdom of Glaucus decreed the destruction of these dangerous, dragon-like creatures whose deadly flame could level entire cities and upend world orders.
But Eva Alexander, a wealthy chemistry student in the city of Porttown, walks into a department store and walks out (accidentally) with the world’s last aerimander egg, everything changes. Suddenly, Eva is the target of unwanted attention―including from the Thieves’ Union, a mysterious organization with a rebellious streak and fingers in every pie in Porttown. The Union orders its youngest member, the orphaned dairy delivery boy Dusty St. Ichabod, to steal the egg from Eva. Which is far easier said than done. |
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Willow has agreed to house-sit while her grandmother, Mother Nature, is on vacation. Willow thinks it’s going to be as easy as watering a fern and feeding a cat, but when she arrives, she realizes her grandmother has left a long to-do list of difficult tasks like dusting the wings of a sleeping bat family, repairing the broken windows of a rabbit’s greenhouse, and ending winter.
Ending winter? In her eagerness to take a vacation, Mother Nature forgot to catch the unruly North Wind for its long nap. So, even though it’s the first day of spring, the entire land is covered in ice and snow. If the snow doesn’t melt, allowing the spring grass to grow, the critters of the Quiet Woods will surely go hungry.
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Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley Ariel and Tomah have lived in the city’s intertribal housing complex all their lives. But for both of them, this Dagwaagin (Autumn) season is different than any before. From his bench outside the front door of his building, Tomah watches his community move around him. He is better at making people laugh than he is at schoolwork, but often it feels like his neighbor Ariel is the only one who really sees him, even in her sadness. Ariel has always danced ballet because of her Auntie Bineshiinh and loves the way dance makes her feet hover above the ground like a bird. But ever since Auntie went missing, Ariel’s dancing doesn’t feel like flying. As the seasons change and the cold of winter gives way to spring’s promise, Ariel and Tomah begin to change too as they learn to share the rhythms and stories they carry within themselves.
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| Winging It by Megan Wagner Lloyd; illustrated by Michelle Mee NutterTwelve-year-old Luna never wanted to move from California to Virginia, even if it is near historic Washington, DC, and no matter how excited her dad is to introduce her to the area where her late mother grew up. And she definitely doesn't want to live with a very formal grandmother she barely knows. But during a visit to the National Museum of Natural History, the rarely seen luna moth for which Luna was named sparks her curiosity. Using her mother's old naturalist notebooks as a guide, Luna, who has always preferred the indoors, endeavors to see a real luna moth with her own eyes. Learning more about nature just might help her make a new friend, figure out how to feel at home in her new life, and understand the mother she never got the chance to know. |
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Wishweaver by J. H. WinterIn the forests of Weyburn, there had always been a Wishweaver—a spider with the magic to grant wishes. However, for many years now, wishes have gone unanswered. But why?
That is the question an orb spider named Whimsy is determined to answer. With the help of her milkweed wisp friend, Flit, Whimsy will go on a journey to the old Wishweaver Oak in search of clues to solve the mystery, but the answers she seeks are buried deep in Weyburn's past.
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It is Picture Day for Classroom Ten! Mrs. Tanaka says that the class will take a perfect picture. And on Picture Day, everyone smiles. The trouble is that Henry does not feel perfect. His new shirt has stripes. He has never practiced smiling. And, worst of all, his front tooth is starting to wobble.
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One day, while exploring one of the many tunnels running through the town’s snowbanks, Henry discovers a strange, prehistoric-like creature that is seriously injured. Henry immediately names him Yarp and hauls the wounded animal back to his house on a makeshift sled. There he builds a secret cave for Yarp and slowly nurses him back to health. But, as Henry soon discovers, Yarp is not the only unusual beast lurking in the neighborhood. Where did these creatures come from and how can Henry keep his new friend safe?
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The mice, long dependent on humans for food, stubbornly cling to their old ways, looting the nearby abandoned houses for any scraps they can find. Once, there was plenty to eat, but now the scavengers return empty-handed, or not at all.
Food is scarce, but danger is everywhere. Poison and traps wait for the unwary in dark cupboards, and a gang of feral cats relentlessly chase the mice whenever the rodents leave the safety of their nest. Now there are even rumors a hawk has come to join the hunt.
As supplies run low and many mice fall ill, desperation creeps in. With the colony at a breaking point, rumors of a wrecked truck filled with food give them hope, but it lies far beyond the forest, where even the cats won’t go.
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| Jasper Rabbit's Creepy Tales: Troubling Tonsils! by Aaron Reynolds; illustrated by Peter BrownCharlie has a problem: his tonsils have become infected and have to come out. No biggie, right? But when he decides he wants to keep them in a jar for show and tell, things get creepy… First, strange slurping sounds in his room keep Charlie awake the night before his surgery. Then, he goes to the doctor only to be told his tonsils are already gone! Could it be they’re out for revenge? |
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Animals are hiding away nuts, bread, and cheese wheels when they notice the local wolf is in a frosty mood. His striped underpants aren't helping. Neither are a wolf-sized hat and a brand new pair of socks. Then small critters begin to disappear. Will old fears of the wolf grip the forest? Or is another lesson on the way?
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