Publishers Weekly has announced their best books lists for 2025. Here are their picks for best Middle Grade books:

Candle Island by Lauren Wolk

Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina, illus. by Anna and Elena Balbusso

How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes

Malcolm Lives! by Ibram X. Kendi

My Presentation Today Is About the Anaconda by Bibi Dumon Tak, trans. from the Dutch by Nancy Forest-Flier, illus. by Annemarie van Haeringen

Night Chef by Mika Song

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser

Oasis by Guojing

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, illus. by Charles Santoso

A Sea of Lemon Trees by María Dolores Águila

The Summer of the Bone Horses by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, illus. by Steph Littlebird

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff