CHILDREN’S LIT

9 Essential Middle Grade Titles to Jumpstart Summer Reading – We Are Kid Lit Collective

13 Incredible Middle Grade Books, May 2025 – Imagination Soup

25 Middle Grade Titles for Pride Month and Beyond – School Library Journal

2025 Children’s and YA Graphic Novel Adaptations – Publishers Weekly

Read With Jenna Jr 2025: See all 22 books on the kid-friendly reading list – TODAY

These gorgeous picture books (8 from Minnesota) are made for re-reading – Star Tribune

LIBRARIES

How libraries are becoming launchpads for music careers – Fast Company

Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn – Stars and Stripes

Why libraries are the ‘cornerstone’ of democracy in the words of just-fired Librarian of Congress – WGBH

YA LIT

12 Captivating YA Fantasy Romance Series – Book Riot

Jonathan Van Ness and Julie Murphy Have a Message for LGBTQ+ Youth: Let Them Stare – People

CHILDREN’S LIT

8 Inclusive Chapter Books to Kick Off Summer Reading – SLJ

Nevermoor’s Jessica Townsend on frantic fans, her fantasy smash hit – and feeling ‘gutted’ by JK Rowling – The Guardian

LIBRARIES

Man burns 100 library books on social media; residents donate 1,000 more – News 5 Cleveland

Tribal communities risk losing local libraries and the history they hold amid DOGE cuts – NBC News

Want to reduce crime? Science says: build more libraries – Lit Hub

YA LIT

The Military’s K-12 Schools Are Banning Award-Winning Kids’ Books To Appease Trump – HuffPo

Most Anticipated Young Adult SFF/H for May & June 2025 – Reactor

The Plot Thickens in These 23 YA Fiction Series – SLJ

CHILDREN’S LIT

17 Joyful Picture Books to Enjoy on Summer Vacation – SLJ

Celebrating 35 years of the Children’s Books Ireland Awards – The Irish Times

Every adult should read more children’s novels. Here are the five best – MSN

How Tove Jansson’s Moomins illustrations taught us to imagine, resist and belong – The Conversation

Luck of the Draw: 5 Fabulously Funny and Adorable Picture Books – Book Riot

Mothers in children’s books: a matrix – Lit Hub

This author ‘fixed’ ‘The Giving Tree’ with a new ending. Some say it’s long overdue. – USA Today

LIBRARIES

ALA Disappointed by Senate Vote to Block Hotspot Funds – ALA

Political Attacks on Libraries Endanger Small-Town Democracy – Scientific American

States win a legal injunction against President Trump, pausing library funding cuts – NPR

YA LIT

All the New Young Adult SFF Books Arriving in May 2025 – Reactor

Judy Blume Talks Inspiration Behind Her Controversial Teen Novel Forever, and the Change Happening at Home When She Wrote It – People

Summer Love: 16 Romantic Reads for Teens – SLJ

A collection of some of the best book and library links of the week:

CHILDREN’S LIT

5 New LGBTQ-Inclusive Picture Books Explore History, Family, Feelings, and Fun – Mombian

10 Fabulous Picture Books Celebrating Neurodivergent Kids – Book Riot

Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels – The Guardian

Don’t ban the book: Kids can benefit from challenging stories – Skeptic

Most parents don’t enjoy reading to their children, survey suggests – The Guardian

Top 5 board books for children, chosen by New York Times bestselling author Jon Klassen – Big Issue

LIBRARIES

How Libraries Are Faring Under the Trump Administration – Time

More than books: 10 different ways public libraries make our lives better – PBS

YA LIT

23 Canadian books for young adults to read in spring 2025 – CBC

2025 YA Trends: Bouncing Between the Dark and Light – Publishers Weekly

Rather than ban her books, Ellen Hopkins says Utah should ‘trust in young people’ – KUER

CHILDREN’S LIT

The Author Who Wrote One Of The Best Children’s Classics Of The 1990s Is Publishing A Fantasy Book In 2025 & It Sounds Amazing – ScreenRant

Beloved bedtime story ‘Goodnight Moon’ to be celebrated May 2 on eight U.S. stamps – Linn’s Stamp News

Celebrating Our Planet: Children’s Books for Earth Day – Book Riot

Eat This!: 13 Titles to Prepare Readers For a Zombie Apocalypse – School Library Journal

How children’s picture books got to the Supreme Court – The 19th

In Conversation: Erin Entrada Kelly and Rebecca Stead – Publishers Weekly

Put Your Butt in the Chair: Inside the Simple Alchemy of Making Art (by Elisha Cooper) – Lit Hub

LIBRARIES

Chicago Public Library no longer issuing e-cards starting in May – CBS

Maine State Library lays off 13 workers, will restructure after losing federal funds – Portland Press Herald

A treasure trove of education reports and studies is under threat – The Hechinger Report

Small and rural libraries are feeling the cuts from President Trump’s executive order – NPR

Wisconsin libraries brace for steep drop in services under federal funding cuts – Wisconsin Examiner

YA LIT

The 7 Best New YA Books Out This Week – Book Riot

8 Great Queer YA Novels for 2025 – Book Riot

A BookTok virality: The hype of the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series – The University Daily Kansan

Terry Pratchett estate launches ‘Discworld graphic novel universe’ – Polygon

CHILDREN’S LIT

Books in Bloom: Children’s Books About Spring – Book Riot

Inside a New Exhibit That Celebrates the Most Unappreciated Part of Children’s Books. – Lit Hub

LIBRARIES

Librarians in UK increasingly asked to remove books, as influence of US pressure groups spreads – The Guardian

Students Fighting Book Bans Are the Focus of the New Documentary Banned Together – Teen Vogue

YA LIT

I saw the rise and decline of YA literature from the inside. Here’s what it was like by Charlie Jane Anders – LA Times via AOL

CHILDREN’S LIT

10 of the Best New Children’s Books Coming in April 2025 – Book Riot

Author’s School Visit Postponed “Until Better Times” – SLJ

Goodnight, Moon is going postal. To celebrate, check out these children’s book stamps – Literary Hub

New children’s book ‘Mistaco’ gives families ‘a fun way to share their mistakes together’ – Texas Public Radio

‘Oliver and Amanda Pig’ series author Jean Van Leeuwen dies at 87 – NPR

Writer Kiese Laymon discusses his new children’s book ‘City Summer, Country Summer’ – NPR

LIBRARIES & READING

Most Americans want to read more books. We just don’t. – NPR

State of America’s Libraries 2024 – ALA

YA LIT

The Best New YA Books of April 2025 – Paste

‘When Life is Hard, Books Help’: An Interview with Laurie Halse Anderson – PEN America

Some interesting articles to enjoy:

9 Exemplary Novels in Verse for Middle Grade and Teen Readers – SLJ

The American Picture Book’s Unsung Parent: Japan – The New York Times

Author John Green talks about living with OCD – NPR (This one really moved me. Definitely worth the listen!)

Classification as Colonization: The Hidden Politics of Library Catalogs – The Scholarly Kitchen

Happy Trans Day of Visibility 2025 – a booklist for all ages – LGBTQ Reads

Magic Cat Announces Deal for Board Book Series with Jamie Oliver – Publishers Weekly

Michael Morpurgo: The five books that changed my life – iNews

Ten New Children’s Books That Reveal the Wondrous Act of Storytelling – Literary Hub

And a cool video on publishing picture books in translation:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

12 must-read November children’s book releases – Book Riot

Alex Gino’s children’s novel George retitled Melissa ‘to respect trans heroine’ – The Guardian

I tried to redpill my son with these far-right children’s books – Rolling Stone

Kirkus Prize winners revealed in virtual ceremony – Kirkus

Robert Munsch’s classic The Paper Bag Princess has been optioned to become a film – CBC

LIBRARIES

Being a librarian: expectations vs. reality – Book Riot

Blind people won the right to break ebook DRM. In 3 years, they’ll have to do it again. – Wired

Books probed by a Texas lawmaker by women, people of color, LGBTQ writers. They’re asking: ‘Really?’ – The Dallas Morning News

Creating safer libraries – Public Libraries

More public libraries, including New York Public Library, have eliminated fines for overdue books – Forbes

Texas governor decries school library books with ‘pornographic or obscene material’ – NPR

US files antitrust suit to stop major book publisher merger – ABC News

TEEN LIT

10 YA novels released in 2021 that deserve movie/TV adaptations – ScreenRant

12 inclusive YA books your middle schooler won’t be able to put down – SheKnows

The 16 most anticipated YA books to read in November – Epic Reads

All the new young adult SFF books arriving in November – Tor

Four fan-favorite YA trilogies come to an end this fall – Publishers Weekly

Mariko Tamaki debuts new LGBTQ+ graphic novel imprint – Publishers Weekly

New YA retellings to fall into – Book Riot