New Meaningful Picture Books Imagination Soup

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 2, 2025, 10:13 AM

new meaningful picture books imagination soup

Good picture books make you think deep thoughts, sigh with awe, and discover meaningful lessons. As I previewed the latest picture books, I wanted to review picture books that meant something. See if you agree. Quest by Aaron Becker Quest is an enchanting and imaginative picture book written only in pictures that will transport you to a magical world. My kids and I poured over every beautiful detail in the pictures and so will you. You’ll follow a boy and girl with a purple (magical) bird on their quest to save the king and his kingdom.

Awe-inspiring. What quest are we really on? Give and Take by Chris Raschka A new picture book fable about the balance of giving and taking. The farmer meets two strange little men – one is Take and one is Give. They both give him advice on what to do — take, take, take or give, give, give. A thoughtful story ripe for discussion!

What is the balance of give and take? Miss Brook’s Story Nook by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Michael Emberley In the story nook, Miss Brooks teaches the class and Missy about writing stories: plot, characters, action. Missy takes her real-life story of hat-stealing Billy, invents a satisfying ending, and solves her real-life problem in her written story. See how storytelling helps us after all? Get ready for funny, sweet, and meaningful new picture books published primarily in February 2024. Happy reading!

Pretty Ugly written by David Sedaris, illustrated by Ian FalconerGet ready for some surprising surprises! When Anna Van Ogre is good, she stomps on flowers and talks with her mouthful. I mean, she is an ogre, right? But something terrible happens when Anna is acting bad–her face gets stuck in a smile! She’s horrified. Luckily, her family accepts her and says her real beauty is on the inside.

That gives her an idea! She finds a way to turn herself inside out. Now she’s beautiful again. Hilarious. Afikotective by Amalia HoffmanThis story is adorable because of the mixed media artwork and the charming bear character’s adventure. After the Passover seder dinner, the kids get to search for the bigger piece of matzah that Grandma hides.

Our detective hero gets a special invention to help — a toy elephant called an Afiko-Sniffer. Together, they search the house, accidentally finding other seder dinner foods like apples, eggs, and horseradish. Determined not to give up, the main character quickly fixes the Afiko-Sniffer to work right and finds the afikomen at last! Afikoman, Where’d You Go? A Passover Hide-and-Seek Adventure written by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Noa KelnerIt’s Passover seder. The kids in the family start searching for that silly, sneaky afikoman matzah.

Where is he hiding? The search takes them around the house in different rooms, outside, up a tree, and finally, they find the escapist afikoman! Kids will love examining the detailed illustrations and will giggle at the perfectly silly ending. I Lived Inside a Whale by Xin LiThe amazing artwork drew me in immediately, as did the relatable story. (Especially for those of us who are introverts.) This quiet child lives in a noisy family, and she craves quiet and peace. To find it, she makes a boat she sails into the belly of a blue whale.

Which she loves! Until another child arrives, bringing lots of talkative noise! The two compromise, and they learn how to balance each other’s needs with storytelling and listening. How sweet is that? If you’re moving to a new house, help your kids prepare for this big life transition by reading stories about other kids who’ve moved homes, too. Bibliotherapy!

Read books about moving houses to answer questions and encourage conversations. When we moved houses, my youngest daughter was four. She told me, “I’m just sad that I have to leave my toys at the old house.” WHAT!?! I’m so glad she told me her misconception so I could clarify for her what to expect. Since, of course, she didn’t have to leave her toys. I hope these picture books help your children with a move to a new home.

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Alea MarleyA relatable story about feelings, moving homes, and finding a friend. Harpreet loves colors and expresses his feelings with the colors of his patkas (a kind of turban) that he wears each day. When his family moves to a new home, he wears blue for feeling nervous, then gray for feeling sad, and white for feeling shy. Harpreet picks white when he’s at his new school. Then one day, he finds a lost hat and when he returns it, he makes a new friend. A friend makes a big difference, and Harpreet beings wearing colors again– red, pink, and yellow.

In fact, now he wears different colors for different occasions, including white for hanging out with a new friend. When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Eliza WheelerWhat is being brave? “Brave is a bird that steps from its nest hoping to soar through the sky.” As the author shares what brave looks and feels like, a little girl and her family leave their house... “Because once you find your courage, it’s easy to use again and again. The next time life seems scary or you start something new, you can remember when you were brave.” Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or grandparent, you want to find the best children’s picture books to read aloud and share with the children in your life.

Over the last two decades, I’ve read tens of thousands of picture books and carefully curated book lists and book reviews of children’s picture book fiction and nonfiction for kids. I’ll share the BEST picture book recommendations in book lists on almost every topic and theme. Plus, you’ll also find the best children’s books to read aloud to different ages of readers. My own passion for books for kids began early with weekly trips to the library and a home without a television. (Nothing else to do but read!) As a former elementary teacher, former literacy trainer, and parent of two, my passion for books grew every year. I read to share the best books with my students.

I read to find good books to use in the classroom as mentor texts. And I read because I loved the stories, wordplay, and richness of the artwork. Honestly, I am devoted to children’s literature, reading thousands of books every year, from picture books to YA. Here’s an example of one month of picture books that I review in on month from over a hundred read that month! (And isn’t my READ shirt the best!?) The best picture books are spacious enough to allow the illustrations to narrate the story as well as the prose, which is the text of a non-poetry book.

These beautiful books aren’t too text-heavy but balance perfectly with their text-to-picture ratio. Young children love books about themes that resonate with their lives, such as friendship, family, growing up, identity, and more. Other young child-friendly themes in picture books that illuminate the world for readers include belonging, courage, kindness, feelings, accepting differences, problem solving, using your imagination, and grief. Look for books that explore new concepts like counting or colors! What are the best picture books of 2021? It’s been a fantastic year in publishing with stunning writing, kid-approved page-turners, and meaningful topics with more representation than we’ve ever seen.

These new picture books make great read alouds for younger children –but also for older children as well. Remember that picture books are also for Elementary-age readers as well as toddlers and preschoolers. Because as you probably know, the vocabulary, writing craft, and topics are often are just right for older readers. So before you skip to the best chapter book list, remember to keep picture books in the reading mix. (Teachers, I already know you do this. You’ll find some amazing books to use as mentor texts and for other instructional purposes on this list.)

It’s worth mentioning that I’ve read and reviewed (also not reviewed) at least 600 picture books this year but if I missed any titles, I’ll add them as I read them. To help you find your favorites, I’ve organized the list of books into the following sections…(Click to jump to the section.) As usual, I have a LOT of good picture books to share…and more on my to-read pile to share with you next month. Song of Frutas by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Sara Palacios HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH Celebrate Cuban culture and a loving grandparent relationship in this lyrical story about a little girl’s visit with her fruit-selling Abuelo. When the little girl visits her abuelo in Cuba, she loves helping him sell frutas, singing the names of each fruit as they walk with his cart. They fill baskets lowered down on ropes.

Other vendors sing their own melodies and rhymes about tamales, yerbas, and dulces so Abuelo must sing even louder. As her trip wraps up on New Year’s Eve, the girl eats twelve grapes at midnight, making a wish for each month, especially wishing for more visits and open borders. When she returns home, she feels happy that she can send Abuelo letters “back and forth, verses on paper, all our hopeful poems flying like songbirds who glide and soar through wild sky, each... Paletero Man by Lucky Diaz, illustrated by Micah Player HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH In this exceptionally written and colorfully illustrated story, follow a boy as he takes a savory trip around the neighborhood searching for... As he searches, a familiar refrain repeats, “Can you hear his call? Paletas for one!

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