The Kids' Shelf

The Snow Loves

Kirsten Hall, illus. Marc Martin

A poem about winter in a snowy forest and the animals that live there.

Whale Song

Nicola Davies, illus. Britta Teckentrup

How humpback whales learn songs from one another and carry them across the oceans.

The Greatest Project in Space

Markus Motum

How the International Space Station was built piece by piece in orbit and how astronauts live and work there.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe

Suzanne Poulter Harris, illus. Mira Miroslavova

A picture-book biography of C.S. Lewis, from his childhood and school years to his friendship with Tolkien and the writing of Narnia.

Content note: Mentions his mother's death and World War I.

I Wonder If I'm Growing

Raffi, illus. Jon Klassen

A young child is told they are growing but can't see it happening, and watches for signs of it at home. Based on Raffi's song.

The Upside-Down, Inside-Out, Can't-Believe-It Kingdom

Jonathan Landry Cruse, illus. Joe Hox

A father explains to his son, in rhyme, how God's kingdom works in backward ways: grace, the cross, and being made right with God.

What Marcel Found

Cedar Pruitt, illus. David Litchfield

In 1940 a French teenager named Marcel finds a hidden cave full of ancient animal paintings.

Content note: Dates the cave paintings to about 17,000 years ago.

Igloo

Ann Kim Ha

A chickadee caught in a snowstorm is joined by geese, a fox, and a bear, and they huddle together through the night.

Cow and Sow

Matthew Farina, illus. Doug Salati

Two farm friends stuck indoors in winter discover ice skating on the frozen pond and invite the other animals to join them.

Tom Nancy

Mac Barnett, illus. X. Fang

A sheep tricks a farm boy named Felix into a brain-swapping machine and takes his place in the family.

Salvation

Joel R. Beeke and Nick Thompson

Ninety family-worship readings from Romans through Philemon.

Covenants for Kids

O. Palmer Robertson, illus. Joe Hox

A color-coded walk through the covenants of the Bible, showing how each one points to Christ.

Stella & Marigold: Past and Presents

Annie Barrows, illus. Sophie Blackall

Sisters Stella and Marigold learn that a girl once lived in their house, wrote on its walls, and left presents behind.

The Biggest Story Scripture Journal for Kids: Genesis

ESV, illus. Don Clark

The full ESV text of Genesis with a journaling page across from every page of Scripture.

God's Story, Our Story

Charlotte and Andrew Ollerton

Nine weeks of fifteen-minute family devotions through the whole Bible, with audio by QR code.

Totally True Tales from World War II

Stuart Gibbs, illus. Ward Jenkins

True stories of commando raids, codebreaking, and deception, told by the narrator of the Spy School series.

Content note: Wartime raids and combat.

The Accidental World-Slip of Astrid Verity

Jaclyn Moriarty

A misfired spell drops ten-year-old Astrid out of a tournament and into a Sydney suburb, where a girl named Echo takes her in.

Content note: Grief over a mother's death; peril in the wilderness.

Backpack, Boy, Berlin

Kip Wilson, illus. Matt Schu

In 1938, ten-year-old Don moves to Berlin with his diplomat father and begins carrying secret messages for the resistance. A novel in verse.

Content note: Nazi persecution and danger to members of the resistance.

This Is a Door

Daniel Nayeri

An orphan named Ing sets out with his dog and mouse on a twelve-stage quest, while the words on the page change shape around him.

Content note: An invented Land of the Dead, a ghost, and a monster fight; the hero has lost his parents.

10 Questions About Growing in Christ

William R. Osborne

Thirty readings on prayer, Bible reading, church, hard times, and feeling not good enough.

Where the Wild Horses Are

Amy Alznauer

Twelve-year-old Nash, the hearing daughter of a Deaf family, enters a contest to gentle a wild mustang in one hundred days.

Where Wonder Leads

Eryn Lynum, illus. Chiara Fedele

A young naturalist named Willow explores the outdoors, and each chapter pairs science with Scripture.

Bible Infographics for Kids Bible Handbook

Harvest House

An infographic survey of the whole Bible, with timelines and maps.

Building 903

Lois Lowry

Books are against the law, and Tessa's twin brother has vanished. An elderly neighbor leaves her the key to a hidden room full of books.

The Forgotten War

Candace Fleming

The 1942 Japanese occupation of Attu in the Aleutian Islands and the costly American effort to take it back.

Content note: Battle deaths.

Pilgrim's Progress: The Graphic Novel

John Bunyan, adapted by Jeremy Patenaude, illus. Brent McKee

Bunyan's allegory in graphic-novel form, keeping his own language, with a short reflection after each chapter.

Content note: Dark imagery and peril, as in the original.