​Children typically love picturebooks about animals. Animal characters can be very relatable, especially in fiction books with talking animals. Interestingly, animal fiction can reveal truths about us as humans, whereas nonfiction teaches truths about animals themselves. These 2025 fiction and nonfiction titles are worth a look to see what you can find out!

The Bear Who Had Nothing to Wear. Jeanne Willis. Illus. by Brian Fitzgerald. (2025). Scallywag Press.
 Albie is a teddy bear who refuses to be identified as any one thing. Albie does not want to be known as a "Him or a Her."  The author refers to Albie as "he" throughout the story, but this does not detract from the hilarious ways that Albie chooses to express himself. He shows up as a baby, a cowboy, a butterfly, a prince, a pirate, a city bear, and a country bear, but none seem to fit. Finally, he opts to go around in his own fur, topped by a hat with a colorful hatband. His cries of "This is me!" invite readers to find their own authentic selves, not through what they wear but by acknowledging who they are on the inside. The story is told in ABAB rhyme that never seems forced. Fitzgerald's jubilant illustrations contribute to the fun, and the subtle rainbow colors on the hatband hint at the message that it is important to be proud of who you are. (PreK-Gr 2)

Goat is the G.O.A.T. Bea Birdsong. Illus. by Kelly Murphy. (2025). Nancy Paulsen Books. 
Poor goat is confused when he overhears his farm friends refer to a prize bull as the G.O.A.T., the "greatest of all time."  Goat thinks he must be the greatest, but he's not sure what he's so good at. He tries strength, speed, leadership, and other physical characteristics, but he just doesn't measure up to other animals. Just when he is beginning to think that he's not the greatest at anything, three kittens find themselves stuck in a tree, and it is only the goat who can save them. The message that everyone is great at something is clear, and children will laugh at the funny way that the goat misinterpreted the acronym for his name. While the characters/animals are all personified, they resemble actual animalsanimals, which helps the very real message of self-worth seem relatable. This book lends itself well to an introduction or study of acronyms. (PreK-Gr 2)

​Grace Builds an <Almost-Perfect> Dog. Curtis Manley. Illus. by Tracy Subisak. (2025). Roaring Brook Press.
 Grace is determined to have a dog, even though her parents have forbidden it. She decides that if she can't have a flesh-and-fur dog, she'll build a robotic one. While Grace successfully produces a dog that wags its tail, plays with her, and is easily trained with code she writes herself, she finds that the robot is too perfect. It is boring, and Grace realizes that a perfect pet isn't an ideal one. A subtle theme is that perfection isn't what it's cracked up to be. Her "perfect" dog was too predictable, and some flaws made it much more interesting. This is an important concept for children, especially those who strive to be the best all the time. The cartoon-styled illustrations work well in the story that uses coding directions to carry the plot linealong. At the end of the book, the author provides insight into the art of writing code for beginners. (Gr 3-5)

​I Don't Wanna Hibernate! Anna Ouchchy. Illus. by Raahat Kaduji. (2025). Henry Holt and Company. 
Parents and children alike will relate to this story about a little groundhog named Tess who isn't sleepy and doesn't want to hibernate. She exhausts her mother and father as they try everything they know to get her to bed. The parents finally give up, and little Tess is left to play alone until she finally drifts off to sleep on her own, nearly missing Groundhog Day. Ouchchy's whimsical, bouncy text in verse is fun to read aloud, and Kadjuji's watercolor illustrations beautifully depict the billowy snowflakes and pastel colors that should make any little groundhog sleepy. Readers are left to hope that Tess will learn her lesson and go to sleep on time next year. (PreK-Gr 2)

Otter Carries On. Maya Tatsukawa. (2025). Henry Holt and Company.
This book is a gem and a must-read for anyone who needs another lesson on the dangers of holding on to things they don't need, whether it's physical objects or emotional burdens that keep them from thriving. It's also a cautionary tale about the importance of accepting help when it is offered. Otter is a rock collector, which isn't a bad thing except that he has too many of them, and he insists on carrying them around his stomach while he floats on the water. This habit prohibits him from doing otter-ly things like caring for his fur and swimming. As a result, he is swept away by a storm when he refuses to drop his rocks, insisting that he can handle them while trying to swim to safety with the other otters. The dialogue is presented in conversation bubbles that complement the illustrations of sea life using subtle colors and textures to bring the characters to life. (PreK Up)

​Scamp. Anden Wilder. (2025). Little, Brown and Company. 
Children often identify with animals and sometimes identify as animals. The "Scamp" in this story is a young child who does just that, mimicking her black cat, Hector, and doing everything that he does. One day, she begins to find herself popping up on her two legs, using a spoon to eat, and taking a bath, all things that cats just don't do. This is concerning until Hector gets caught in a downpour of rain, and only Scamp can save him by standing up and using her hands to open a window so Hector can jump to safety. Wilder presents Scamp in striped pink pajamas and at no time depicts her with cat features save for her ear-like pigtails. This technique separates Scamp as a cat person without making her look at all like the cat she pretends to be. The story helps readers know that they can be themselves, whoever they are. (Gr K-4)

Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live. Mike Unwin. llus. by Jenni Desmond. (2025). Bloomsbury Children's Books.
Home can be defined simply as a place to live, but this book makes the point that home is really a place where we can feel safe, even if we sometimes must leave a space to find a new safe home elsewhere. Unwin takes readers to the homes of twenty different animals and tells the story of where they live in engaging descriptions accompanied by Desmond's luminous and realistic illustrations. Each home is depicted on a double-paged spread with sidebars that go into further detail about the animals and where they live. The book is oversized, and the end pages include an explanation of Earth as our home, inviting readers to learn how to protect it and to keep each other safe. (Gr K-4)

Good Night Sea Otters Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper. Illus. by Katherine Blackmore. (2025). Random House. 
This delightful board book is part of Random House's Good Night Our World series. It packs a lot of information into a small format made for young children's hands. Readers will learn about where and how otters live, who their friends are, what they eat, and how they sleep wrapped up in kelp, so they don't drift apart. Children will fall in love with these creatures whose faces and antics endear them to human beings. To appeal to children, the facts are embedded within a narrative about a little sea otter who says good night to everyone and everything around him. (PreK-2)

​Pets. Xavier Deneux. (2025). Chronicle Books.
If you liked Pat the Bunny, you will love this board book from Chronicle Books' "TouchThinkLearn" series. With simple illustrations in vibrant colors, children are invited to interact with different kinds of pets through touch. The animals have child appeal, and little ones can trace over the outlines of the animals and feel the pets' textures while exploring how the pets interact with their environments. The entire series is full of motivating titles that will serve as foundational books for emerging readers who are beginning to develop critical concepts of print, such as left-to-right progression and how to identify the front and back of a book. Each book is both entertaining and educational and invites questions about the concepts that will lead to further reading. (PreK-K)

​The Urban Owls: How Flaco and Friends Made the City Their Home. Christian Cooper. Illus. by Kristen Adam. (2025). Little, Brown and Company. 
As the subtitle suggests, Urban Owls features the famous Flaco, who captivated New York City after he escaped the Central Park Zoo and made his home in the skyscrapers until he flew into a building one year after his escape. Cooper tells the stories of other notable urban owls, including the one who found herself moved from the country to the city when her tree home was chosen as the Christmas tree for Rockefeller Center. The text is not told in verse, but there is use of internal rhymes that are pleasing to the ear when read aloud, allowing for a more lyrical kind of performance. Adam's illustrations lend a magical tone, emphasizing the mysterious nature of owls and their surprising appearances when they allow themselves to be seen. The end notes provide information about different kinds of owls, how to look for owls, and how to take action to ensure that owl habitats are protected. Suggestions of other resources, books, and websites are located on the end pages at the back of the book. (PreK Up) 

​You Are a Wildlife Warrior!: Saving Animals & the Planet. Bindi Irwin and Smitri Prasadam-Halls. Illus. by Ramona Kaulitzki. (2025). Random House.
Wildlife warrior Steve Irwin's daughter, Bindi, is carrying on her father's work and passing it along to a new generation in this colorful book about saving animals. Her work in the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is featured, and photographs of Bindi and her family are included at the end of the book. While the Wildlife Warriors organization works around the world, Irwin focuses on conservation organizations in Africa, Sumatra, and Australia. Although most readers in the United States may be unfamiliar with these places in the Southern hemisphere, Irwin's story with paintings of her and her daughter tending to animals' needs is general enough to appeal to readers everyanywhere. Tips for conserving the earth for animals right from your home will help readers feel that they, too, can be wildlife warriors anywhere they happen to be. (PreK-Gr 2)

​Sue Corbin has taught all levels of education from K through graduate school. She is a fan of picturebooks that entertain and motivate children to love reading and learning.

​Nancy Brashear and Carolyn Angus
 
The diversity of animals around the world captures the attention of people young and old. The recently published books in this column invite readers to learn about the characteristics and behaviors of various animals that inhabit the land, sea, and sky and to consider their relationships with humans. 

Animal Superpowers! (Amazing Animals #2). Amy Cherrix. Illus. by Frann Preston-Gannon. (2024). Beach Lane.
Amy Cherrix’s companion to Animal Architects (2021) presents a diverse group of ten animals and their survival adaptations—their superpowers—in a child-friendly format. Against the background of Frann Preston-Gannon’s vibrant, double-spread illustrations (rendered with acrylic paint and ink and collaged digitally) of the animals in their natural habitats, Cherrix introduces each animal with text boxes of interesting facts. A turn of the page reveals the name of the animal’s superpower and an explanation of how it supports survival in nature. For example, the barn owl’s superpower is its supersensitive hearing, the mimic octopus can hide in plain sight, and dogs are super sniffers. Back matter includes a call for humans to use our superpower, action, to improve the lives of the world’s animals; notes on specific human activities that impact each of these amazing animals; and selected sources. (PreK-Gr 2)
—CA

Birds (Little Kids First Nature Guide #3). Moira Rose Donohue. (2024). National Geographic Kids.
“No matter where you live, you can probably see—and hear—birds!” The fact-filled text and close-up photographs of this nature guide provides basic information about birds (their habitats, anatomy, eggs, and chicks) and bird-watching before profiling 20 birds ranging from fluttering hummingbirds, bright blue jays, and hopping robins to crafty crows, outstanding owls, and clever gulls. Each entry includes a brief introduction and a “Check Me Out!” text box listing the bird’s common name, size, home, food, and sound and photographs of several related species. For example, “Peck, Woodpeckers!” describes how the Pileated Woodpecker jabs at trees with its beak searching for insects under the bark as well as spotlighting the Acorn Woodpecker, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, and Eurasian Wruneck. Back matter includes a “Flightless Birds” section, “Can You Speak Bird?” and “Move Like a Bird!” activities, a glossary, and an index. (PreS Up)
—NB

Clever Crow. Chris Butterworth. Illus. by Olivia Lomenech Gill. (2024). Candlewick.
“Wherever you are right now, there’s sure to be a crow or two nearby.” Chris Butterworth’s accessible text presented in several font sizes invites young readers to learn about the characteristics and behavior of crows. Most of the more than 100 species in the crow family are plain birds like the black American crow. They are not “fancy fliers.” They croak or caw rather than sing. They are intelligent. They can solve problems and use tools, remember things, and know how to play. Olivia Lomenech Gill’s stunning, double-spread illustrations, done in mixed media, feature realistic portraits of crows. Eighteen different members of the crow family are shown on the back endpaper, and their eggs are pictured on the front endpaper. Back matter includes a “Learn More About Crows” section and an index. (PreK-Gr 2)
—CA

​The Great Wolf Rescue: Saving the Red Wolves (Sandra Markle’s Science Discoveries). Sandra Markle. (2024). Millbrook.
North American red wolves that flourished in the 1700s slowly disappeared until they were identified as an endangered species in 1973 and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Recovery program was established. Captive breeding programs in zoos and wildlife refuges that increased the numbers of pure red wolves have led to their reintroduction into the wild with tracking collars and camera traps so they can be studied, and pup fostering of red wolf babies with foster mom red wolves that have litters of the same age has proven a successful means for helping them to survive to “have a wild future.” Facts in white font are set against a backdrop of wolf photographs on pages with maps, charts, and a narrative in yellow boxes. Back matter includes an author’s note, “Did You Know?” facts, a glossary, source notes, resources, and an index. (Gr 3 Up)
—NB

​Komodo Dragons: Nature’s Biggest Lizard (Nature’s Most Massive Animals). Jackie Golusky. (2024). Lerner.
Emerging readers will be mesmerized by the Komodo Dragon, the largest lizard in the world, with its venomous saliva and deadly claws. Jackie Golusky’s informative text, accompanied by colorful, captioned photographs, describes how the female builds fake nests so predators don’t eat her clutch of up to more than 30 eggs, how baby lizards are about 16 inches long when they hatch and grow to be 10 feet, what their diet consists of, where they live, and how they need to be protected as their habitats are decreasing due to trees being cut down and climate change creating fewer places in which they can live. Insets provide additional facts (for example, “The Komodo National Park in Indonesia was created to protect Komodo Dragons”). Back matter includes a labeled photo diagram of a Komodo dragon, more fun facts, a glossary, resources, and an index. (PreK Up)
—NB

​Mysterious, Marvelous Octopus. Paige Towler. (2024). National Geographic Kids.
In naturalist and author Sy Montgomery’s foreword to this engaging book, she invites young readers to make friends with an octopus and “. . . shake hands—times eight!” In Mysterious, Marvelous Octopus, Paige Towler introduces a variety of octopuses portrayed in stunning photographs paired with informative rhyming verses and insets with additional intriguing facts. For example, these ancient cephalopods have existed on earth for more than 500 million years and were around millions of years before dinosaurs roamed Earth. After considering characteristics and behavior of this eight-armed marine mollusk such as its hidden beak, three hearts, amazing array of color and designs (from pink to brown to blue with spots, rings, stripes, and pearl designs), self-defensive mechanisms, and playful nature, Towler concludes, “. . . who could resist a creature as mysterious and marvelous . . . as THIS?” Back matter includes an octopus photo gallery of all the species included in the book and a glossary of key terms. (PreK-Gr 2)
—NB

​One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them (Discovery Chronicles #1). Loree Griffin Burns. Illus. by Jamie Green. (2024). mit Kids.
Over one hundred years apart, two scientists studied the behavior of an unusual type of caterpillar that follows each other and came to different conclusions. After studying the pine processionary species for many years, French Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915) died believing they were born with the instinct either to lead, if at the front of the line, or follow, if not. That supposition was challenged a century later when Terrence Fitzgerald (b. 1941), an American, studied tent caterpillars, which don’t march in orderly lines but still arrive together at their destination. He applied his findings from experiments with tent caterpillars to pine processionaries with surprising results. Jamie Green’s illustrations, digitally created in muted green and gray tones, complement Loree Griffin Burn’s narrative in 11 short chapters with informational text boxes. Back matter includes a glossary, a “More About Jean-Henri Fabre and Terrence Fitzgerald” section, further reading, source notes, and bibliography. (Gr 3 Up)
—NB

1,000 Facts About Sharks. Sarah Wassner-Flynn. (2024). National Geographic Kids.
This collection of facts about sharks is organized in double spread sections with interest-catching titles and text boxes on full-color background photographs beginning with “10 Fast Facts About Sharks” (from “All sharks are FISH,” to  “A small number of sharks, like the salmon shark, are WARM-BLOODED. They can CONTROL THEIR BODY TEMPERATURE.”) on a photograph of a group of hammerhead sharks. The final sections are “50 Alarming Facts About Threats to Sharks” on a photograph of vulnerable lemon sharks and “15 Important Facts About Saving Sharks” featuring a photograph of a protester at a beach in Sydney, Australia, with a “Save Our Sharks” sign. Fact 1000 is “Thanks to conservation efforts, the great white shark—once thought to be in decline—has seen a recent population surge in the Pacific Ocean.” Back matter includes an extensive glossary, a three-page “Kinds of Sharks” section with information about classification and the evolution of sharks, an index, and sources. (Gr 3 Up)
—CA

Salvatore and the Goats of Mount Etna (Listening to Animals #1). Uschi Müller. Illus. by Brittany Lane. (2024). David Suzuki Institute/Greystone Kids.
For the first time without Papa, Salvatore, who lives with his family on a goat farm at the base of Sicily’s Mount Etna, takes the goats to graze high up the mountain. The meadow is too quiet. Gina, the herd dog, starts barking, and all the goats begin tossing their heads and kicking their hooves. Remembering Papa’s “YOU herd the goats. They don’t herd you,” Salvatore tries to stop them as Bianca, the lead goat, and the others flee down the mountain in panic. Catching up with the goats huddled in a wooded area, he hears a loud rumbling. Mount Etna is erupting. With the help of Bianca and Gina, they all make it safely back to the farm. Uschi Müller, coordinator of ICARUS, a research project studying the “sixth sense” of animals, includes information about the true-life events that occurred in 2012 behind this beautifully crafted picture book. (PreK Up)
—CA

Sleepy: Surprising Ways Animals Snooze. Jennifer Ward. Illus. by Robin Page. (2024). Beach Lane.
“All animals sleep. But not all animals sleep in the same way.” Jennifer Ward provides information on the sleep behavior of 16 wild animals in an engaging text presented with a repeated “If you’re a . . .” followed by the name of the animal and a rhyming quatrain about its sleep behavior. Additional information is provided in smaller text. Readers will be surprised to learn how much the animals sleep each day ranging from light sleepers, the great frigatebird (45 minutes) and African elephant (2 hours), to deep sleepers, the little brown bat (20 hours) and koala (22 hours). Each entry is complemented by Robin Paige’s colorful collage-like portrait of the sleeping animal rendered in Photoshop. Back matter includes sections on the types of sleep in the book, pie charts of daily “average snooze” time for the wild animals as well as one for people at different stages of life, and selected sources. (PreK-Gr 2)
—CA

​The Unlikely Hero: The Story of Wolf 8 (Young Readers’ Edition) (Chronicles of the Yellowstone Wolves #1). Rick McEntyre & David A. Poulsen. (2024). Greystone Kids.
Rick McEntyre and David Poulsen’s narration begins with the 1995 reintroduction of wolf packs to Yellowstone National Park that included the family of Wolf 8, runt of the litter, and ends with the death of 8. Throughout 8’s life—from his infancy, to stepping into another pack as the adoptive father of its newborn pups (and, later, the biological father of many more), to protecting and providing for his family—his human-like characteristics such as influence, loyalty, wisdom, empathy, and playfulness are apparent. Each chapter includes an informational inset by National Park Service Ranger Rick McIntyre, who worked on the Yellowstone Wolf Reintroduction Project. Back matter contains an “Afterword: We Are All Related” by Ojibwe John Potter (who also created the pen-and-ink sketches of Wolf 8) telling the origin story of the wolf and a call for readers to cherish the interconnectedness of life. (Gr 3 Up)
—NB

Wild Brunch: Poems About How Creatures Eat. David L. Harrison. Illus. by Giles Laroche. 92024). Charlesbridge.
David L. Harrison’s playful, rhythmic poems and Giles Laroche’s intricate, double-spread illustrations done in cut-paper relief on hand-painted paper offer an introduction to the feeding behavior of 12 different animals. The collection is organized in three sections: “Swimming Eaters” (jellyfish, narwhal, piranha, and otter); “Land-Based Eaters” (aardvark, koala, African bush elephant, and hippopotamus); and “Flying Eaters” (turkey vulture, Mexican free-tailed bat, housefly, and seagull). Back matter includes additional information and a “Learn More” list of books for each eater as well as a final intriguing “Not an Eater at All” entry about the adult mayfly. “The mayfly doesn’t / bite or / chew or / pinch or / tear or / drink. / It can’t. // It lives only / a single day. / No need / for a mouth. / It needs only / to find a mate.” (PreK Up)
—CA ​