Let me begin by apologizing to those of you who follow me here, as my almost full-time work at the bookstore these days has meant that I am much less present on this platform that I used to be. As many of you know, I continue to be very active on Instagram (@thebookmommy), posting several reviews each week, but I know that many of you have moved away from social media, and I also understand that! I’m not quite sure what the future of this blog will be, but I do know many of you have reached out asking if I would please at least continue to share my Summer Reading Guide and Holiday Gift Guides, and so here I am with the first installment of this year’s Summer Reading Guide (better late than never?). My reviews won’t be quite as long as in years’ past, though I will link to longer reviews that I’ve done so far on Instagram and pop in periodically to add links.
My 2025 Summer Reading Guide is pretty close to the one that has already launched at Old Town Books—and which I spearhead each year. I’m fortunate to have amazing colleagues at the bookstore who help me read for the guides, and I’ll often prioritize reading things that they’ve loved. But I also can’t get through everything, so there are some books on the shop’s guide that are not in my personal guide, simply because I only ever recommend books that I have personally read (and loved, of course).
This first installment highlights my favorite new short chapter books and early graphic novels for emerging readers. Note that these are all standalone titles or first in a series, but you should absolutely go back and read past guides because many of those books now have sequels out!
Ratnip
by Cam Higgins & Alison Steinfelld
Ages 6-9 (128 pages)
Perfect for independent reading or reading aloud, Ratnip: Lose and Found in the City is the first in a classic-vibing short chapter series (B&W art) with whimsy and mischief from the author of Good Dog, about a city rat with pizza-named siblings who enjoys dumpster diving–ahem, treasure hunting. With future installments publishing quickly, the second and third titles are already out!
Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum
by Hannah Tunnicliffe & Erica Harrison
Ages 5-9 (64 pages)
In Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum, a canine curmudgeon comes out of retirement to solve an art heist in a delightfully erudite graphic novel that bursts with Agatha Christie & Sherlock Holmes references and presents clues for readers to solve in real time.
Growing Home
by Beth Ferry & The Fan Brothers
Ages 6-10 (272 pages)
At 272 pages and replete with elevated vocab and puns, this gorgeously greyscale illustrated story of friendship, magic, and cheese puffs, starring the most adorably grumpy goldfish of the year, will shine as a family read aloud. If you’ve got a kindergartener, a first grader, and a third grader you’re looking to entertain at the same time, Growing Home is your answer! Full review here.
Story Spinners
by Cassandra Federman
Ages 6-10 (208 pages)
In Story Spinners, incredible art accentuates this story-within-a-story graphic novel, where bickering sisters assuage their toddler brother with a jointly made up “tale of danger, a princess, and her crew of lady pirates.” As we move in and out of the story the two sisters are telling, we get a window, not only into the girls’ hilariously different personalities, but into the creative process and the compromises of collaboration.
Casey’s Cases
by Kay Healy
Ages 6-10 (160 pages)
In Casey’s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl, an endearing and impulsive Dory Fantasmagory-esque heroine dives head first into mysteries inside and outside her classroom. This chuckle-a-minute graphic novel series opener also manages to fit in some lovely themes of friendship and acceptance. Full review here. Next installment will be out this September!
Murray and Bun!
by Adam Stower
Ages 6-9 (192 pages)
Prepare for young readers to giggle their way through this outrageously fun short chapter series (B&W illustrations) starring a magic cat flap, jousting, Vikings, trolls, and some serious stink. The first title (Murray the Viking) and second title (Murray the Knight) released simultaneously and can be read in any order. Just know you’re going to want the third one, out next January, because this feline-bunny duo is just too adorable!
Sib Squad
by Steve Breen
Ages 5-8 (192 pages)
Youngest siblings will feel seen in this brilliantly penned and visually enticing graphic novel combining jokes, shenanigans, and secret clubs. Steve Breen isn’t a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for nothing, and new readers are in seriously good hands with Sib Squad (sequel out this fall!). Full review here.
I’m a Dumbo Octopus! A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods
by Anne Lambelet
Ages 7-10 (72 oversized pages)
Nonfiction with a side of humor and comics? Yes please! I’m a Dumbo Octopus is a graphic novel guide to cephalopods, hosted by a conversational guru named Grimpy the Dumbo Octopus and packed with fascinating facts about his fellow cephalopods. (Honorary mention to another new ocean-themed nonfiction graphic novel for the same age set: Jana Curll’s Barnacle Bay.)
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
by Barbara Park; adapted by Colleen AF Venable & Honie Beam
Ages 5-8 (160 pages)
Truth be told, I’m not the biggest fan of Barbara Park’s classic short chapter series starring Junie B. Jones. But this graphic novel adaptation by the great Colleen AF Venable (of Katie the Catsitter fame)? It has all of the spiritedness with none of the brattiness and I’m ALL IN. In the first title, Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (second out this fall), Junie B.’s start to kindergarten goes hilariously, endearingly wrong (before all works out!).
We’re All Gonna Die-Nosaur!
by Kon Tan
Ages 5-8 (160 pages)
Tiny dino, big problems! This series starter graphic novel (B&W art), We’re All Gonna Die-Nosaur (second out this October!), delivers in spades for those seeking absurd humor and plenty of hijinks. Pterry the Pterodactyl may be paranoid, but it’s also true that his worst-case scenarios keep coming true! Perfect for your Bad Guys fans.
Iron Man: Something Strange
by Dean Hale & Douglas Holgate
Ages 5-9 (96 pages)
Iron Man teams up with Dr. Strange in an original graphic novel set in New York City by an all-star duo (yes, that’s Dean Hale of The Princess in Black fame!). While a different creative team, it’s in line with a past favorite, Mike Maihack’s Spider-Man: Animals Assemble, and it’s so nice to see Marvel content getting such fresh, easy-on-the-eye treatment for newly independent readers!
Unicornia
by Ana Punset & Diana Vicedo
Ages 5-8 (128 pages)
I’ve never seen a short chapter series fly off the shelves quite like this explosion of girliness has, but I guess that’s what a human girl attending a magical unicorn academy will do! The first (Learning to Fly) and second (A Magical Birthday) are out now in this import from Spain, each with a different accent color scheme, with the third releasing in July.
The Secret Fairy Club
by Emma Roberts & Raahat Kaduji
Ages 5-7 (24 large pages)
Readers can earn ten badges in this long-form, intricately illustrated picture book (plus bonus mini handbook!) on their journey to becoming an expert at spotting fairies in the wild! It’s from the same creator as The Secret Unicorn Club, which was one of my most popular Gift Guide picks a few years ago.
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