Spring 2025 Preview Recap—Enjoy Spring With These Children’s Books 0

Charlesbridge recently held a live Spring 2025 Preview introducing our spring titles. In case you missed the stream, here are some of the books we chatted about. To hear about ALL our books, please check out the video on YouTube.

These spring titles offer young readers heartwarming stories that explore important social-emotional themes like empathy, kindness, and emotional regulation. With colorful illustrations and engaging narratives, these books help children understand their feelings, embrace their uniqueness, and develop emotional resilience in a fun, relatable way.

When Emma is feeling grumpy because she wasn’t invited to the pirate party her brother is going to, she’s left with a bunch of upset feelings. Luckily, her grandmother has just the trick to help her handle her big emotions. With grumble boats. Grandma patiently shows Emma how to draw her grumbles, fold them into a boat, and let them float away on the water.

McFarlane shares this sweet story that addresses key social-emotional themes like emotional regulation, self-care, and how to process negative emotions in a healthy, constructive way.

It’s also a beautiful multigenerational story, highlighting the loving relationship between Emma and her grandmother, perfect for grandparents to share with their little ones.

Back matter also includes a fun reader activity for kids to create their own grumble boats and let go of their own feelings of frustration and sadness. Grumble Boats is such a cute story perfect to help children feel lighter and more equipped to handle life’s little ups and downs.

Non-fiction books for kids are a powerful tool for expanding young minds and fostering a love of learning. These books engage curious readers by diving into real-world topics, providing facts, details, and insights that build knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Baby Loves Meteorology is the latest addition to the popular Baby Loves Science board book series, which introduces the wonders of science to the youngest learners in a fun and accessible way.

In this adorable book, Baby decides what to wear by checking the weather, and through this simple act, little ones are introduced to the basics of meteorology. They’ll learn about wind, the water cycle, precipitation, and weather prediction—all explained in age-appropriate language. With accurate science reviewed by meteorology and climate experts, it’s a reliable resource for introducing STEM concepts in a way that’s both fun and educational.

Baby Loves Meteorology is perfect for early readers, parents, and caregivers who are eager to explore weather and science together. It’s also a great way to spark early conversations about the environment and our planet.

Continuing with Ruth Spiro, the third book in the How to Explain Science series, How to Explain Climate Science to a Grown-Up is a playful, empowering STEM picture book that introduces readers to the complexities of climate science—while encouraging them to teach the grown-ups in their lives.

In this witty and engaging guide, children learn how to explain key concepts like the difference between weather and climate, what causes climate change, and what we can do to help repair the planet. With a fun, conspiratorial narrator and cheeky speech bubbles, this book turns science into a conversation, making it manageable and entertaining for kids. The book includes helpful diagrams, pro tips, and a glossary, allowing curious kids to become climate science experts.

Ruth Spiro’s playful voice will inspire kids to feel empowered, showcasing that anyone—no matter their gender or background—can be a scientist.

Jellyfish Scientist is a captivating STEM biography that brings the fascinating world of ocean science to life through the eyes of a pioneering woman scientist. In this gripping story, Maude Delap embarks on a year-long experiment from 1899 to 1900 to uncover the full life cycle of jellyfish, something no one had ever done before and laying the groundwork for research that continues today.

It offers a real-world example of a determined and innovative woman scientist in a way that is understandable for elementary school students. The story also gives a unique angle on ocean science, as Maude’s work with jellyfish—an animal so many are fascinated by—will engage children and adults alike.

Written by Michelle Cusolito, a renowned ocean science researcher, Jellyfish Scientist combines biography, science, and marine biology all in one, giving kids the opportunity to learn about groundbreaking scientific work, the wonder of jellyfish, and the importance of perseverance in scientific discovery. 

We all love a happy ending. Encouraging readers of all ages to keep trying helps them to gain the skills and confidence to persevere. After all, you never know when your challenge, issue, or trouble will turn into a triumphant win.

Janie Writes a Play is based on the story of how the Hans Christian Anderson of American Youth Literature, Jane Yolen, began her storied career. It also happens to be penned by her daughter, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, a celebrated children’s author in her own right.

Janie Yolen loves to read, write, dance, and sing. So when her teacher announces Janie's elementary class will perform a play, Janie is thrilled. There's just one problem—the play is boring. With the support of her teacher and classmates, Janie rewrites the play, resulting in a hit class musical.

Young, aspiring writers, readers, dancers, and singers will all feel seen and be inspired to use their imagination to its maximum potential within the pages of Janie’s story, which is also perfect for anyone who needs confidence to pursue what they love to do most.

Rebecca Caprara author of Worst-Case Collin is back on our list with another middle grade book, The Ripple Effect.

It’s the end of 5th grade and Zella wants to be the one who thinks of the best class prank. She is on a major quest to uphold her image as class clown and bask in the spotlight.

But when Zella’s class prank flops, the entire class is punished, and Zella is to blame. Zella's given a second chance to make things right, and it turns out that redemption, friendship, and a remarkable chain of kindness tastes even sweeter than her family's famous raspberry ripple ice cream.

It’s a perfect book club pick, and an excellent classroom read-aloud, complete with topics for students and educators to discuss and debate, covering themes of second chances, respecting school rules, and the power of connection.

Our newest released from our Charlesbridge Moves imprint is Werewolf Hamlet.

Angus admittedly has a lot on his plate. But the biggest crisis in Angus’s Hamlet-quoting existence is his 17-year-old brother Liam and his relationship with alcohol. Liam is like a werewolf—Angus never knows if he'll be nice or mean or when he'll sneak out to get drunk or worse. Where did the big brother he loves go?

When Liam doesn’t come home at all, Angus decides it’s his job to find him along with the help of his two closest friends.

Offering up a quick read of a novel that is a safe conversation starter full of earned emotions, Werewolf Hamlet pulls readers emotionally close to its characters and refuses to shy away from emotional reactions, thanks, in large part, to author Kerry Madden-Lunsford’s own experience with her son’s addiction.

This book fits nicely in Charlesbridge Moves imprint’s mission of offering books for reluctant readers by combining humor, characters you want to root for, and a text that offers things like imagined scenes, interstitial discussions between the main character and his older brother, and an assortment of text treatments so that middle graders are not just simply staring at dense pages, and have lots of interesting breaks in the main text as they root for Angus.

And that wraps up our recap for our Spring 2025 titles. Feel free to let us know which books on this list has you most exited to read. Our team is always excited to bring new, fun, and informative books to your shelves!

Want to watch the full video with our spring titles? Check out our video on YouTube.

Want to see our full spring list? Check it out on Edelweiss.

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Charlesbridge Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Perfect Children's Books For Your Readers 0

'Tis the season and time to search for the perfect present for children and families. For book lovers, we have a great selection. Be sure to check out our holiday gift guide for more recommendations.

Our holiday gift guide includes the perfect books for:

• Winter Holidays
• Pre-Schoolers
• Spanish Readers
• Science Lovers
• Picture Book Favorites
• Ages 8 and Up
• Storytime

Winter Holiday Gifts for Kids:

For fans of the holidays this winter, we have plenty of titles to share from Gingerbread Dreidels, celebrating both Chanukah on Christmas day. Or, maybe a classic like Latkes and Applesauce, which celebrates a special Hanukkah moment. Sometimes, plans don’t go as planned and holiday traditions are interrupted like in Just Us.

Gifts for Preschoolers:

We have a range of board books for little listeners. Indigenous titles like On Powwow Day and We Are Grateful Ostaliheliga: Seasons will captivate the little ones. Or, if they enjoy dinosaurs, they’ll love Baby Loves Paleontology. We also have a series of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Babies board books imparting life lessons, which warm the heart with heaping spoonfuls of good humor.

Gifts for Spanish Readers: 

We have an amazing collection of Spanish language books. Readers can explore superstitions in La mala suerte me sigue. They can follow along with adorable Adela as she tries to find her place in a mariachi band in Los mariachis de Adela. Nonfiction lovers can learn about axolotls in No es un monstruo. If a child has trouble speaking Spanish, they can learn how to communicate in Un graznido en espanol and that it’s okay to not be perfect, but that trying is what matters.

Science Books for Kids:

Any readers looking for women who paved the way for others will enjoy She Sells Seashells, a story about Mary Anning, an unlikely paleontologist. If a young reader loves dinosaurs, then they’ll love Dinosaurs Can Be Small. Know someone crazy for robots? They'll love How to Explain Robotics to a Grown-Up, a playful STEM picture book filled with fun facts, empowering kid experts to explore complex scientific concepts with their grown-up.

Gifts for Picture Book Faves:

We have a huge variety of picture books, many of them favorites for different reasons. If your reader loves fairy tale retellings, Mahogany is a delightful contemporary retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Basketball fans will love the motivational picture book, If Lin Can. ARTificial Intelligence is a fn story for creative kids who also love tech. Of course, we can’t forget about unicorn fans. They’ll find delight in the father-daughter book, Giddy Up, Unicorn.

Gifts for Ages 8 and Up:

We kicked off our new middle grade fiction imprint Charlesbridge Moves this year. Hum is a llama rescue adventure for readers who love something fast-paced. Novel-in-verse lovers will enjoy Wings to Soar. And if your reader is a wild wild west fan, they'll enjoy The Kid. These books are great gifts for reluctant readers packed with adventure, engaging characters, and compelling stories. One cool feature sure to delight your reader is the poster on the other side of the cover and the QR code leading to a dedicated page with extra content to explore.

Gifts for Storytime Reads:

Lastly, we have great storytime books like Is That the Bus? exploring different vehicles and the sounds they make. There’s the rhythmic Every Here Has a There, and the action-packed picture book, Clack, Clack! Smack!, about Cherokee stickball. And, anyone who enjoys fun wordplay and food will love Pickle Words.

Once again, if you want more recommendations, please check out our holiday gift guide for a more comprehensive list.

Fall 2024 Preview Recap – Enjoy Autumn With These Children’s Books 0