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Best Fiction for Younger Readers of 2022

We recommend these as the very best fiction published for kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade in 2022.

Chicago Public Library

34 items

  • Beauty is a baby borinquen. Some say she is onyx, gold. Others have less kind words to describe Beauty and she falls under their spell until her family gather to wake her inner pride and beauty. What happens next? Read on to find out.
    BookBoston : Versify, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2022] — FIC RAMOS
  • A group of critters (including a bug, a worm, a lightning bug, and a grumpy spider) earn bug badges by hiking, camping, problem solving, and being friends to one another. In this graphic adventure, the scouts work together to earn their…
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2022. — PZ7.7.L69Bu 2022
  • Meet Ace: a spunky, smart, resilient girl who loves to go, go, go! In this story, Ace builds a ramp for her skateboard. Follow along as she learns, plays and problem solves in this series for blossoming movers, makers, tinkerers and big…
    PaperbackNew York : Scholastic Inc., 2022. — FIC BRIMNER
  • A group of critters (including a bug, a worm, a lightning bug, and a grumpy spider) earn bug badges by hiking, camping, problem solving, and being friends to one another. In this graphic adventure, the scouts camp out - but what are those…
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., 2022. — PZ7.7.L69Bg 2022
  • Harry is a guinea pig. Hedgehog is a hedgehog. Harry and Hedgehog are best friends. In this story, Harry can’t wait to show Hedgehog his new toy car - but it's hard to take turns with a brand-new toy!
    PaperbackNew York : Scholastic Inc., 2022. — FIC FEUTI
  • Meet two very different mice. Poppy likes adventure, and Cornbread would rather play it safe. Together? They make the perfect team. Their first adventure begins when Poppy finds herself with no food stored for the winter.
    BookNew York : Little, Brown and Company, 2022. — FIC CORDELL
  • Meet two very different mice. Poppy likes adventure, and Cornbread would rather play it safe. Together? They make the perfect team. In their second adventure, the two friends head to the carnival. Will Cornbread be brave enough to ride the…
    BookNew York : Little, Brown and Company, 2022. — FIC CORDELL
  • Meet Ace: a spunky, smart, resilient girl who loves to go, go, go! In this story, Ace fixes up her racecar. Follow along as she learns, plays and problem solves in this series for blossoming movers, makers, tinkerers and big thinkers!
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2022. — FIC BRIMNER
  • Esme invites all the residents to the uppermost floor of the topmost best building to celebrate her birthday party; but will a broken elevator spoil her special day?
    BookToronto [Canada] : Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House of Canada Limited, [2022] — FIC HEUER
  • When space rats make Earth’s moon a snack, there’s only one hero hungry enough to save the day – a cat!
    BookNew York, NY : Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2022] — PZ7.7.B368Fi 2022 v. 1
  • When best friends Anna and Tess take a nap after planting a seed, they wake to find they've shrunk to the size of bugs. As they set out on an adventure in their flower forest, they learn more about the world and each other.
    BookNew York, NY : Amulet Books, 2022. — PZ7.7.K878Fl 2022
  • Gigi looks forward to meeting her ojisan, but worries they’ll have nothing in common. Can she find a way to connect?
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2022] — FIC IWAI
  • When a thrilling sled ride goes out of control, it crashes through a mountain village while picking up a motley crew of unexpected creatures along the way. Go, sled, go!
    BookNew York : Viking Books for Young Readers, 2022. — FIC YANG
  • Harry is a guinea pig. Hedgehog is a hedgehog. Harry and Hedgehog are best friends. In this story, Harry is so excited to give Hedgehog a birthday present - until it turns out that somebody else already gave Hedgehog the same gift.
    PaperbackNew York : Acorn/Scholastic Inc., 2022. — FIC FEUTI
  • Haven

    a Small Cat's Big Adventure

    Lloyd, Megan Wagner,
    Haven has always been an indoor cat. But when her beloved owner falls ill, Haven must brave the great outdoors – and its menagerie of friends and foes – to find help in time.
    BookSomerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2022. — FIC LLOYD
  • Hayley and Comet are best friends, but before there was Comet, Hayley had another best friend named Jojo and she’s coming to visit. How can two people share the same best friend? This is the third book in the Haylee and Comet series.
    BookNew York : Roaring Brook Press, 2022. — PZ7.7.M33775Ov 2022
  • A school trip to the ice rink is coming up, and Miles makes a (not-so-friendly) bet with his friend on who will skate the best. But Miles doesn’t know the first thing about skating! Hopefully, his family can help.
    PaperbackNew York : Penguin Workshop, 2022. — FIC LYONS
  • Mr. Wolf and his students look forward to a day off school to go sledding, drink cocoa and rest when a blizzard is expected. Will all their plans be ruined when two of the students get stuck at school overnight with their teacher?
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2022. — PZ7.7.S742Mrs 2022
  • Ember might look like an ordinary pet Chihuahua, but he’s really a secret evil overlord destined to take over the world. Or so he thinks. Alongside his minions (the family pet hamster and canary) his first mission is to defeat the…
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2022. — FIC TAN
  • Cat spends his days tending to the city lot he calls home. But when his new friend, a pigeon fluent in emoji, goes missing, Cat learns some things in life are worth stepping out of your comfort zone for.
    BookNew York : Little, Brown and Company, 2022. — FIC HEMINGWA