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Best Fiction for Younger Readers of 2023

We recommend these titles as the very best fiction published for kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade in 2023.

Chicago Public Library

31 items

  • Meet Priya Chakraborty, founder of Priya’s Parties. Priya uses her D.I.Y. skills to plan parties that will make people happy and raise money to protect endangered animals. In the first book in the series, Priya plans an orange-themed…
    PaperbackNew York : Scholastic Inc., 2023. — FIC RUTHS
  • Batcat lives alone and likes it that way. When a TV remote-stealing ghost moves in and refuses to move out, Batcat sets out on a ghost-banishing quest that transforms into a voyage of self-discovery and newfound friendship.
    BookNew York : Amulet Books, [2023] — PZ7.7.R355Bat 2023
  • Dory Fantasmagory and all of her real (and pretend) friends are back in full force as Dory navigates a big new change in her life. Is there enough Krazy-glue in the world to reassemble the broken pieces of Dory’s life? You'll have to read…
    BookNew York : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023. — FIC HANLON
  • When Ty’s family camping trip gets rained out, Ty and his family get creative. They set up their tent, roast s’mores and imagine an adventure in the great outdoors from the comfort of their living room. Who knew camping-in could be so fun?
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Harper Alley, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2023] — PZ7.7.L97Cam 2023
  • Crowned

    Magical Folk and Fairy Tales From the Diaspora

    Bethencourt, Kahran,
    Revisit classic Eurasian, African, and African-American folk and fairy tales, told with a modern twist and illustrated by striking and imaginative photographs of children. A selection of featured stories includs: The Little Mermaid, Hansel…
    BookNew York : St. Martin's Press, 2023. — PZ8.1.B455Cr 2023
  • Dear Reader, Don’t pass on this wonderful and heartfelt book! The back and forth letters between the quiet, rose-growing Mr. G and his little neighbor Jackson will delight fans of budding friendships and epistolaries alike. Pick up a…
    BookNew York : Union Square Kids, 2023. — FIC EVANS
  • Imagine you are a small squirrel who is afraid of pretty much everything. Would you want to go—alone—on a journey across the forest? Well, neither does Evergreen! Despite her fears, Evergreen must help her mother deliver an acorn full of…
    BookNew York : Feiwel and Friends, 2023. — FIC CORDELL
  • Fox means well in their attempts to get a bunch of stranded kites out of trees… but somehow keeps making things worse.  Fortunately, Fox has a network of friends to bring ingenuity and teamwork to the proceedings in this visually hilarious…
    PaperbackNew York : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023. — FIC TABOR
  • Gigi and Ojiji are back and this time they are trying new foods! Gigi is excited to make her favorite breakfast for Ojiji, but is disappointed when he doesn’t love peanut butter toast as much as she does. Will she like his favorite…
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2023] — FIC IWAI
  • Gigi is starting to feel a little too mature for her nickname and decides to go by her full name, Geraldine, instead. When that doesn’t quite feel right, she decides to go by her middle name, Hanako. But changing your name is not easy and…
    PaperbackNew York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2023] — FIC IWAI
  • Join Zoya and her puppy Coco on their artistic adventures in this beginning reader series. In book one, The Gray Day, Zoya and Coco make a dreary day better by making colorful paintings and in book two, The Gold Bowl, she makes a special…
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Scholastic, Inc., 2023. — FIC BOLLING
  • Join Zoya and her puppy Coco on their artistic adventures in this beginning reader series. In book one, The Gray Day, Zoya and Coco make a dreary day better by making colorful paintings and in book two, The Gold Bowl, she makes a special…
    PaperbackNew York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2023. — FIC BOLLING
  • Classroom Ten has a Big Calendar, and Henry, who is on the autism spectrum, likes how it is predictable. But this week, there will be a parade on Friday in place of Share Time. Parades are loud, and they are not like always. Henry feels…
    BookSan Francisco, California : Chronicle Books, [2023] — FIC BAILEY
  • A wonderful rhyming book that’s easy for beginning reader fans of horses and ponies. We learn about a farm and some of the show ponies that live there. This book takes place across all four seasons which makes it a treat to read all year…
    BookNew York : Beginner Books, a division of Random House, [2023] — FIC MEADOWS
  • The Guardians are an elite group of shapeshifters who use their powers to protect their community. Join the adventures of Plum, a first-year student at the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island. Can a girl with no magical lineage truly grow up…
    BookNew York : Scholastic Press, [2023] — FIC SOONTORN
  • The Guardians are an elite group of shapeshifters who use their powers to protect their community. Join the adventures of Plum, a first-year student at the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island as she travels to the Bokati Islands for further…
    BookNew York : Scholastic Press, 2023. — FIC SOONTORN
  • It’s Makeda’s birthday and she can’t wait to bring her favorite treat, coconut drops, to her classroom. But Makeda’s classmates expect cupcakes and they are not sure they want to try this new food. Slowly they overcome their apprehension…
    PaperbackNew York : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023. — FIC RHUDAY-P
  • Maxie Wiz wands a pet and uses her magic to hatch a dragon. This first beginning reader in a magical new series is fun, fantastic, and easy to follow.
    PaperbackNew York : Random House Children's Books, [2023] — FIC MEADOWS
  • Maxie Wiz needs to find five magical charms to complete her homework in this rhyming early reader. With Dragon by her side, Maxie travels to the seashore, through a magical forest and even to her grandmother’s house on her quest. Will she…
    PaperbackNew York : Random House Children's Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, [2023] — FIC MEADOWS
  • Trilobite and his sidekick Amber (a walking whale) are looking for a way to become rich and famous when they run into Tiffany Timber the Paleo-Newscaster. She excitedly starts making a video of these two prehistoric creatures that are…
    BookNew York : Abrams Books, 2023. — PZ7.7.H3452Mi 2023