Using five million data points—gathered from questionnaires, reading experts, book reviews, and parental feedback—Literati combines human expertise and innovative technology to curate the best books for kids. Every month, readers receive a box of five books aligned to their interests and reading level, and parents only purchase the books their child loves. 

Literati strives to ensure every book selection is an exciting, perfectly challenging adventure, allowing every child to fall in love with books and excel at reading. Below are this year’s favorites from across eight categories.

Literati’s Kids’ Favorite Books of 2022

Board Books

1. The ABCs of Love by Rose Rossner; illustrated by AndoTwin
2. Wild Animals by Ingela P. Arrhenius
3. My Magical Dragon by Yujin Shin

Girl Power Books

1. Marie Curie: My First Marie Curie by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara; illustrated by Frau Isa
2. Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers; illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns
3. Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers; illustrated by Livi Gosling

Dinosaur Books

1. Play Felt Roarsome Dinosaurs! by Amber Lily & Dan Crisp
2. Bizzy Bear: Dinosaur Safari from Nosy Crow; illustrated by Benji Davies
3. Illumisaurus: Explore the World of Dinosaurs with Your Magic Three Color Lens by Lucy Brownridge

Social-Emotional Learning Books

1. The Cool Bean by Jory John; illustrated by Pete Oswald
2. Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave by Jessica Hische
3. Learn to Go to School by Margot Channing; illustrated by Ilana Excelby

STEM Books

1. Weird But True 10 from National Geographic Kids
2. Our Weather from Little Hippo Books
3. Good Night to Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak & Terrence Deak; illustrated by Neely Daggett

Activity Books

1. Puzzle Masters Dot to Dot by Sarah Wade
2. Write and Draw Your Own Comics by Howard Hughes
3. What’s So Funny Diary from Peaceable Kingdom

Chapter Books

1. A Collection of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories
2. Stairway to Doom: A Miss Mallard Mystery by Robert Quackenbush
3. Stick Dog by Tom Watson

Fiction Books

1. A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry; illustrated by Mónica Armiño
2. Nine by Zach Hines
3. The Terrible Two by Jory John; illustrated by Mac Barnett

List of Winners Includes Most Kept by Kids Book Club Customers in 2022

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Wild Honey from The Moon

by Kenneth Kraegel

Brace yourself for a wild ride as Mother Shrew sets off to save her son from an unexpected illness. The cure? Wild honey from the moon, of course. This picture book contains seven exciting chapters full of twists and turns that’ll take you and your little one on a fantasy-filled adventure. Pace yourselves as Mother Shrew overcomes numerous adversaries on her quest to find the wild honey. As you read, your preschooler can use the book’s vibrant watercolor illustrations to make thoughtful inferences and connections. Wild Honey From the Moon is captivating and creative —and might just be a story you pass down for generations.

Don’t Wake the Dragon

By Bianca Schulz

If you’re looking for the ultimate bedtime story for the tiny tot who loves to say, “I’m not sleepy!” look no further. From the very first page, you learn that the rascal dragon has finally fallen asleep, and it’s up to you and your little one to ensure it remains sleeping. (It’s a bit more challenging and a lot more fun than it sounds!) Using a variety of playful and engaging text, this interactive book sharpens your children’s listening skills (lest they risk waking the dragon!) while simultaneously tuckering them out for their own night of peaceful, fire-snuffed slumber.

Bear and Wolf

By Daniel Salimieri

Invite your curious explorer to join Bear and Wolf, two unlikely strangers who become companions as they explore and bond over their shared home: the snowy woods. They masterfully employ their 5 senses to discover discreet, yet beautiful, aspects of their surroundings—an owl overhead, the fish sleeping under a frozen lake, and so much more. Help your child uncover the beauty of appreciating the little joys in life with one of Daniel Salimieri’s best picture books, brimming with poignant illustrations and moving imagery.

Duck for President

by Doreen Cronin

Now begins the official campaign: Duck for President. Like many presidential candidates, this duck began his life in a humble pond, progressing up the ladder to the position of farmer and governor. You won’t want to miss any stops on the campaign trail of his most ambitious journey yet: running for president. Your preschooler will appreciate the humorous barnyard illustrations and can even gain a basic understanding of democracy along the way. At the same time, you’ll be laughing at the uncanny similarities between the duck and a few well-known politicians.

The Antlered Ship

by Dashka Slater

Marco is an inquisitive fox. And like any curious creature, he has questions… okay, he has a lot of questions. Unfortunately, the other foxes don’t share Marco’s burning need for truth. So when a spectacle of a ship adorned with antlers arrives, Marco joins the crew in search of answers. On this beautifully illustrated quest, your little explorer will find adventure, intrigue, and the answer to a profound secret to friendship. (We won’t give it away, but we’ll give you a hint: asking questions is a marvelous place to start.)

Find the Best Picture Books for Your Kids with Literati

Whether your little one is just beginning to put two-word sentences together or practicing new sight words, picture books are a wonderful place for preschoolers and other young learners to jumpstart a curiosity and love for flipping pages. And here at Literati, we have so many more of the best picture books for your child to discover. 

With Literati’s monthly book club, our team will handpick five curated books tailored to your reader’s comprehension level and interests. Gone are the days of wondering if you’ve found a book they’ll actually like. Instead, you can spend that time reading with them and supporting them on their path to literary success. 
To get the ball rolling, take our personalization quiz to tell us what your learner loves, and we’ll assemble a perfect picture-book box just for them.

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Dragon Post

By Emma Yarlett

If your little one has ever wanted to receive a letter of their own, invite them to open their very own Dragon Post. In this fun tail—err, tale—little Alexander discovers a red dragon in his basement and embarks on a mail-service mission to educate the whole town on how to handle his scaly friend. Letters with dragon-handling tips arrive throughout the story for kids to unfold and read aloud, making it ideal for young minds that thrive on interactive learning. With memorable, poetic language and cartoon-like illustrations, Emma Yarlett weaves an approachable fantasy for vocabulary expansion and reading confidence.

Little Children’s Nature Activity Book

By Rebecca Gilpin

Calling all leaf-pile divers, bug catchers, and butterfly chasers! With Little Children’s Nature Book, your backyard or neighborhood park becomes a whole world of literary exploration. Lace up your sneakers and tackle stimulating activities like mazes, puzzles, dot-to-dots, and drawing—each with the goal of providing your child an up-close experience of nature and new concepts. In an environment your child is ecstatic to be in, they won’t hesitate to confidently turn each page and soar through challenges as smoothly as the kites in the sky. Gifting your child a lasting love of reading and our beautiful planet? We can’t think of a better win-win.

The Cool Bean

By Jory John

This title is a wonderful introduction to puns and wordplay, and captures the hearts of any kid who’s ever wanted to be the coolest bean in school. But what makes a bean cool? Kindness, of course. When this lovable bean starts to feel like an uncool “has-bean,” the resident Cool Beans in school show him that being cool means making people feel included and special. This heartwarming tale will teach your little reader valuable lessons about inclusion and friendship. You might notice them start to share the way stories like this one make them feel—complete with a punny joke or two.

Memoirs of a Hamster

By Devin Scillian

Elementary-school readers will enjoy the humor, art, and thrills aligning in this enriching tale packed with learning opportunities. Life is pure bliss in hamster Seymour’s cage. But when Pearl the Cat comes knocking, he leaps into life outside his home. In this diary-style tale, readers are exposed to the first-person format to build comprehension and empathy with plenty of helpful illustrations in between. Your child won’t be able to resist grabbing their own helmet (and maybe even their diary) and hopping on Seymour’s FuzzyBoy 360 hamster wheel to enjoy the ride!

Wild Honey from The Moon

by Kenneth Kraegel

Brace yourself for a wild ride as Mother Shrew sets off to save her son from an unexpected illness. The cure? Wild honey from the moon, of course. This picture book contains seven exciting chapters full of twists and turns that’ll take you and your little one on a fantasy-filled adventure. Pace yourselves as Mother Shrew overcomes numerous adversaries on her quest to find the wild honey. As you read, your preschooler can use the book’s vibrant watercolor illustrations to make thoughtful inferences and connections. Wild Honey From the Moon is captivating and creative —and might just be a story you pass down for generations.

Mold Your Little Learner into a Confident Reader With Literati Book Clubs

Toddlers who are first learning to read have boundless potential waiting to be unlocked. One of the best learning tools you can hand them are books for kids learning to read. Books like the titles above help them channel their imagination into a lifelong commitment to reading, learning, and creativity.

As a Literati Kids Book Club member, you can keep the bookshelf forever full of books curated for your child’s learning stage—at every stage. No more guessing or letting books gather dust in the playroom. Just take our personalization quiz to tell us what your child loves, and we’ll take care of the rest. Start your subscription today and watch the remarkable journey of your child learning to read tomorrow.

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Ready to discover some wonderful picture books curated by the bibliophiles at Literati? Wonderful. We’ve spotlighted them below

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At this stage, readers are starting to make their own decisions about their experiences and interactions with their environment. With new awareness of themselves, they’re absorbing information like a sponge, and putting together the puzzle pieces of their surroundings. 

Their budding independence can be supported by reading experiences that put them in the driver’s seat. As they sound out new words and approach unfamiliar pages with greater confidence, the right books will provide just enough challenge to sharpen their skills and support steady progress. 

So where do you begin? In the wide realm of great reads for kindergarteners, we’ve selected a few of our very favorites. These stories are the Goldilocks of books for four and five-year-olds: not too easy, not too difficult, and altogether fun!

Don’t Wake the Dragon

By Bianca Schulze

This adorable, interactive bedtime story is full of whimsy and fun for your little one. The book’s structure helps teach cause and effect as readers are challenged to keep the restless dragon asleep! While they sing sweet lullabies and make sure their page-turning doesn’t cause a door-slamming breeze, your mini-knight-in-shining-armor will delight in all of the cleverly hilarious instructions.

Color Blocked

By Ashley Sorensen

In this vibrant and interactive picture book, there’s a problem afoot: the color is trapped! In the spirit of Press Here, readers will twist, tap, shake and turn this book to magically unleash the power of colors. Your little one gets to save the day while listening and responding to directions, while at the same time learning all about the wizardry of primary and secondary colors. This ultra-creative story structure gives your kindergartener room to experiment with imagination and color (All the fun; none of the mess!)

The Snatchabook

by Helen Docherty

When the Snatchabook flies into town, bedtime stories begin to disappear! Thankfully, one book-loving bunny vows to stay awake to catch her town’s book thief. Can Eliza Brown save the day—and night—for a town full of passionate bedtime readers? This rhyming read-aloud shares a valuable message of friendship and acceptance, while developing your reader’s listening comprehension.

Moon’s First Friends

by Susanna Leonard Hill

This inviting picture book tells the story of the Apollo 11 mission—and so much more—from the unique perspective of the Moon! As you share this adorable bedtime read-aloud, your little one can soak up tons of information about the history of our planet: from its majestic animals, to the revolutionary inventions that made space travel possible. Truly jam-packed with facts, this is a spot-on read for curious kindergarteners, that can offer a little perspective on the great big world around them.

Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell

by Sue Hendra

In this sweet story, Norman the slug wishes he could be a snail—which means he’ll need a shell! Readers can follow along on Norman’s misadventures as he searches for the perfect “shell” to call his own (spoiler alert—it’s a doughnut). And while this book’s silly plot and glittery pages are sure to keep your kindergartener engaged, the real treat of this story is a lesson in self-acceptance at its center.

Though there are nearly endless possibilities when choosing books for your kindergartener, these top picks are a great place to start thanks to content that’s as fun and creative as it is educational. As your reader transitions into a classroom setting, books like these can help them advance towards new skills at the right pace for them. 

With Literati’s award-winning kids book clubs, readers don’t have to move at the exact pace of the classroom, because every book is selected to fit your reader’s unique needs and interests. With fourteen skill-based reading levels, little ones can make constant progress with books they love. 
As soon as you sign up for Literati, expert curators will get to work finding the most enriching and engaging books for your home library. Start by taking the personalization quiz, and help Literati find those just-right reads for your soon-to-be bookworm!

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