Book List: Best Kids Books of 2022

Compiled by Nicci, The Kids Books Curator

Here it is! My absolute top favourite kids books (for ages 4-11) published last year. Almost all of these books are featured on my website, which has been a lovely surprise. The ones that don't have their own dedicated page with purchase links to my Bookshop.org affiliate store were featured across my other social media channels in book review videos.

How many of these have you read and enjoyed too?

Are there any books on my list that you hadn't come across before?

My books are in alphabetical order by age range category (not order of preference).

Picture books fiction

• Adventures with Finn and Skip: Bird by Brendan Kearney (DK)

• Adventures with Finn and Skip: Forest by Brendan Kearney (DK)

• Black Gold by Laura Obuobi, illustrated by London Ladd (HarperCollins)

• Frank and Bert by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros (Nosy Crow)

• How to Catch a Rainbow by Naomi Jones, illustrated by Ana Gomez (Oxford University Press)

• Me, in the Middle by Annette Demetriou, illustrated by Angela Mayers (Owlet Press)

• Meanwhile Back on Earth by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins)

• One & Everything by Sam Winston (Walker Studio)

• Our Story Starts in Africa by Patrice Lawrence, illustrated by Jeanetta Gonzales (Magic Cat)

• Our Tower by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Richard Johnson (Frances Lincoln)

• The Fawn Who Chased the Sun by Joanna McInerney, illustrated by Phung Nguyen Quang & Huynh Thi Kim Lien (Templar)

• The Magic Feather by Sandra Dieckmann (Hachette)

• The Marvellous Doctors for Magical Creatures by Jodie Lancet-Grant, illustrated by Lydia Corry (Oxford University Press)

• The Mystery of the Golden Pyramid by Adela Norean, illustrated by Aaron Cushley (Little Tiger)

• The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage (Walker Books)

• Timid by Harry Woodgate (Little Tiger)

• Where Björn Belongs by Samuel Langley-Swain, illustrated by Mirna Imamović (Owlet Press)

Young readers fiction

• Anisha, Accidental Detective: Fright Night by Serena Patel, illustrated by Emma McCann (Usborne)

• Creeping Beauty: Fairy Tales Gone Bad by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Freya Hart's (Walker Books)

• Diary of an Accidental Witch: Ghostly Getaway by Honor and Perdita Cargill, illustrated by Katie Saunders (Little Tiger)

• Future Hero 2: Mission to the Shadow Sea by Remi Blackwood (Scholastic)

• Grimwood: Let the Fur Fly! by Nadia Shireen (Simon & Schuster)

• Kitty Quest: Trial by Tentacle by Phil Corbett (Simon & Schuster)

• Maddy Yip’s Guide to Holidays by Sue Cheung (Andersen Press)

• Narwhalicorn and Jelly by Ben Clanton (Farshore)

• Sidney Makes a Wish by Lisa Thompson, illustrated by Jess Rose (Barrington Stoke)

• Sona Sharma - A Friend Indeed by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Jen Khatun (Walker Books)

• The Boy Who Grew a Tree by Polly Ho-Yen, illustrated by Sojung Kim-McCarthy (Knights Of)

• The Last Firefox by Lee Newbery, illustrated by Laura Catalan (Puffin)

• The Raven Riddle by Vashti Hardy, illustrated by Natalie Smillie (Barrington Stoke)

Middle grade fiction

• Birdsong by Katya Balen (Barrington Stoke)

• Frankie's World by Aoife Dooley (Scholastic)

• Furthermoor by Darren Simpson (Usborne)

• If You Read This by Kereen Getten (Pushkin Press)

• Jummy at the River School by Sabine Adeyinka (Chicken House)

• My Friend the Octopus by Lindsay Galvin (Chicken House)

• Map of Leaves by Yarrow Townsend (Chicken House)

• Midwinter Burning by Tanya Landman (Walker Books)

• Resist: One Girl's Fight Back Against the Nazis by Tom Palmer (Barrington Stoke)

• The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott by Sharon Gosling (Little Tiger)

• The Fox’s Tower by Sam Thompson (Little Island)

• The Lost Whale by Hannah Gold (HarperCollins)

• The Midnighters by Hana Tooke (Puffin)

• Tyger by SF Said (David Fickling Books)

• The Vanishing of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes (Usborne)

• While the Storm Rages by Phil Earle (Andersen Press)

• Witchstorm by Tim Tilley (Usborne)

• Wren by Lucy Hope (Nosy Crow)

Non-Fiction

• Epic Adventures: Explore the World in 12 Amazing Train Journeys by Sam Sedgman and Sam Brewster (Macmillan)

• How to Be a Doctor and Other Life-Saving Jobs by Dr Punam Krishan, illustrated by Sol Linero (Nosy Crow)

• India, Incredible India by Jasbinder Bilan, illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti (Walker Books)

• Journey Back to Freedom: The Olaudah Equiano Story by Catherine Johnson, illustrated by Katie Hickey (Barrington Stoke)

• Kew: Darwin and Hooker: A story of friendship, curiosity and discovery that changed the world by Alexandra Stewart, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Bloomsbury)

• Lore of the Land: Folklore & Wisdom from the Wild Earth by Claire Cock-Starkey, illustrated by Samantha Dolan (Wide Eyed Editions)

• Medicine: A Magnificently Illustrated History by Briony Hudson and Nick Taylor (Templar)

• Something About a Bear by Jackie Morris (Otter-Barry Books)

• Spin to Survive: Deadly Jungle: Decide your destiny with a pop-out fortune spinner by Emily Hawkins, illustrated by R. Fresson (Wide Eyed Editions)

• The Greatest Show on Earth by Mini Grey (Puffin)

• Transported: 50 Vehicles That Changed the World by Matt Ralphs, illustrated by Rui Ricardo (Nosy Crow)

• Underwater World: Aquatic Myths, Mysteries and the Unexplained by Tamara Macfarlane, illustrated by Alessandra Fusi (DK)

Poetry

• And Everything Will Be Glad to See You by Ella Risbridger, illustrated by Anna Shepta (Nosy Crow)

• Blow a Kiss, Catch a Kiss by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Nicola Killen (Andersen Press)

• Courage in a Poem by Various (Little Tiger Press)

• Smile Out Loud: 25 Happy Poems by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett (Wide Eyed Editions)

• When Poems Fall from the Sky by Zaro Weil, illustrated by Junli Song (Welbeck)

Please like this post and leave me a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts too!