GPLD Best Books of 2025

"When a plump mother duck awakens one morning, she's stunned to discover that her seven eggs have hatched in the night and all of her ducklings have wandered off. Now she has to search for them out in the wild! The mother duck keeps careful count as she discovers her babies one by one-on branches, stuck in ooze, and even in the jaws of a fox. Five, six, seven . . . eight? Nine? Sharp-eyed readers will love seeing the mother unwittingly rescue not...

Every Monday Mabel takes her breakfast outside and waits for her favorite part of the week: the garbage truck.

Tortoise and Mouse are more than just friends and burrowmates. They are best friends and best burrowmates. When their home gets flooded, however, it's up to Tortoise to dig them a new place to live. And so she digs a room of her own and a room for Mouse. But where is Mouse? Noticing the fresh burrow, Bunny asks Tortoise if she could dig a room for her as well. Then the Spotted Skunk. The Mole Skinks. And the Wolf Spider, the Frog, and those moths......

"Arnold didn't mean for the books to disappear-not exactly. It all started because his liked his book about airplanes best and wanted everyone else to read it, too. He couldn't understand why anybody would want to read about tomatoes or ostriches or submarines. And suddenly. . . POOF! The books are gone. It's up to Arnold to figure out how it all happened--and what it will take to bring them back"-- Provided by publisher. In an attempt to share his...

A young boy named Malik accompanies his ábba on a journey across the Sahara to deliver salt, learning its vital role in life and gaining confidence to become a future leader of his caravan.

Aggie's enthusiasm about living alone wanes when she discovers her house is haunted.

A young African American boy joins his grandma's weekly ritual of catching and frying fish for a big family dinner.

Wolf wants to win the sled race. He loves winning. Otto wants to win, too. Wally Mammoth is ... not so sure. A giggle-inducing, POB hardcover picture book about friendship that is perfect for emerging readers by the multiple Geisel Award-winning Corey R. Tabor. For fans of Mo Willems and Ben Clanton. Wally Mammoth lives in the Ice Age, where his huge heart warms even the coldest of days. And it has to be cold to have a sled race! Wally and his friends...

"Bear and Bird may not always understand each other, but they both want nothing more than for their best friend to be happy. So when they each find today's date circled in red, they obviously assume it's the other one's birthday (so sorry, Snail!). And when Bird puts her pal through his paces--to prove he's himself and not his look-alike cousin--she finds a sweet way to soothe an unhappy Bear when the test is done."--Provided by publisher.

When Tana hears a big dog is loose at school, her old fear comes rushing back, but determined to overcome it, she turns to cooking to find a way to overcome her fear.