Welcome to The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
We are one of the nation’s leading children’s book review journals for school and public librarians. We provide concise summaries and critical evaluations to help you find the books you need for your library’s collection.
December’s Big Picture
Not since the Wee Free Men of Pratchett’s Discworld series has there been such an irascible, clever, bellicose, and immediately memorable subculture of fairy folk as presented in this month’s Big Picture. The Unfairies of Aaron’s bouncy, bright graphic novel are delightfully incorrigible, spite-filled creatures who are entirely unmagical despite what familiar fairy lore may say. When conflict among their varied clans is threatening the future of their Garden home, what kind of hero can emerge from such an untrustworthy group of chaos agents? Enter Pip, a tiny fairy with a wild puff of orange hair and an abundance of unearned confidence, who might just be the anti-hero to save the realm. Wild panel-defying art littered with more humor than can be squeezed into the unhinged story makes this an unforgettable experience.
2025 Guide Book to Gift Books available now
It’s hard to imagine finer gifts than books—they offer enjoyment, knowledge, and artistic stimulation, are a cinch to wrap, and are easily sent through the mail. And it’s hard for us to imagine a finer gift to you, reader, than a new Guide Book to Gift Books, revived and revised for 2025! We’re delighted to share this tradition with you once again to help meet your holiday shopping needs. Visit this link to peruse the 60+ curated, age-based book suggestions for the children and young adults in your life, selected from the past year of Bulletin reviews.
Coming Soon: Blue Ribbons 2025
Our best books of the year for 2025 will be available on January 1, 2026, when it is released in the print edition of the Bulletin. We can’t wait to share it with you, but in the meantime, you can view last year’s winners here, or check out our archive of winners from previous years.
The Center for Children’s Books
The Bulletin is partnered with the Center for Children’s Books, a research center whose mission is to facilitate the creation and dissemination of exemplary and progressive research and scholarship related to youth-focused resources, literature, and librarianship.
Cover illustration from Unfairies: A Graphic Novel © 2025 by Huw Aaron. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
