UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. —Among the many children’s books published last year, 13 were chosen by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book to form the 22nd annual "A Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy," for 2025.
The nationwide, annual initiative screens picture books released each year with the goal of identifying the top 13 books that support family literacy program goals and are suited to the interests and developmental characteristics of children between 3 and 6 years of age. The list is used by libraries, schools, family centers and elsewhere to inspire toddlers and preschoolers to become lifelong readers and lovers of books.
"A Baker's Dozen" booklist is compiled by a panel of children’s literature and family literacy experts who reviewed over 800 children’s books published in the previous calendar year. Titles for 2025 include:
- “Towed by Toad” by Jashar Awan (Tundra Books)
- “Just Like Millie” by Lauren Castillo (Candlewick Press)
- “Bookie and Cookie” by Blanca Gómez (Rocky Pond / Penguin Random)
- “A Friend for Eddy” by Ann Kim Ha (Greenwillow / HarperCollins)
- “Up High” by Matt Hunt (Nosy Crow)
- “Go and Get with Rex” by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (Candlewick Press)
- “Yellow Bus” by Loren Long (Roaring Brook Press / Macmillan)
- “Home In a Lunchbox” by Cherry Mo (Penguin Workshop)
- “Trunk Goes Thunk! A Woodland Tale of Opposites” by Heather Morris, illustrated by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne (Gnome Road Publishing)
- “Lucky Duck” by Greg Pizzoli (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
- “The Mango Tree (La mata de mango)” by Edel Rodriguez (Abrams Children’s Books)
- “I Quit” by Kristen Tracy, illustrated by Federico Fabiani (Farrar Straus Giroux / Macmillan)
- “The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals” by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Clarion / HarperCollins)
The "Baker's Dozen" selection jury includes representatives who have significant children’s literature and family literacy expertise:
- Ellysa Stern Cahoy, distinguished librarian, Education Library, and director, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Penn State University Libraries, University Park
- Erica King, instructional designer, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Penn State University Libraries, University Park
- Lori McMonigal, manager for innovation and special projects, TIU Community Education and Workforce Services, PA Careerlink Mifflin County
- Phoebe Quaynor, postdoctoral scholar, Africana Research Center and African studies, Penn State, University Park
- Susan Schubert, retired special education teacher and instructional coach, Camp Hill School District and Capital Area Head Start
- Tugce B. Arda Tuncdemir, assistant professor of early childhood and elementary education, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, Penn State Harrisburg
- Sara Willoughby Herb, professor emerita of early childhood education, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Selection criteria, annotations, tips for using the books and more are available at the "Baker’s Dozen" website.
The Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, encourages Pennsylvania’s citizens and residents to study, honor, celebrate and promote books, reading, libraries and literacy. In addition to "A Baker’s Dozen," it also administers the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award; the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize and the interactive Literary & Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania.