Must Read Kids Books for January 2026

Word meegevoer na die asemrowende Afrika-landskap met hierdie pragtige kartonboek vir kinders (3 jaar en ouer) met lewensgetroue, hoëgehalte-klanke van die diere van Afrika, van die brullende leeu, laggende hiënas en trompetterende olifante. Gekombineer met die klanke is unieke en fassinerende feite, pragtige foto’s wat beide jonk en oud aantrek.

Die Klein Boekie van Safari-diergeluide is die perfekte geskenk vir enigiemand wat van die natuur hou en bied ’n wonderlike nuwe manier om wilde diere in hul habitatte te herken.

A playful board book for gaming families, filled with classic gaming references, famous game designers, and more Eat. Sleep. Game. Repeat. Raise those squeakers right with all the gaming references and terminology they need to be goated. Introducing 100 First Words for Little Gamers, a primer for gamer kids learning their first words from gamer and designer Carlos Guerrero. Forget apple and dog. Your little gamers are ready to move from ABC to CPU and other gaming-specific words like console, nerf, and the Duke (if you know, you know). Filled with Easter eggs every gamer should know, 100 First Words for Little Gamers is the perfect primer for gaming families. Those little n00bs will be pros before you know it!

Here are over 100 familiar first words for you to learn together … in German! From zoos and farms to things that go, each illustrated scene is full of details to discuss and discover. Point at the pictures then find the German word down the side. Young characters on each page ask questions to help you practise and there are English translations in case you get stuck. Listen to the words read aloud by a native speaker by following the QR code on the back cover. The perfect board book as you start your journey in German.

Ladybugs Do Not Go to Preschool is a spirited, funny and empowering picture book to encourage even the most nervous of children to spread their wings and try something new.

Mum says it’s the first day of day care, but Ravi’s dressed up as his favourite insect, and he is quite certain that ladybirds do not go to day care. In fact, this ladybird would rather stay home and eat aphids, thank you very much!

Bobs the puppy LOVES adventuring in the hillside until, one day . . . he gets a painful thorn stuck in his paw!

Luckily, a tiny pixie comes to his rescue, only to leave as quickly as she came. Life goes on and seasons change, but when Pixie needs help, will Bobs be there for her too?

From one of the world’s best-loved storytellers, comes this cosy and heartfelt tale about the big friendships that grow from the smallest acts of kindness.

Deep in the woods, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He sees no other children, and has no friends. But he does hold the key to a secret.

Meanwhile, in a nearby village, schoolteacher Frans invents stories of perilous deeds, shipwrecks, and haunted castles to entertain his pupils. Then one stormy evening, he is summoned to a clandestine meeting, and sent on a real-life quest – to free the boy in the woods. His adventure will involve hidden treasure, magicians and a prophecy. He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways. He will find seven allies. And he will make a fearsome enemy.

But will he accomplish his mission?

Part of the new Pushkin Children’s Classics series of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, which young readers will return to time and again.

Laurenzo and Jiacomo are identical twins, as alike as two drops of water. No one can tell them apart, and no one can split them up. But when tragedy strikes, they must make their own way in the world.

Each brother chooses his own path – hardworking Laurenzo learns to make priceless golden treasures, and fearless Jiacomo decides to travel and becomes an unlikely thief. So begins an incredible adventure that will test them to their limits. The twins will face terrible danger, be imprisoned in a castle, sail across the ocean, fall in and out of love, and even becomes kings by mistake.

They must use all their talent and wit to survive. Are you ready to join them?

Part of the new Pushkin Children’s Classics series of thrilling, magical and inspiring stories from around the world, which young readers will return to time and again.

Inspired by creole traditions, Charmed Life is the second book in Marti Dumas’s fun, middle-grade contemporary fantasy Wildseed Witch series with an all BIPOC cast, about a social media–loving tween―and witch!

After a summer of being the worst witch at a fancy witch school, Hasani can’t wait to get back to the peace and normalcy of Riverbend Middle where she knows all the rules and is destined to be captain of the Mathletes.

There are a few little hiccups to work out―like how she’s going to tell her best friend that she’s a witch―but even though the other two members of Hasani’s coven have joined her friend group and her school, there’s no reason to think that eighth grade won’t be smooth sailing . . . that is until her former friend (and fellow witch) LaToya shows up.

LaToya starts trying to take her friends and make Hasani seem like the bad guy. To make matters worse, strange things begin happening around the school―including a termite infestation―and Hasani is so sure that LaToya is to blame. However, when Miss Lafleur comes to visit to help deal with the termites and investigate the magic, she helps Hasani to channel her powers more and realize just how strong her magic has become.

But Miss Lafleur also isn’t convinced that LaToya could have caused all this chaos on her own―so Hasani sets out to prove it, and heads to a magical market, 3Thirteen, to find the ingredients she needs to do so. But in all her focus on proving she’s right and learning more about her magic, is Hasani losing sight of the people and things that are most important to her?

From drag superstar Eureka O’Hara and bestselling author Dan Poblocki comes a beautiful, buoyant middle-grade novel about a boy who enters a local pageant―as a drag queen!

When Jackson Bright wears a dress to the last day of school, he expects to be complimented on the cute polka-dot design. Instead, he gets sent to the principal’s office.

Jackson doesn’t know why people are saying that he needs to “dress like a boy.” And with all the discussions of “dressing like a boy” and “dressing like a girl,” he wonders where people like his best friend Eva, who’s nonbinary, fit into all of this. Or why he felt so confident and happy while wearing that dress.

So when Jackson sees a flyer for the town’s beloved Little Miss pageant, he comes up with a plan: dress in drag in order to compete and show the town just how fabulous he can be! More than anything, though, he wants to push the boundaries of gender and learn how to better support Eva and other nonbinary kids like them, which is harder than he realizes.

Before he knows it, he’s thrust into a world of rhinestone gowns and fiercely applied makeup. With the help of Eva and Uncle Aaron, Jackson scrambles to come up with an array of dazzling costumes, a crowd-winning speech, and a killer talent act.

As he navigates the ups and downs of the competition―all while keeping his real identity a secret and hiding a growing crush on his rival’s brother―Jackson will have to figure out how to stand beside his friend and show his small town that #nonbinaryteaisvalid, unpack questions about his family and identity that he’s been hiding from, and learn how to stay true to himself and hold his head high no matter what!

In this manga-inspired YA graphic novel, Tokyo schoolgirl Hana Suzuki’s life is changed forever when she is chosen to attend Japan’s premier magical academy

A magical story of friendship and new beginnings, Red Threads: A Witch’s Tale is perfect for fans of Magic Fish, Beetle and the Hollowbones, and Spirited Away.

Fifteen-year-old Hana is bored by her humdrum existence in Tokyo―there must be more to life than cram school and chores. After she rescues a crow caught in a net by her house, a mysterious visitor arrives at her door, offering her the chance to enroll in the most prestigious magic academy in Japan: The Benten School of Esoterics.

Hana jumps at the chance for adventure and life at Benten is everything she ever dreamed of―magic, mystical creatures, and making a new best friend in fellow new student Yoomi. But before long, Hana’s dream becomes a nightmare.

Something is haunting the halls, and a series of horrifying attacks leave everyone wondering: is Benten cursed? Will the legendary school have to close its doors for good? If Hana and Yoomi want to save their new home, they’ll have to unravel the mystery or die trying!

This highly collectible edition features a special foiled cover, foiled endpapers, digital sprayed edges, plate section with colour fan artwork from 5 different artists, exclusive letter from Lauren Roberts and a digital signature.

Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in this sizzling fantasy romance not to be missed.
 
Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya . . . The exceptional. The Elites. The Elites have possessed powers for decades, gifted to them by the Plague, while those born Ordinary are just that, banished from the kingdom and shunned from society.
 
No one knows this better than Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary posing as an Elite. When she unsuspectingly saves one of Ilya’s princes, Kai Azer, she’s thrown into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase her ‘Elite’ powers.
 
If the Trials and the opponents don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for will if he discovers what Paedyn really is . . . completely Ordinary.
 
Be swept away by the first in the smash hit, dagger-to-the-throat romantasy trilogy that’s taken the world by storm. 

In this gorgeous stand-alone cozy fantasy romance perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft, a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales—as two princes vie for her heart.

Magic is fading from Wales—choked off by King Offa’s Dyke, the enemy earthworks that spans the entire border. Even the dragons have disappeared. And now an attack is imminent.

Prince Taliesin would love to watch magic die. Prince Dafydd fears it, and the throne. But when their father promises the crown to whichever son can destroy the dyke and restore magic to Wales, the brothers are forced into an uneasy rivalry.

Ffion works hedgewitch magic for poor folk, not princes. Unlike the power-hungry Foxhall coven, she uses only what nature can spare. But when the coven’s greed costs Ffion everything, she will need power beyond her wildest dreams to get back what she’s lost.

So when Prince Taliesin arrives, begrudgingly seeking a witch’s aid, Ffion agrees to help him—even if it means walking from one end of Wales to the other with the most useless peacock she’s ever clapped eyes on. Even if it means striking a bargain with Dafydd behind Tal’s back. The fate of Wales depends on their quest . . . and so might the fate of Ffion’s heart.