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Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.

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Each year, I seem to have the same reading resolutions. Read (a little) more, and read more nonfiction, specifically. The reading more part is still true for 2026, but I’ve revised it a bit. This year, I’m making sure to add more kids’ books—from picture books to middle grade.

I think more adults should read books geared towards kids, and not just when reading to kids. As Tirzah Price has written about before, “Children’s books tend to contain the same big, complex ideas about life that adult novels do…but they’re conveyed in such a way that a young reader can grasp them.”

Not only that, but nonfiction children’s books can be great for learning about history and historical figures in a very easily digestible way. A couple of the books below fit this second description. They take us through the 1965 Civil Rights Marches in Alabama and into the world of the Navajo people. There’s also a magical illustrated tale of emotions and isolation.

Troubled Waters: A River’s Journey Toward Justice by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Bryan Collier

This picture book comes from two award-winning creators. It looks at a moment during the Civil Rights Movement from a rather unique perspective. The Alabama River narrates all it sees—from its Native Peoples being pushed out by settlers to the Civil Rights marches of 1965. I can’t help but be reminded of Langston Hughes’ poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and Natalie Diaz’s collection Postcolonial Love Poem, both of which draw connections between the exploitation of the land and its people.

The Navajos by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

This updated introduction to the Navajo people is by award-winning First Nations author Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, and includes everything from the Navajo’s creation story to sand paintings, and an exploration of how they resisted Spanish colonialism.

In Reading Color

A weekly newsletter focusing on literature by and about people of color!

Wallflower by Iasmin Omar Ata

This latest middle-grade graphic novel by the Palestinian American author of Nayra and the Djinn is magical. In it, Marlena has strange visions of flowers that grow on everyone that no one else seems to be able to see. These flowers are particular to each person, and show a person’s true feelings, even if the owner of the flowers doesn’t. Once she meets Ashe, she’s finally found someone else who can also see the flowers. It’s just too bad that Ashe isn’t really feeling Marlena like that. As time goes on, though, the two connect more—but then secrets start to come out.

For more new kids’ books to read in the new year, check out these books that are out this month.