Illustration from The Moon Moved in by Sue Soltis; illus. by Sonia Sánchez.

The following books will receive starred reviews in the September/October 2025 Horn Book Magazine:

Sato the Rabbit: Morning Light by Yuki Ainoya; trans. from Japanese by Michael Blaskowsky (Enchanted Lion)

Together, United by Tami Charles; illus. by Bryan Collier (Orchard/Scholastic)

Moon Song by Michaela Goade (Little, Brown)

The House That Floated by Guojing (Random House Studio/Random)

The Sleeper Train by Mick Jackson; illus. by Baljinder Kaur (Candlewick)

Dawn by Marc Martin (Candlewick Studio)

To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here by Antoinette Portis (Porter/Holiday)

A Place for Us by James E. Ransome (Paulsen/Penguin)

Recess by Lane Smith; design by Molly Leach (Abrams)

The Moon Moved In by Sue Soltis; illus. by Sonia Sánchez (Chronicle)

If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry (Simon)

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Holt)

The Forest of a Thousand Eyes by Frances Hardinge; illus. by Emily Gravett (Amulet/Abrams)

Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina; illus. by Anna Balbusso and Elena Balbusso (Candlewick)

The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell (Dial)

The Winter of the Dollhouse by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)

Dear Acorn (Love, Oak): Letter Poems to Friends by Joyce Sidman; illus. by Melissa Sweet (Clarion/HarperCollins)

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum (Roaring Brook)

In the World of Whales by Michelle Cusolito; illus. by Jessica Lanan (Porter/Holiday)

Imogen: The Life and Work of Imogen Cunningham by Elizabeth Partridge; illus. by Yuko Shimizu (Viking)

I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin (Candlewick)