Children’s Book Week 2025

May 5-11 is Children’s Book Week! Most readers start their reading journey as children, and in some ways children are the most important readers, so it is fitting that children’s books have their own week.

I was lucky to grow up in a family of readers, and my favorite memories as a child involved reading. Sitting my mother’s lap to share a book gave me a feeling of comfort, happiness, and home. My favorite picture book was Ferdinand by Munro Leaf—I identified with wanting to just sit and smell the flowers like he did. I think I sensed the underlying message that it was okay to be different, too. Later, I remember reading E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web with my mom, as we alternated reading chapters aloud. I’ve been fond of pigs ever since.

As a writer for young readers, I may be biased on the subject, but I think it’s even more important today that we give kids and young adults the books they need. Whether it’s providing escape, life lessons, or the message that we’re not alone in our experiences and quirks, kidlit provides a vital service.

Here are a couple websites with resources for Children’s Book Week:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/97655-2025-children-s-book-week-presents-full-roster-of-event-ideas.html

https://everychildareader.net/cbw/cbw-resources/

Check out the SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) site if you want to write or illustrate kidlit:

https://www.scbwi.org

And here is the Unite Against Book Bans site, if you want to ensure every child’s and family’s right to read the books they choose:

https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/take-action/