5 Awesome Kids’ Books We Loved in 2025

2025 has been an epic year for stories full of adventure, friendship and fun! We’ve searched the Better Reading Vault and found five books that made us laugh, gasp and cheer for more. From daring escapes to magical mysteries and brave new worlds, these stories will spark your imagination and keep you turning the pages. If you haven’t read them yet, what are you waiting for?

Sunny and Shadow by Helen Milroy

Calla is born with a precious gift – she can talk to the dingoes. It is her special job to learn their ways and to look after them. But when new people come to her land, Calla and her family are forced to move away from her beloved dingoes. Meanwhile, one of Calla’s favourite dingoes, a cheeky little pup named Chichi, escapes from danger through a special cave. When he emerges in a different time and place and is befriended by a young girl named Sunny, she takes him to meet her grandmother, and discover that they already know each other – Sunny’s grandmother is Calla! Together they work to get the dingoes safely back to country.

Buy a copy of Sunny and Shadow here.

Jungle Escape by Nathan Luff

Dear Evolution, If the bird you have made is too big to fly, it is TOO BIG – FULL STOP! Yours, Branson Hawthorne Esquire When Branson’s parents announce a ski trip to Aspen, he’s thrilled – until he learns he won’t be going with them. Instead, Branson is being sent to an exclusive retreat in the Daintree Rainforest that promises poolside luxury, cuisine classes, and lessons in interior decoration. Not his idea of a holiday. But when they arrive at the resort, Branson and the other kids learn they’ve been duped! The building is in ruins, the bathroom’s covered in slime, and the pool is empty. It turns out the owners have lured the kids to Jungle Escape to work as free labour and restore the resort. Branson and his new friends need to find a way out of this hell hole and the Daintree Rainforest. Will they be able to escape this jungle, or will they end up as cassowary – or crocodile – lunch?

Buy a copy of Jungle Escape here.

Wilder Zoo #1: Neeka and the Missing Key by Tina Strachan, Illustrated by Max Hamilton

Eleven-year-old Neeka Wilder has always loved animals. She wants to be a vet one day, like her mum, who is the head vet at Wilder Zoo – where Neeka and her family live! Neeka is a great help to the zoo staff in caring for the animals. And she also takes videos of exciting events at the zoo. When the videos are nominated for a big award, Neeka wants to make one more video to help win it. But when Rebel, the cheeky red panda, won’t co-operate, her zoo key goes missing and she’s grounded for a month, it’s a race against the clock to create the new video in time for the awards.

Buy a copy of Wilder Zoo #1: Neeka and the Missing Key here.

Ice Apprentices by Jacob North

Tundra is the last settlement in a world of ice. Oswin Fields is its only stray, rescued from the Endless Expanse. So, when he’s summoned to the school for ice apprentices, he sets out to prove his worth. But all isn’t as it seems in this enchanted place. When the beasts begin to strike, Oswin has to risk everything he holds dear. Can he look deep within himself to find the strength to prove that he belongs?

Buy a copy of Ice Apprentices here.

Bravepaw #2: Bravepaw and the Clawstone of Rotwood Mire by L.M. Wilkinson, illustrated by Lavanya Naidu

A fully illustrated and brilliantly readable adventure full of magic and prophecy, quests, heroism and loyal friendship – the world of Bravepaw will hook young readers until the very last page. This is the stuff of legend. Titch and Huckleberry are on an epic quest. They have followed their hearts … right into the path of a terrifying swamp monster, and a village full of brainwashed squirrels! Maybe their hearts aren’t to be trusted? Maybe Titch is just an ordinary little mouse and not Bravepaw after all …? But Bravepaw or not, Titch is not about to give up. Can she defeat the greedy turtle controlling the squirrels, and discover what his glowing green gem has to do with the legend of Bravepaw and her quest to save Alluria?