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Your Kid’s Next Read Best Books of 2022

Posted on January 17, 2023

At the beginning of each year, we ask the Your Kid’s Next Read community to nominate the books their young readers raved about over the preceding twelve months.

And here we are with the 2022 version. One last round of applause for the books our young readers loved last year before we welcome in 2023’s new titles.

It’s always an interesting list, with a mix of new titles and old favourites, because the books don’t have to have been published in 2022, they just need to have been read in 2022.

These are the books that the young readers of the Your Kid’s Next Read community are actually reading. The ones they recommended when asked to share the best books they read in 2022.

We’ve also added in a few favourites from #TeamYKNR (Megan Daley, Allison Rushby and me), focusing on books published in 2022.

It’s a terrific list for discovering those gems you may have overlooked!

But before you dive in, if you’d like to know the origin story of Your Kid’s Next Read, you’ll find it here, and you can also subscribe to our brand-new free newsletter for your chance to win our big bookmail giveaway each month.

 

Best books of 2022 (according to Your Kid’s Next Read)

Books are divided into approximate reading age suggestions, but, of course, all readers are different. Click the title link to find out more about the book or to purchase*

 

Picture Books

Picture books for ChristmasThe Best Hiding Place by Jane Godwin, ill. Sylvia Morris

King Baby by Kate Beaton

Llama Llama Time To Share by Anne Dewdney

 

Your Kid's Next Read best books 2022Hana’s Hundreds of Hijabs by Razeena Omar Gutta, ill. Manal Mirza

Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson, ill. Axel Scheffler

Spot (series) by Eric Hill

 

Your Kid's Next Read best books 2022My Deadly Boots by Hakea Hustler, Carl Merrison, ill. Samantha Campbell

Dirt by Sea by Michael Wagner, ill. Tom Jellett

Frank’s Red Hat by Sean E. Avery

 

Your Kid's Next Read best books 2022Come Over To My House by Eliza Hull, Sally Rippin, ill. Daniel Gray-Barnett

The Wild Guide To Starting School by Laura Bunting, ill. Philip Bunting

 

 

Junior Readers (5-8)

Your Kid's next read best books 2022The Odds (series) by Matt Stanton

Questioneers (series) by Andrea Beaty, ill. David Roberts

Marge in Charge by Isla Fisher

 

Your Kids' next read best books 2022The Travelling Bookshop (series) by Katrina Nannestad, ill. Cheryl Orsini

Narwhal and Jelly (series) by Ben Clanton

The Secret Explorers (series) by SJ King

 

Your Kid's Next Read best books 2022Pearly and Pig (series) by Sue Whiting

Hot Dog by Anh Do

Magnolia Moon (series) by Edwina Wyatt

 

Your Kid's Next Read best books 2022Furball: Spy Cat by Adrian Beck

Smarty Pup (series) by Ahn Do, ill. Anton Emdin

The Underdogs (series) by Kate and Jol Temple

 

Your kids next read best books 2022Willa and Woof (series) by Jacqueline Harvey

The Princess in Black (series) by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, ill. LeUyen Pham

Zoey and Sassafras (series) by Asia Citro, ill. Marion Lindsay

 

ghost stories for kidsMiss Penny Dreadful and the Midnight Kittens by Allison Rushby

Little Ash (series) by Ash Barty, Jasmin McGaughey, ill. by Jade Goodwin

What Snail Knows by Kathryn Apel, ill. Mandy Foot

 

Your kids next read best books 2022Surviving The Wild (series) by Remy Lai

Amulet (series) by Kazu Kibuishi

The Lost Rainforest (series) by Eliot Schrefer

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, ill. K. G. Campbell

 

Middle Grade (9-12)

This is such a popular section that we’ve divided it up a bit to make it easier to navigate. Note that there can be crossover in the categories.

 

Contemporary

Your kids next read best books 2022Exit Through the Gift Shop by Maryam Master

The 13-Storey Treehouse (series) by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi

 

your kids next read best books 2022Pony by R. J. Palacio

Gus and The Starlight by Victoria Carless

The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-Bottomed Boat by Charlie Archbold

 

Your kids next read best books 2022Paws by Kate Foster

We Run Tomorrow by Nat Amoore and Mike Barry

The Day I was Erased by Lisa Thompson

 

Your kids next read best books 2022The Jammer by Nova Weetman

Runt by Craig Silvey, ill. Sara Acton

The Bravest Word by Kate Foster

 

Your kids next read best books 2022Zadie Ma and the Dog who Chased the Moon by Gabrielle Wang

Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee

Penguin Bloom (young readers edition) by Chris Kunz, Shaun Grant, Harry Cripps

 

your kids next read best books 2022The Goodbye Year by Emily Gale

All Four Quarters Of The Moon by Shirley Marr

 

 

 

Historical

Your kids next read best books 2022The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan by Felice Arena

Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin, ill. Astrid Hicks

Tilda by Sue Whiting

 

Your kids next read best books 2022Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad

Ming and Marie: Spy for Freedom by Jackie French

Waiting For the Storks by Katrina Nannestad

 

Your kids next read best books 2022Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald

Goodbye Mr Hitler by Jackie French

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

 

 

Mystery

your kids next read best books 2022A Girl Called Justice by Elly Griffiths

Friday Barnes (series) by R. A. Spratt

Twitch by MG Leonard

Cop and Robber by Tristan Bancks

 

Fantasy and sci-fi

best books 2022Amari and the Night Brothers (series) by B. B. Alston

Chasing The Valley (series) by Skye Melki-Wegner

The Chronicles of Narnia (series) by C. S. Lewis

 

best books 2022Wylah: The Koorie Warrior by Richard Pritchard, Jordan Gould

Kingdoms and Empires (series) by Jaclyn Moriarty, ill. Kelly Canby

The Wizards of Once (series) by Cressida Cowell

 

best books 2022Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman

Mars Awakens by H. M. Waugh

Nevermoor (series) by Jessica Townsend

 

best books 2022Wednesday Weeks and The Dungeon of Fire (series) by Denis Knight and Cristy Burne

Keeper Of The Lost Cities (series) by Shannon Messenger

Spaceboy by David Walliams, ill. Adam Stower

 

best books 2022Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna

Which Way To Anywhere by Cressida Cowell

School for Good and Evil (series) by Soman Chainani

 

best books 2022A Tale of Magic (series) by Chris Colfer

The Ateban Cipher (series) by A. L. Tait

The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer

 

best books 2022The Wintrish Girl by Melania La’Brooy

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

 

Young Adult (13+)

best books 2022Heartstopper (series) by Alice Oseman

The Summer I Turned Pretty (series) by Jenny Han

The Wolf’s Howl (A Maven & Reeve Mystery) by A. L. Tait

 

best books 2022Future Girl by Asphyxia

Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

When Rain Turns to Snow by Jane Godwin

 

best books 2022The Stand In by A. J. Rushby

The Wearing Of The Green by Claire Saxby

The Medoran Chronicles (series) by Lynette Noni

 

best books 2022The Museum of Broken Things by Lauren Draper

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

The Notorious Scarlett & Browne (series) by Jonathan Stroud

Cards On The Table by Agatha Christie

 

Looking for more inspiration? You can find the 2021 list here.

 

A L Tait The Fire Star USAAre you new here? Welcome to my blog! I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of middle-grade series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.

If you’re looking for book recommendations for young readers, join the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook community, and tune in to the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast!

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