The Best Read Alouds of 2025

I know a book is going to make the annual list of best read alouds when I turn around and one of the boys is standing there holding a book with a puppy-dog look on his face and a sweet little “please?” on his lips. Or when one of them calls down the stairs as they head up to bed, “We’ve got the book, Mom. Please, come and read.” Both are signs that we are in the middle of something good. And there were indeed some good ones in 2025. Some were re-reads for me, getting Landon and Soren caught up on favorites that had been read years ago to older siblings while the little guys played at our feet. Some were new to all of us, and are now considered old friends. Some are ridiculous, some are fantastical, some are heavy, and for the first time, one is non-fiction. All are good. Allow me to introduce you.

Best Ridiculous & All Around Delightful Books: 

The Adventures of Ordinary Boy Trilogy by Willian Boniface

The boys think I have a crush on Ordinary Boy and maybe I do. His world is populated with superheroes, some with pretty cool powers, some mediocre, and some with powers that are not “super” at all. Melonhead, for example, has a head shaped like a melon and spits seeds. So you see what I mean. Ordinary Boy, as his name suggests, has no superpowers–not even seed spitting–but he has the brains, kindness, and courage that make him the true hero of these stories. These books are light and pretty ridiculous at times, but for being as light and funny as they are, the plots are impressively complex, especially Book #3 where some time travel situations had our heads spinning in the best way. 

Best Fantasy Adventure:

The Restorationist Trilogy by Carolyn Leiloglou

Here is the premise: a secret society called The Restorationists has the ability to enter in and travel through paintings as they fight the evil Distortionists. Once you get into the world of these people it makes sense and the whole painting travel thing becomes totally normal. A bonus is that you learn about works of art, artists, and the inner workings of museums along the way.  Each book is from the point of view of a different protagonist and we grew to love each one, though I admit that the final book, the story of Ravi, had the most powerful effect on me. Themes of family and belonging were especially strong as the trilogy wrapped up and Soren and I had to get out the liturgy for “Lament upon the Finishing of a Beloved Book” from Every Moment Holy to help us properly process the emotions stirred in us at the end of this one. Good stuff. 

Best Magical Circus Book:

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

You have to believe it to see it. This is not a Christian book but it nevertheless provides some food for thought about faith. You have to believe that Circus Mirandus is there in order to see it and enter it and enjoy all the wonders of it. Micah definitely believes and is determined to find this magical circus that his grandfather had known well as a child in hopes that there he might find the miracle he needs to save his grandfather. The story is well told and full of good friendship, good magic, good humor, and a satisfying plot. But I guess you have to read it to believe it. 

Best Historical Fiction: 

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

This is the third time I have read this out loud and every time the horrors feel more horrible, the fear more palpable, the funny parts more enjoyable, and the tenderness of the Logan family all the sweeter. The setting is the south in the 1930s. The conflict is extreme racism. The hope is in a family that holds on to their land, the truth, and each other. Mildred Taylor is a powerful storyteller and the entire collection of Logan family books is excellent, but this one remains my favorite. For middle schoolers and older. 

The Book that Says the Most with the Least:

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse 

The most what? The most fear and pain and sorrow and hope. The least what? Words. Hesse’s story of Billie Jo, a girl living in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma in the 1930s, is written in verse form. Each poem-like chapter, which reads like Billie Jo’s journal, walks us through a year of hardship and loss in the life of her family as they struggle to survive. It provides an eye-opening look into that era of history as well as into the resiliency of the human spirit to endure and continue to look for beauty, even in the dust. 

Best Non-fiction: 

God the Prize by Jake Each

We don’t usually read non-fiction as read alouds, but when I read this book by local pastor, Jake Each, I knew it would be a good one for the whole family. It is a gospel primer–an easy to read and easy to understand look at our problem (sin) and the answer (Jesus). But what sets it apart is the emphasis that the whole point is to “get God,” to draw near to him. Salvation, forgiveness, peace, joy…all are great, but the true prize–the point of it all–is God himself. God is the prize.