The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) has announced their 2025 Outstanding International Books List. Curated since 2006, the annual list highlights exceptional books for children and young adults published or distributed in the United States that originated or were first published in a country other than the US.
This year’s list includes 40 titles originating from 23 different countries that represent the best of children’s literature from around the world. USBBY’s goal is that these titles will help young people in the US to see the world from diverse perspectives, introduce readers in the US to outstanding artists and writers from other countries, help counteract stereotypes, bridge cultural gaps, build connections, and engage and prove accessible to young readers in the US.
Eight Canadian titles made the 2025 list. The titles are listed below.
PreK-Grade 2
Boozhoo! Hello! by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, Anishinaabemowin
translation by Mary Ann Corbiere (Groundwood Books)
Look! Look! by Uma Krishnaswami and Uma Krishnaswamy (illus.) (Groundwood Books)
ninitohtênân / We Listen by Caitlin Dale Nicholson with Leona Morin-Neilson, Cree translation by Leona Morin-Neilson (Groundwood Books)
Grades 3-5
Birds on the Brain by Uma Krishnaswami and Julianna Swaney (illus.) (Groundwood Books)
Taming Papa by Mylène Goupil, English translation by Shelley Tanaka (Groundwood
Books)
Grades 6-8
Call Me Al by Wali Shah and Eric Walters (Orca Book Publishers)
The Go-Between by Jennifer Maruno (Red Deer Press)
Grades 9-12
Crash Landing by Li Charmaine Anne (Annick Press)
Kids Can Press and Groundwood Books had one additional title each on the list. Kids Can's Little Shrew by Japanese author-illustrator Akiko Miyakoshi was featured in the PreK-Grade 2 category. Groundwood's Wildful by UK author-illustrator Kengo Kurimoto was selected in the Grades 6-8 category.
Congratulations to the publishers and their creators. To learn about USBBY and the Outstanding International Books List, visit usbby.org