The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books of 2025

Here’s to keeping it interesting. Pushing the envelope. Pushing boundaries. Pushing buttons. Here’s to children’s books that expand our assumptions of what a children’s book can be.

Interested in owning the books below? I created a list of all the books mentioned in this post in Bookshop – an online shop that supports brick-and-mortar independent bookstores. I apparently might get a few cents as well, but that’s not why I’m doing it – I just figured it might be helpful to share a good place to purchase them.

Previously . . .

The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Children’s Books of 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

Astro by Manuel Marsol, translated by Lizzie Davis

Transit Children’s Editions | April 8

Why It’s Unconventional: A visitor from another world provokes existential questions about life, death, and friendship in this Spanish import. Otherworldly illustrations add to the uniqueness.

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The Five Wolves by Peter McCarty

First Second (Macmillan) | October 14

Why It’s Unconventional: This list exists for books like The Five Wolves. Caldecott Honor winner McCarty is in full departure mode with this format-bending 288 page picture book/graphic novel about art itself. Detailed pencil drawings mix with textual elements that read like chants from another dimension. You have never seen a book like this before.

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Cabin Head and Tree Head by Scott Campbell

Tundra Books | September 30

Why It’s Unconventional: The best unconventional books sound absurd in the description, but somehow make perfect sense when skillfully executed. This is a comic about giant creatures that all have various human-scale things atop their heads: a cabin, a tree, an automobile, and so on. It makes no sense, yet makes perfect sense. Not just one of the most unconventional books of the year, but one of the best as well.

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To Activate Space Portal, Lift Here by Antoinette Portis

Neal Porter Books (Holiday House) | October 7

Why It’s Unconventional: Antoinette Portis is not afraid to defy convention: she is the creator of Not a Box and Best Frints in the Whole Universe after all. In this book, Portis treats the book itself as a portal to another planet.

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The Expedition by Tuvalisa Rangstrêm, Illustrated by Klara Bartilsson, translated by Saskia Vogel 

Transit Children’s Books | April 15

Why It’s Unconventional: This tour of the inner workings of the human body (translated from Swedish) is like The Magic School Bus on LSD.

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The Ordinary Life of Jacominus Gainsborough by Rébecca Dautremer, translated by Charis Ainslie

Post Wave | May 27

Why It’s Unconventional: This award-winning French import is a surreal trip through the life of a refined rabbit. The highly-detailed grand scope of the story and art are rare to see.

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Victor and the Giant by Rafael Yockteng

Greystone Kids | August 26, 2025

Why It’s Unconventional: Victor deals with the aftermath of a giant that just ate up the whole town. The above illustration, where Victor attempts (and succeeds) to awaken the sleeping giant by plucking a massive nose hair, tells you what you’re getting into when you open the covers of this offbeat book.

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This Pirate Needs Your Help! by David LaRochelle and YOU

Candlewick Press | January 7, 2025

Why It’s Unconventional: This cleverly crafted book comes equipped with a dry-erase marker that the reader must use to complete the story. My favorite part is when the pirate asks the reader to draw some tattoos on him.

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Ra! Ta! Ma! Cue! by Howie Shia

Annick Press | September 30, 2025

Why It’s Unconventional: If avant-garde composer John Cage made a picture book, it might be a little like this. A group of kids use the power of rhythm to free the Grown-Ups from their captors. The art mixes monotone scenes with colorful abstract interpretations of sound.

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The Adventures of Cipollino by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova, translated by Antony Shugaar

Enchanted Lion | October 28, 2025

Why It’s Unconventional: Originally published in Italian, and available in English for the first time, this story by late Hans Christian Anderson award winner Rodari gets a new life (and illustrations) in 2025. In a world inhabited by fruits and vegetables of all kinds, a young onion (Cipollino) must defeat Prince Lemon and free his father.

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No One Slept by Rafael Sica, translated by Bruna Dantas Lobato

Tapioca Stories | September 30, 2025

Why It’s Unconventional: Originally published in Portuguese, this ghost story defies convention for the way it unspools, moving from confusion to understanding as a girl uses books to keep the specter at bay. The diminutive black and white artwork, full of hatching and fine line work, would make Edward Gorey (a fellow not known for abiding convention) proud.

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Come On Out! by Alberto Lot

Henry Holt | October 28, 2025

Why It’s Unconventional: Pages turn from bottom to top in this unique twist on the concept of book as object. A disembodied hand reaches into the darkness, searching for a furry someone who doesn’t want to come out. Maybe the reader can help?

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