The spring titles on the Read This Next! Kids list for March and April include books for all "young readers" -- from picture books to middle grade to young adult. The themes cover a wide range as well; "family" and "friendship," are important topics that keep coming up. But then, there is also "fish" and "robots!"

RTNext! Kids Bookseller Resources:
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Read is why Southen indie booksellers love these books:

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
This may be the most beautifully written book I've ever read. I need to process and come back, but this made me feel all the feels.
– Kelley Dykes, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina

At Night, They Danced by Victoria Scott-Miller, Toni D. Chambers (Illus.)
I absolutely LOVED when our parents went out on date nights. This book invokes all the memories of these times and highlights the love between parents. Not something you see often in kids books. Very positive and completely fun.
– Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

Home by Matt de la Peña, Loren Long (Illus.)
I'm weeping openly in my store after reading this gorgeous book about what makes a home. As more families are displaced due to trauma, conflict, and climate change, this is a necessary picture book to help anyone processing a difficult transition in life.
– Alissa Redmond, South Main Book Company in Salisbury, North Carolina

Candle Island by Lauren Wolk
Candle Island is one of those stories that stays in your heart. A beautiful book about love, family, and grief that shows the healing power of creativity and nurturing wildness in wild spaces. I loved it!
– Susan Williams, M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, Dan Santat (Illus.)
I know a family whose surname is Fish and I have mightily amused them with the science/nature book Why Fish Don't Exist. They are going to get a kick out of this one too. I love when science fact gets presented in such a cheeky way, and the hint at the end that really this entire book may not be written by humans just compounds that mirth.
– Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Ripening Time by Patrice Gopo, Carlos Vélez Aguilera (Illus.)
Gopo weaves themes of family heritage, the joy of anticipation, and the small pain of waiting into a sweet story of purchasing plantains and watching them ripen before the family can fry them up for a delicious treat.
– Adah Fitzgerald, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review