Hitting bookshelves next week are Halloween picture books from bestselling authors, a YA novel that addresses love beyond racial bounds, a paranormal romance, a picture book set in a garden, a middle-grade novel that plays possum, and a novel in which a teen attempts the impossible.

Carl’s Halloween by Alexandra Day. FSG/Ferguson, $14.99; ISBN 978-0-374-31082-0. The long-running series gets a Halloween installment in which Carl and his human charge, Madeleine, dress up for Halloween and try to make their way to a party.

Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond. Roaring Brook, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-206-4. This timely novel deals with issues of race when a white teen’s father arrests a black neighbor, and the teen’s romantic relationship with a black classmate comes under scrutiny in the media storm that follows.

Reawakened by Colleen Houck. Delacorte, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-385-37656-3. In this YA novel, the latest from the author of the Tiger’s Curse series, a high school senior becomes entangled with a resurrected mummy.

The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes. Nobrow/Flying Eye, $17.95; ISBN 978-1-909263-43-7. In the followup to Hughes’s debut Wild, a tiny gardener tries to keep up with the overwhelmingly large weeds in his garden.

The Fun Book of Scary Stuff by Emily Jenkins, illus. by Hyewon Yum. FSG/Foster, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-374-30000-5. In a first collaboration between Jenkins and Yum, a child moves systematically through all the things that scare him, with the support of his pets.

Fright Club by Ethan Long. Bloomsbury, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-61963-337-7. The prolific illustrator offers up a Halloween story in which monsters start a fright club, but traditionally cute animals like a fluffy bunny rabbit want to join.

Appleblossom the Possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan, illus. by Gary A. Rosen. Dial, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-8037-4133-1. The titular protagonist and her 12 siblings like to explore, even when it can lead to mischief.

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood. Little, Brown/Poppy, $18; ISBN 978-0-316-24216-5. In the latest from Wildlife author Wood, 14-year-old Dan’s life changes rapidly. His father comes out, announces his bankruptcy, and moves out, leaving him and his mother on their own for the first time. To pull himself out of the tumult, Dan starts a list of impossible things he wants to accomplish, including kissing his secret crush.

For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of August, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.