Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a magical YA heist novel, an intergenerational middle grade book, a picture book conceptualizing size, a graphic novel about a club for artists, and more.
The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton. Peachtree Teen, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-68263-492-9. Sybil Clarion and her best friend Esme are offered a job at the popular cabaret Absinthe Underground, but only if the duo can pull off a dangerous heist in the Fae realm to retrieve the crown jewels. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-32340-3. Behar highlights four generations of a Sephardic Jewish family navigating cultural and societal upheaval from 1492 to 2003. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Are You Big? by Mo Willems. Union Square Kids, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4549-4818-6. Willems takes the idea of relative size and pursues it all the way out into the universe in this conceptual title. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Art Club (A Graphic Novel) by Rashad Doucet. Little, Brown Ink, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-7595-5636-2. Middle schooler Dale’s presentation about his dreams of becoming a comics creator leads to the establishment of an art club, and he is entrusted with the mission to raise funds for supplies.
ASAP by Axie Oh. HarperTeen, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-329930-6. In this companion novel to XOXO, K-pop star Sori knows that getting involved with fellow K-pop idol Nathaniel would be a bad idea since dating is off limits, but when Nathaniel’s career is rocked by scandal, Sori offers to house him.
Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir by Walela Nehanda. Kokila, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-52949-2. Poet Nehanda delivers an unflinching account of living with leukemia as a Black, queer, nonbinary person. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
The Cozy Home: Three-And-a-Half Stories by Ame Dyckman, illus. by Mark Teague. Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-66593-042-0. Goofy Bat, bibliophile Cat, and jokester Rat move in together into a dormer-windowed house and navigate the trials of being friends and roommates.
Cranky by Phuc Tran, illus. by Pete Oswald. HarperCollins, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0632-5628-6. When Yellow crane truck Cranky is having a bad day despite the bridge finally being completed, he learns to communicate his feelings to his peers.
The Door That Had Never Been Opened Before by Mrs. & Mr. MacLeod. Union Square Kids, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4549-4545-1. There is only one door in the Grunions’ house and it has never been opened. But Geraldine is determined to open it and uncover what is behind it.
Drawing Deena by Hena Khan. Salaam Reads, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-5991-5. Pakistani American middle schooler Deena finds alleviation from her panic attacks via artistic creation.
Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn. Wednesday, $21; ISBN 978-1-250761-27-9. Case Michaels grieves the loss of his best friend Walker, and in trying to accomplish their list of goals, he befriends barrel-racing hopeful Winnie. Together, they bond over their shared loss. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
A Garden Called Home by Jessica J. Lee, illus. by Elaine Chen. Tundra, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-7748-8047-0. A child works to make a garden in a snowy place whose climate differs from Mama’s homeland.
Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by April Harrison. Dial, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-32420-2. McDaniel traces the life of this storytelling librarian, from her childhood in Baltimore to her career helping others find literature. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Alan Gratz. Scholastic Press, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-338-73607-6. During the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the U.S. into WWII, 13-year-old aspiring writer Frank McCoy and illustrator Stanley Summers brainstorm their own comic book characters.
How the Boogeyman Became a Poet by Tony Keith Jr. Balzer + Bray, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-329600-8. The author chronicles his journey of coming out and his relationship to poetry from his youth as a closeted teen to his experiences in college.
I Am NOT the Easter Bunny! by T.L. McBeth. Flamingo, $12.99; ISBN 978-0-593-52845-7. A well-dressed bunny proclaims that he is not the celebratory figureOR holiday icon? everyone is searching for.
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang. Scholastic Press, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-338-82715-6. Aussie teen Sadie Wen’s model student facade crumbles when her private emails are leaked to the whole school, including to her co-captain and childhood rival Julius Gong.
Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender. Tor Teen, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-2508-9025-2. Alchemist hopeful Ash Woods now works as a groundskeeper at Lancaster College where he had once hoped to attend the College of Alchemic Science division. He encounters Ramsay Thorne who offers Ash a deal: assist them in finding a legendary magical book, and they’ll teach him alchemy. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Looking for Peppermint: Or Life in the Forest by Maxwell Eaton III. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5208-8. A child searching for a lost pup named Peppermint gives an informative tour of the forest to readers.
Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5936-4977-0. Susan the duck is experiencing a streak of rotten luck but turns it around as a wolf starts dropping by.
The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions by Giselle Clarkson. Gecko, $24.99; ISBN 978-1-77657-519-0. Clarkson highlights larger-than-life bugs and their damp, shadowy habitats. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Only: The Bird Who Liked Being Alone by Airlie Anderson. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-40961-2. Only, a bird who likes his own company, learns to communicate his preference to other birds.
Out of Body by Nia Davenport. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0632-5571-5. Seventeen-year-old pianist Megan Allen idolizes her new best friend LC—until she wakes up in a different body and realizes that LC has stolen hers and she must live as a stranger named Jade until she can find and convince LC to switch them back.
Not the Worst Friend in the World by Anne Rellihan. Holiday House, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-823454-79-2. While trying to make amends with her best friend after a cruel outburst, 11-year-old Louise Bennett agrees to help new student Cece resolve a mystery in hopes of redeeming herself.
The School for Invisible Boys by Shaun David Hutchinson. Labyrinth Road, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-5936-4629-8. After an incident of bullying at his school, Hector Griggs discovers he can turn himself invisible at will and uncovers a host of unseen creatures roaming the school halls.
The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn by Shawn Harris. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-57188-0. Teeny-Weeny Unicorn struggles with being smaller than his siblings and gets lost on the lawn, where he learns that even smaller creatures exist.
Ten Little Rabbits by Maurice Sendak. HarperCollins, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-264467-1. This previously unpublished work from the late Sendak, a counting book following a young magician, recalls the creator’s Nutshell Library. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of February check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
