Hitting shelves next week are a picture book tribute to the creator of Peter Rabbit, a middle grade novel featuring two pranksters, and a YA novel centering on the romance of two teens from different worlds.
Waiting for Snow by Marsha Diane Arnold, illus. by Renata Liwska. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-544-41687-1. In this picture book, Badger wants it to snow: it’s winter, so it should be snowing. Hedgehog is a creature of faith. “It will snow in snow’s time,” he tells Badger. “All we have to do is wait.” Badger can’t wait and, with the help of friends, he tries to no avail to get it to snow.
Nothing but Trouble Jacqueline Davies. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-236988-8. Davies (The Lemonade War) begins a new middle grade series featuring a pair of resourceful pranksters, sixth-graders Maggie and Lena.
The Bossier Baby by Marla Frazee. Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-7162-6. In The Boss Baby, Frazee compared first-time parenthood to life under a tiny, bald corporate chief in a one-piece suit. Every bit as funny as its predecessor, this sequel presents the dramatic shake-up after the arrival of the Boss Baby’s infant sister, who “restructure[s] the organization... from the top down.” The book earned a starred review from PW.
It Is Not Time for Sleeping by Lisa Graff, illus. by Lauren Castillo. Clarion, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-544-31930-1. Graff’s bedtime story is told by a boy who has just finished dinner. His mother sits at his right, his father to his left, and the family dog looks up at him hopefully. He knows what’s coming next, and it’s not bed. “It is not time for sleeping,” he informs readers. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Paul & Antoinette by Kerascoët, trans. from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. Enchanted Lion (Consortium, dist.), $17.95; ISBN 978-1-59270-196-4. Kerascoët (the French duo of Marie Pommepuy and Sébastien Cosset) presents a lovely slice-of-life story featuring a pair of thoroughly independent pigs who have little in common.
The Romantics by Leah Konen. Amulet, $18.95; ISBN 978-1-4197-2193-9. Konen (The Last Time We Were Us) puts a twist on a typical teenage romantic comedy by making her narrator Love, the entity responsible for keeping everyone on track in matters of the heart. Currently, Love is attempting to put lovelorn high school senior Gael Brennan in the path of the right girl, Sammy Sutton, in a quirky narrative replete with entertaining footnotes and humor that befits a being who has seen it all.
You in Five Acts by Una LaMarche. Razorbill, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-99893-9. In this YA novel, LaMarche (Like No Other) shifts among the perspectives of five talented seniors at a New York City arts high school, structuring their story in five “acts.”
Pug Man's 3 Wishes by Sebastian Meschenmoser, trans. from the German by David Henry Wilson. NorthSouth, $16.95; ISBN 978-0-7358-4261-8. In this misanthropic gem of a story, Pug Man, a bipedal pug dog, wears an expression of perpetual, pained resignation, until a wish granting fairy appears to him. The book earned a starred review from PW.
One Minute Till Bedtime: 60-Second Poems to Send You Off to Sleep by Kenn Nesbitt, illus. by Christoph Niemann. Little, Brown, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-316-34121-9. Former Children’s Poet Laureate Nesbitt compiles a dizzyingly creative assortment of new bedtime-ready poems, each of which can be read in less than a minute. Calef Brown, Margarita Engle, J. Patrick Lewis, Marilyn Singer, and Lemony Snicket are among dozens of contributors, whose works vary widely in tone, form, and subject. The book earned a starred review from PW.
A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illus. by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson. Viking, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-425-28768-2. This biographical poem pays homage to Ezra Jack Keats while speaking to Peter, the fictional African-American hero of The Snowy Day, the story of a black boy playing in the snow, remarkable among 1960s children’s stories in which “the delight/ was all white.” The book earned a starred review from PW.
A Celebration of Beatrix Potter Warne, $25; ISBN 978-0-241-24943-7. In this homage to the work of Peter Rabbit creator Potter, authors and illustrators including Paul O. Zelinsky, Betsy Lewin, Dan Santat and many more share their appreciation for beloved Potter stories.
The Amateurs: Book 1 by Sara Shepard. Freeform, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4847-4227-3. Shepard (the Pretty Little Liars series) dishes up another whodunit, this time focusing on a group of teens who are tied together by the killing of high school student Helena Kelly and a website for amateur sleuths. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. Delacorte, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-553-49668-0. Is it fate or chance that brings people together? This is the question posed in this multilayered tale of a one-day romance featuring practical Natasha, whose family is facing deportation to Jamaica, and Daniel, a first-generation Korean American with a poet’s sensibility. The book earned a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of November, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
