In the Next Episode...

In the follow-up to Magic Steps and Street Magic, Daja and her teacher, Frostpine, head to a northern Namorn city for a winter retreat. A ruthless arsonist besieges the town, and Daja helps track down the culprit in Cold Fire, the third title in Tamora Pierce's The Circle Opens quartet. (Scholastic, $16.95 368p ages 10-up ISBN 0-590-39655-2; May)

Billie Stoner, star of The Invisible Day and The Invisible Harry wrestles with her conscience when archenemy Alyssa accidentally stumbles upon her invisibility potion in The Invisible Enemy by Marthe Jocelyn, illus. by Abby Carter. (Dutton, $15.99 144p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-525-46831-5; Apr.)

In Miss Switch Online by Barbara Brooks Wallace, the third book about the titular heroine, Miss Switch tries to thwart evil witch Saturna's second attempt to take control of Pepperdine Elementary School. (S&S/ Atheneum, $16 192p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-689-84376-3; June)

Powerful, privileged and screwed up, 16 boys in a boarding school suddenly turn into model students. It's up to 14-year-old Alex Rider to find out why—and to face the maniacal man who has engineered it all in a bid to take over the world in Point Blank: An Alexander Rider Adventure by Anthony Horowitz, the follow-up to last year's Stormbreaker. (Philomel, $16.99 208p ages 10-up ISBN 0-399-23621-X; Apr.)

After focusing on the Sheriff of Nottingham in In a Dark Wood, Michael Cadnum turns his attention to a future merry man in Forbidden Forest: The Story of Little John and the Robin Hood Legend and sheds light on the events that led Little John to join the infamous band of thieves. (Scholastic/Orchard, $17.95 224p ages 12-up ISBN 0-439-31774-6; May)

Royal Subjects

Milton Meltzer, author of Ten Queens: Portraits of Women in Power, offers the male monarch counterpart in Ten Kings: And the Worlds They Ruled, illus. by Bethanne Andersen. Focusing on individuals as diverse as Hammurabi of ancient Mesopotamia and France's 17th-century ruler Louis XIV, Meltzer neatly frames each subject's personal story with ample information about the era and civilization. Rendered in oil on gesso, Andersen's stylized portraits hint at the personality of each king. (Scholastic/Orchard, $21.95 144p ages 8-12 ISBN 0-439-31293-0; Apr.)

The Barefoot Book of Knights by John Matthews, illus. by Giovanni Manna, a collection of seven stories from as many nations, is framed as a series of anecdotes told to a young page. Full-page and vignette ink-and-watercolor illustrations resurrect a bygone era, offering a glimpse of landscapes and architecture from Russia to Japan. (Barefoot, $19.99 80p ages 9-12 ISBN 1-84148-064-9; Apr.)

Surrounded by suffering, yet unable to move from his pedestal, a generous princely statue enlists a swallow to pluck the jewels from his eyes and deliver them to those in need in Oscar Wilde's classic fairy tale, The Happy Prince, illus. by Robin Muller. Muller's pastel-like drawings evoke the Victorian era with spiffy top hats and waistcoats for the men, shingled rooftops and a cobblestone town square. (Stoddart, $15.95 24p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-7737-3218-3; Apr.)

King Midas: The Golden Touch by Demi retells the classic Greek myth about the greedy king. Gold-leaf accents fittingly embellish illustrations reminiscent of those found on a Grecian urn. (S&S/McElderry, $19.95 48p ages 7-10 ISBN 0-689-83297-4; May)

Join In the Fun!

A rooster's roar sparks a cacophony of unexpected sounds in The Giraffe Who Cock-a-Doodle-Doo'd: A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner, illus. by Jonathan Lambert. Colorful, oversize creatures burst forth from each spread, including a lion that squeaks and an elephant that hisses. (Dial, $12.99 16p ages 2-6 ISBN 0-8037-2739-9; May)

Animals also take center stage in Good Night, Monster! by Ian Whybrow, illus. by Ken Wilson-Max. "What's made/ the piglets say/ squeak, squeak, squeak?/ Five little monsters/ Playing hide-and-seek." A sturdy fold-out flap reveals a multicultural cast of children behind the barn door. Bold, full-bleed illustrations and a tiny mirror in the back let little ones in on the action. (Knopf, $12.95 22p ages 2-5 ISBN 0-375-81579-1; May)

"Wake up, Buttercup!/ Rise and shine, Porcupine!/ What will you wear, Polar Bear?" Pet names take on new meaning as children get up and greet the day in Wake Up, Buttercup by Alison Inches, illus. by Ken Wilson-Max. Young readers can help out with fun pull tabs and liftable flaps. (Harcourt, $9.95 18p ages 6 mos.-3 yrs. ISBN 0-15-216346-8; Apr.)

Toddlers can put briefs on Piggy and boxers on Bear in Piggy and Bear in Their Underwear, illus. by Dara Goldman. Recesses in the board book pages accommodate one of 16 pairs of underwear, neatly stored in a slide-out drawer that doubles as the book's cover. A border around each colorful illustration shows the day of the week. The similarly formatted Which Shoes Would You Choose? by Susan Hoe, illus. by Mircea Catusanu, puts the focus on footwear. (Innovative Kids, $9.99 each 18p ages 2-5 ISBN 1-58476-101-6; -102-4; Apr.)

PiggyWiggy Presents

The busy pig is back, demonstrating shapes, opposites and career choices, in three additions to the series by Christyan and Diane Fox. Two board books instruct toddlers: in What Shape Is That, PiggyWiggy? the hero demonstrates squares, circles and triangles as he builds a house; What's the Opposite, PiggyWiggy? finds him enjoying activities with a friend ("Teddy flies his plane high. PiggyWiggy flies his plane low"). Astronaut PiggyWiggy shows the porker imagining an interplanetary adventure. (Handprint, [Chronicle, dist.], $5.95 each 20p ages 2-5 ISBN 1-929766-44-0; -43-2; Astronaut $9.95 24p; -41-6; May)