Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including an ode to literacy, a poetic look at Joan of Arc, the moon’s side of the story, and a picture book meditation on compassion.
How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander, illus. by Melissa Sweet. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-230781-1. Newbery Medalist Alexander’s picture book, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Sweet, is a love poem to literacy.
The Language of Fire: Joan of Arc Reimagined by Stephanie Hemphill. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-249011-7. Free verse poems written in the first person tell the familiar tale of the medieval teenage peasant prophesied to liberate France from England.
Moon’s First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship by Susanna Leonard Hill, illus. by Elisa Paganelli. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4926-5680-7. In this picture book, Hill imagines the Apollo 11 moon landing from the perspective of the moon itself.
What If...? by Thierry Lenain, illus. by Olivier Tallec, trans. from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. Enchanted Lion, $17.95; ISBN 978-1-59270-281-7. This picture book offers a meditative parable on compassion.
When We Walked on the Moon by David Long, illus. by Sam Kalda. Wide Eyed Editions, $12.99; ISBN 978-1-78603-092-4. Long writes a cogent history of the moon missions in chapters that offer technical context and describe significant moments for the Apollo astronauts, including Armstrong’s moon walk and the harrowing circumstances aboard Apollo 13.
The Hideout by Susanna Mattiangeli, illus. and trans. from the Italian by Felicita Sala. Abrams, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-3416-8. In this picture book, a girl runs away to a park to try out her survival skills.
Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez, illus. by Jaime Kim. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-283993-0. Although this picture book begins as a gentle riposte to narrow cultural and ethnic categorizations, its conclusion reaches out to all readers, evoking both heritage and the human family.
Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris, illus. by LeUyen Pham. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-46447-5. What begins as a solo log ride down a river for Bear turns into a group adventure as new forest animals join the pileup hurtling through the water.
Can Cat and Bird Be Friends? by Coll Muir. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-286593-9. Getting from the title question of this picture book to yes is challenging for Cat, a smoky black oblong with pointy ears and prominent claws, and Bird, a bright white circle with stick black legs and an aeronautical tail.
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian. HarperTeen/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-283936-7. When Reza, a closeted teen, moves from Toronto to New York City (“by way of Tehran”) in 1989, the city feels like the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, and he is drawn to new friends.
Marigold Star by Elise Primavera. HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-056949-5. Marigold lives in magical Brambly-crumbly with her parents, baby sister, and talking pet dragon, and is on the verge of becoming a gifted fairy.
The Gothamites by Eno Raud, trans. from the Estonian by Adam Cullen, illus. by Priit Pärn. Elsewhere Editions, $18; ISBN 978-1-939810-28-1. Famed Estonian children’s writer Raud first published his retelling of these traditional folktales decades ago; this edition offers new illustrations by his countryman, cartoonist Pärn.
A Normal Pig by K-Fai Steele. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-274857-7. This picture book about piglet classmates conveys how quickly a kid’s world can unravel, but Steele also shows how powerful and comforting a wider perspective can be. The book earned a starred review from PW.
This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-062-47344-8. In this YA novel, a teen working at a failing family flower shop is met with an ultimatum: fix the shop or sell it to a family that partially built its wealth by acquiring the property of Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during WWII. The novel earned a starred review from PW.
Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-244781-4. In this contemporary reimagining of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, 15-year-old Plum Blatchley is the quiet, introspective foil to her dramatic, excitable sister, 18-year-old Ginny. The book earned a starred review from PW.
When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall. LB/Patterson, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-41779-2. Seventeen-year-old loner Tom Calloway, an orphan, has no desire to fly to Costa Rica for a school-sponsored environmental research trip, but when he does, his plane crashes and he must fight for survival.
Codzilla by David Zeltser, illus. by Jared Chapman. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06257-067-3. In this comical picture book about individuality and ingenuity, a giant orange codfish must find a way to embrace his size.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of June, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
