Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a picture book about adopting a dog, a middle grade graphic novel about basketball, the story of a country girl, and a picture book about refugees.

I Want a Dog by Jon Agee. Dial, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-55546-9. In this picture book by Agee (The Wall in the Middle of the Book), when a child visits the Happydale Animal Shelter and asks for a dog, she’s offered everything but a puppy.

The Crossover (Graphic Novel) by Kwame Alexander, illus. by Dawud Anyabwile. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $22.99; ISBN 978-1-328-96001-6. In this graphic novel adaptation of Alexander’s 2015 Newbery-winning novel, Anyabwile’s clean lines, athletic characters, and free-form layouts capture the fluid poetry of basketball and the confusion of early adolescence.

The Balcony by Melissa Castrillón. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-0588-2. The girl who stars in this nearly wordless picture book by Castrillón (If I Had a Little Dream) lives blissfully in the countryside. Then the girl’s parents tell her that her mother has gotten a new job and they must move to the city.

What Is a Refugee? by Elise Gravel. Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-12005-7. The opening spread of this explanatory resource for younger readers shows a crowd of people with varying skin tones and hair colors—refugees, the image implies, don’t all look one way.

Obviously: Stories from My Timeline by Akilah Hughes. Razorbill, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-99890-8. Through 30 candid essays for teens, Hughes, a comedian, writer, and social media influencer, spotlights the tumultuous experience of growing up black, female, and gifted.

Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers by Anna James, illus. by Paola Escobar. Philomel, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-3712-7. In this debut middle grade novel, the protagonist’s friendship struggles and love of reading, together with satisfying twists and a well-constructed bookwanderer’s mythology, create an affectionate ode to books and book lovers.

Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung, illus. by Chris Sasaki. Random House/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-7187-4. After being separated from his family, a boy clears immigration with an assumed identity in this picture book based on true events. Eventually known as Tyrus Wong, he works his way through art school as a janitor before landing a job at Walt Disney Studios.

Slay by Brittney Morris. Simon Pulse, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-534-44542-0. Morris’s not-to-be-missed YA debut explores gaming culture and the diversity of the African diaspora. The novel earned a starred review from PW.

Red Riding Hood retold by Beatrix Potter, illus. by Helen Oxenbury. Warne, $20; ISBN 978-0-241-37534-1. In an illustrator’s foreword, Greenaway Medalist Oxenbury discusses what drew her to Potter’s retelling of Perrault’s fairy tale: its setting, “so rooted in the English countryside,” and the allure of drawing a villain.

16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “the Red Wheelbarrow” by Lisa Rogers, illus. by Chuck Groenink. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-2016-2. “Look out a window. What do you see?” An invitation to notice sets the tone for this compelling picture book about how an iconic poem by William Carlos Williams came to be, conjuring the specific people, places, things, and perspective that coalesced into his 16-word verse. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Born to Fly: The First Women’s Air Race Across America by Steve Sheinkin, illus. by Bijou Karman. Roaring Brook, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-130-2. In this riveting account, Newbery Honor author Sheinkin (Bomb) introduces 20 American pilots who flew in the 1929 Women’s Air Derby, from California to Ohio.

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