Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a teen love story, a fabulist book about belonging, an alternate U.S. history, a STEM picture book, and more.
Love in English by Maria E. Andreu. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-062-99651-0. The teen love triangle at the center of this warm and humorous novel by Andreu (The Secret Side of Empty) is threaded with experiences that accompany acclimation to a new school and country.
The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold. Versify, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-358-27275-5. Balancing realistic and fantastical elements, Arnold’s astute debut asks hard questions about what it means to be an American and who is considered one.
Muse by Brittany Cavallaro. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-284025-7. Peopled with real-world historical characters alongside the fictional ones, Cavallaro’s vision of an alternate, monarchial U.S. history presents thought-provoking parallels to past and present realities.
Sadie Sprocket Builds a Rocket by Sue Fliess, illus. by Annabel Tempest. Two Lions, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5420-1803-6. In this STEM-focused tale of pretend, Sadie is determined to be the first person to land on Mars.
The Poetry of Secrets by Cambria Gordon. Scholastic Press, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-338-63418-1. Set in the Spanish town of Trujillo during the early years of the Spanish Inquisition, Gordon’s absorbing YA fiction debut focuses on Jewish individuals pretending to be newly converted Christians in order to avoid persecution.
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz. Scholastic Press, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-338-24575-2. Publishing in time for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, this tautly paced middle grade novel by Gratz (Resist) explores the events of that tragedy and the subsequent American response through two parallel story lines.
Wolfboy by Andy Harkness. Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0442-5. While the titular character of this book created entirely from images of dimensionally modeled clay seems like a ravenous predator, the menace evaporates once bunnies appear bearing a pie filled with moonberries.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as Told to His Brother) by David Levithan. Knopf, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-4859-8. Returning from a magical place called Aveinieu with a blue leaf in his hair, 12-year-old Aidan discovers that he’s been missing for six days, his disappearance resulting in a massive search as well as endless police questioning of his family and best friend. The middle grade novel earned a starred review from PW.
The Snail with the Right Heart: A True Story by Maria Popova, illus. by Ping Zhu. Enchanted Lion, $18.95; ISBN 978-1-59270-3494. In a picture book paean to the value of individual differences that is presented on a cosmic scale, Brain Pickings founder Popova (Figuring, for adults) relates the real-life story of Jeremy, a rare garden snail.
Osnat and Her Dove: The True Story of the World’s First Female Rabbi by Sigal Samuel, illus. by Vali Mintzi. Levine Querido, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-037-4. This picture book offers a rich portrait of an early female Jewish hero, recounting facts and fictions around 15th-century Osnat.
Follow That Frog! by Philip C. Stead, illus. by Matthew Cordell. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-4426-7. In this picture book collaboration by the creators of Special Delivery, intrepid pilot Sadie turns the spotlight over to her aunt Josephine, a bonneted dowager whose intrepid spirit is undimmed by age.
The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer, illus. by Mariachiara Di Giorgio. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1115-3. Captivating spreads by Di Giorgio (Professional Crocodile) tell a wordless story about a night of magic for a forest’s animal denizens. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
The Project by Courtney Summers. Wednesday, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-10573-8. Alternating sisters’ viewpoints both inside and outside a cult, Summers (Sadie) makes effective use of each character’s limited knowledge, creating a twisty YA novel plot that’s full of hooks.
Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-287801-4. With Mama Kingfisher temporarily away from the nest, a tangerine-and-turquoise-hued chick named Mel confidently strides out to the edge of a very high tree branch and announces that she’s going to learn how to fly. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Love Is a Revolution by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0060-1. Through the misadventures of Black 17-year-old Nala Robertson, Watson (Ways to Make Sunshine) pens a love letter to community, family, and self-love.
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Floyd Cooper. Carolrhoda, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5415-8120-3. Without glossing over important facts, Weatherford (Dreams for a Daughter) tells the historical events of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in free verse appropriate for young readers. The nonfiction picture book earned a starred review from PW.
The Magical Reality of Nadia by Bassem Youssef and Catherine R. Daly, illus. by Douglas Holgate. Scholastic, $14.99; ISBN 978-1-338-57228-5. In this entertaining story by comedian Youssef and author Daly (the Flower Girls series), fact-loving Nadia Youssef, who is Egyptian American, eagerly begins sixth grade wearing a necklace she bought during her summer trip to Cairo, which turns out to have magical properties.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of February, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
