Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a YA romance featuring former best friends getting a second chance, a middle grade novel with Fae folklore and fairytale elements, a picture book about the many ways a blended family can look, a middle grade book featuring an eighth grade activist’s fight for change, and more.
Charmed List by Julie Abe. Wednesday, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-83009-8. High school senior Ellie Kobata compiles an Anti-Wallflower list to help her break out of her shell. When she gets stuck traveling to a magic convention with former best friend Jack and he helps her check items off her list, she can’t help notice the rekindled feelings brewing between them.
Lark and the Wild Hunt by Jennifer Adam. HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-298133-2. When her brother vanishes during the yearly hunt, Lark Mairen goes against everything she’s learned about their enchanted worlds and makes a deal with a Fae, and learns of a brewing war she must stop.
Remixed: A Blended Family by Arree Chung. Holt, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-14274-0. In this companion to Chung’s Mixed: A Colorful Story, the colors in Mixed City come together when they care for one another. And when new colors and shapes are formed, everyone addresses the feelings that come with change.
The First Rule of Climate Club by Carrie Firestone. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-1646-7. Eighth grader Mary Kate notices how her school could be better at helping keep the environment clean, and when administrators won’t listen to her ideas, she starts a podcast to make change.
The Witchling’s Wish by Lu Fraser, illus. by Sarah Massini. Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0906-2. Lonely Little Witchling learns from her spell book that she can create a friend with the fur of a girl’s bear, but when she discovers the girl loves the bear too, they work together to make Little Witchling’s dream of friendship a reality.
Ballet Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins. Disney Hyperion, $4.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-368-08098-9. The grumpy bear helps his geese friend prepare for a ballet in this book for early readers.
Nura and the Immortal Palace M.T. Khan. Little, Brown/Patterson, $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-7595-5795-6. When Nura and her best friend are banned from mining, Nura is determined to uncover an ancient artifact but instead sends them both to another realm, where a magical being’s trickery may keep them trapped there forever. The middle grade book earned a starred review from PW.
Chester Keene Cracks the Code by Kekla Magoon. Random/Lamb, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-1599-1. Spy-in-training Chester Keene receives a mysterious riddle, which he thinks is from his father, and his quest to unravel each mystery has higher stakes than he could have anticipated.
A Grand Day by Jean Reidy, illus. by Samantha Cotterill. S&S/Wiseman, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-9976-8. In this picture book, varying children discover that fun has no limits on a day with grandparents.
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith. Chronicle, $19.95 trade paper; ISBN 978-1-79720-545-8. In this portrait of city life, a group of young Black women navigate relationships, family, and mental health while bonding over the self-care routine of hair. The graphic novel earned a starred review from PW.
What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri. Feiwel and Friends, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-250-77350-0. In Suri’s retelling of this classic, Heathcliff clings to the last thread connecting him to his heritage and Catherine allows herself to be molded into the perfect society woman, until the two find one another and question if they can be together even if it means throwing away their secured futures.
Bright by Brigit Young. Roaring Brook, $16.99;ISBN 978-1-250-82211-6. Marianna struggles academically and cultivates a bubbly personality to mask her fears. At the threat of repeating a grade, Marianna joins the school’s Quiz Quest club with the smartest students, in hopes of gaining extra credit.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of July, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
