Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a middle grade tale following a preteen posing as a park employee, a picture book about a child navigating grief, a YA debut about a teen’s job helping Lucifer, a YA debut taking place during the Hong Kong protests, and more.
102 Days of Lying about Lauren by Maura Jortner. Holiday House, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5362-7. Having been abandoned by her mother at America’s most famous amusement park, 12-year-old Lauren “Mouse” Suszek hides in plain sight by posing as a 16-year-old park employee.
Cape by Kevin Johnson, illus. by Kitt Thomas. Roaring Brook, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-84050-9. A Black child narrator uses a red cape to navigate the emotions associated with losing a loved one.
A Crooked Mark by Linda Kao. Razorbill, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-52757-3. When Matt, a member of an organization dedicated to identifying and executing people marked by Lucifer, is assigned to kill Rae Winter, he struggles to complete his mission as they become friends. The YA novel received a starred review from PW.
An Echo in the City by K.X. Song. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-39682-0. Phoenix and Kai navigate interpersonal issues and budding romance amid civil unrest in Song’s debut, set at the height of the 2019 Hong Kong protests against the Chinese extradition bill.
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham. First Second, $25.99; ISBN 978-1-250-80971-1; $17.99 paper ISBN 978-1-2508-0972-8. Pham employs food as a vehicle to chronicle his and his family’s treacherous experience as Vietnamese refugees. The graphic novel received a starred review from PW.
Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool. Holt, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-84666-2. After being discarded by the powerful Five Families after her mother’s death, Marlow is offered a second chance when an old friend requires her help to break a curse. The YA novel received a starred review from PW.
Ginny Off the Map by Caroline Hickey, illus. by Kelly Murphy. Little, Brown/Ottaviano, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-316-32462-5. In the early 2010s, 11-year-old Ginny, an aspiring geoscientist, works to cope with a summer of change in her frequently moving Army family. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
The Ice Cream Vanishes by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5933-0985-8. Snack-obsessed Squirrel and his friend Bear find an abandoned ice cream truck and makes treats for their forest friends.
The Islands of Elsewhere by Heather Fawcett. Rocky Pond, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593530-52-8. Sisters Bee, Hattie, and Plum become immediately enchanted with their ailing grandfather’s bluff-situated property, and legends of buried treasure.
Joy Takes Root by Gwendolyn Wallace, illus. by Ashleigh Corrin. Kokila, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-40678-6. Joy and Grammy spend quality time in Grammy’s expansive South Carolina garden, where Grammy shows Joy how nature can relate to history.
Ketanji by Kekla Magoon, illus. by Laura Freeman. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-329616-9. This picture book biography highlights the career of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice.
The McNifficents by Amy Makechnie. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-1898-5. A proper miniature schnauzer and self-appointed nanny to the clan of McNiff children seeks to tame his unruly charges after they are ejected from the local lake.
Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $20.99; ISBN 978-0-3743-8843-0. Bisexual 17-year-old Claire Kemp begins working at a nursing home while trying to pay for damages to her car and befriends 85-year-old lesbian Lena, whose friendship helps her feel more secure in her own queerness.
Sam with Ants in His Pants by April Reynolds, illus. by Katie Kordesh. Random House/Schwartz, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5935-6460-8. Restless Sam isn’t quite ready to go to bed, and the creatures from his bedtime seemingly come to life.
This Town Is on Fire by Pamela N. Harris. Quill Tree, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-321262-6. Black 17-year-old Naomi Henry is forced to reckon with her relationships when a video of her best friend calling the cops on two Black teens goes viral.
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould. Wednesday, $20; ISBN 978-1-250-82579-7. Beck Birsching and little sister Riley travel to investigate a mysterious desert community that their late mother was looking into before her death. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis. Underlined, $10.99 paper; ISBN 978-0593644-10-2. Queer teen Audre Weaver moves from Brooklyn to Pennsylvania and investigates her crush’s mysterious disappearance in this 1996–set horror story.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron. Bloomsbury, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-1154-6. Black teenage lesbian Charity works a counselor at Camp Mirror Lake, a terror-simulation experience. On the park’s final weekend, her fellow counselors start disappearing and menacing figures are spotted lurking around the lake, turning the game into reality.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of June, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
