Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a picture book highlighting the origins of Chinese meals, a picture book tail of feline adoption, a middle grade novel about a theatrical troupe that performs dreams, a queer YA romance about a boy taking part in a student dating service, and more.
The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars. Delacorte, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-56858-3. Hoping to join the most masculine-seeming activity he can find, transgender 16-year-old former dancer Noah signs up for the Football and Lamborghini Club, unaware that it’s a cover for the Borrow a Boyfriend Club, a service that sets students up on dates with participating members for events.
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin. Little, Brown, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-316-48600-2. Newbery and Caldecott Honoree Lin chronicles the origins of the most ubiquitous dishes in American Chinese restaurants, breaking down topics into bite-size sections that describe the meals’ origins. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Dear Stray by Kirsten Hubbard, illus. by Susan Gal. Penguin/Paulsen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5931-1000-3. At a feline adoption event, a child finds himself drawn not to the welcoming cats, but to a standoffish tiger kitten. A day out with the cat proves that the pair have plenty in common. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
The Dreamatics by Michelle Cuevas. Rocky Pond, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-53222-5. Dormir, a stagehand for mythical theater troupe the Dreamatics, which performs dreams for a sleeping child each night, loves helping the group perform the dreams of nearly 11-year-old Luna. But when Luna experiences sudden hardship in the waking world, her dreamscape—and the troupe’s performance—undergoes a drastic change from fanciful visions to frightening nightmares. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
The Enchanted Symphony by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, illus. by Elly MacKay Abrams, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-6319-9. In this picture book from Academy Award–winner Julie Andrews and her daughter and longtime collaborator Emma Walton Hamilton, a town falls under the spell of a fog that makes everything silent, until a boy revives the people’s love of music.
Enemies in the Orchard by Dana Vanderlugt. Zonderkidz, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-310-15577-5. Set in 1944, this free-verse novel follows 13-year-old American Claire and young German soldier Karl, who cross paths When Karl is one of the German prisoners of war brought to a Michigan labor camp. After Karl is assigned to work on Claire’s family’s orchard, they slowly befriend each other as their perspectives of each other’s situations change.
Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite. Candlewick/Walker Books US, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-2652-2. After her parents were caught for dissenting against the king, Kalothia grew up in the forest with caretakers. When her home is once again struck, she returns to the kingdom under the guidance of the Goddess to figure out what comes next.
How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen. Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-2376-7. Frequent collaborators Barnett and Klassen consider the varying mechanics that allow for Santa’s renowned descent down chimneys.
The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall by Ali Standish. HarperCollins, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-327557-7. In 1868 Edinburgh, young Arthur Conan Doyle earns a scholarship to Britain’s prestigious Baskerville Hall. A chance to join a powerful secret society tests his integrity, and break-ins lead Arthur and his friends on a perilous investigation, in this series starter inspired by the author and his iconic characters. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Is This... Winter? by Helen Yoon. Candlewick, $10.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-2627-0. A pup excitedly explores a snow-filled landscape, brimming with wintertime staples such as snowpeople, candy canes, reindeer, and more. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Just Because by Matthew McConaughey, illus. by Renée Kurilla. Viking, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-5936-2203-2. In actor McConaughey’s picture book debut, a child tracing moments of kindness and hurt comes to the discovery that everyone is a complex being trying their best.
The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes. Dial, $20.99; ISBN 978-0-5931-1148-2. Fourteen-year-old Eleanor begins attending an exclusive school called the Meadows, but soon discovers that her education involves performing toxic, government-enforced gender roles. After the death of her partner, Eleanor quietly tries to upend the school’s functioning. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Mazie’s Amazing Machines by Sheryl Haft, illus. by Jeremy Holmes. Penguin/Paulsen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-399-54786-7. When struck with a problem, Mazie uses her imagination to create machines that will offer effective resolutions in this STEAM-centered picture book.
Monstrous by Jessica Lewis. Delacorte, $12.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-5934-3481-9. While spending the summer with her aunt in Alabama, Latavia is exposed to the small-town community’s ritual sacrifice to an unknown monster; rather than accept her fate, Latavia strikes a deal with the monster so she can get vengeance on the townspeople who betrayed her. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans. Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-1254-3. Born with the ability to see spirits, the “spiritish,” and monsters, nonbinary 12-year-old River avoids calls to the eerie Otherwoods, an alternate realm run by monsters. When his crush is taken to the Otherwoods, River launches a rescue mission to save her. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Proud Mouse by Idina Menzel and Cara Mentzel, illus. by Jaclyn Sinquett Disney Hyperion, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-3680-8099-6. Tony Award–winner Menzel and writer and sister Mentzel reunite for their picture book sequel to Loud Mouse, which follows Cara Lee, a prideful mouse who struggles with comparison to her older sister on her first day of school.
Red & Green by Lois Ehlert. Beach Lane, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-0172-3. In the late Caldecott Honoree’s retelling of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” a mouse enjoys all the delicious treats set out by a family in anticipation of Santa’s arrival.
Ryan and Avery by David Levithan. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-399-55309-7. Levithan’s latest book revisits Ryan and Avery, characters from his 2013 novel Two Boys Kissing, as they fall in love and grapple with personal issues across 10 dates.
Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Witchcraft and Mayhem by Roseanne A. Brown Disney/Rick Riordan Presents, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-3680-6646-4. The second installment of the Serwa Boateng series finds Serwa working alongside her aunt Boahinmaa, who plans to steal a sacred magical item from Serwa’s grandmother, and encourages Serwa to question the magical system she was raised to believe in.
Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango. Random House, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-56618-3. Eleven-year-old Laura struggles with guilt after being sent to live with her grandparents and develops a bond with an abandoned pup she begins training as a therapy dog. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle by Joseph Coelho, illus. by Alex T. Smith et al. Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-3135-9. Various artist contributors take different tacks in visualizing 10-word stories meant to inspire laughter, puzzlement, and shivers, written by the U.K.’s Children’s Laureate.
Two-Headed Chicken: Beak to the Future by Tom Angleberger Walker Books US, $12.99 ISBN 978-1-5362-2322-4. In the sequel to Two-Headed-Chicken, the pair have lost an important item during their travels through the multiverse and must return to retrieve it.
A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes, illus. by Jerry and Brian Pinkney. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-823-44965-1. Featuring illustrations from the late Jerry Pinkney and completed by his son Brian, this picture book follows a Black child grieving the loss of his father. The child heads into the woods, where a buried box reveals a treasure of items left behind by his father. The book received a starred review from PW.
What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell. Clarion, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-325181-6. After ditching an end-of-year field trip to explore rural Indiana back roads, high school seniors and queer best friends Sadie and Logan stumble across an impossibly large, unseasonal corn maze and, upon entrance, struggle to find their way out among the haunting visions they see. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of September, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
