Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a YA romance exploring heartbreak and healing, a middle grade nonfiction book about the harrowing events of Pearl Harbor, a middle grade mystery from a celebrity chef, and more.
Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen. Wednesday, $20; ISBN 978-1-250-86566-3. Taiwanese American artist Chloe channels her heartbreak to produce a public art exhibit that attracts the attention of teen filmmaker Daniel Kwak, and the pair’s relationship becomes tumultuous as they deal with residual feelings from recent breakups.
Attacked!: Pearl Harbor and the Day War Came to America by Marc Favreau. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-3165-9207-9. Through firsthand accounts from American, Japanese, and Native Hawaiian citizens and military leaders, Favreau offers an account of Pearl Harbor, the tragedy exacted on Native Hawaiians, and the racism that Japanese Americans endured in incarceration camps. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Billy and the Giant Adventure by Jamie Oliver, illus. by Mónica Armiño. Tundra, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-77488-414-0. From celebrity chef Oliver comes a middle grade adventure following tween Billy and his compatriots Andy, Anna, and Jimmy as they investigate a faceless industrial poultry farm that’s spewing waste into the waterways.
Gory Rory Fangface Needs a Kiss by Ziggy Hanaor, illus. by Ollie Silvester. Cicada, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-80066-036-6. Anthropomorphized wolf kid Gory Rory Fangface struggles with his feelings after a long series of unfortunate events.
Houses with a Story: A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to Explore by Seiji Yoshida, trans. from the Japanese by Jan Mitsuko Cash. Amulet, $24.99; ISBN 978-1-419-76124-9. Yoshida showcases 30 homes and their accompanying lore in this celebration of architecture. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
The House with 100 Stories by Toshio Iwai, trans. from the Japanese by Yukiko Hanes. Holiday House, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5568-3. Tochi, an astronomy-loving kid, receives a mysterious invitation from the sky to visit the top floor of a 100–story tower, and is greeted on each floor by a different anthropomorphized animal community.
Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid. Clarion, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-329029-7. Rising eighth grader Lizzie doesn’t share the same feelings of crushes as her friends and when she encounters the term asexual, she wonders if that’s the identity she’s been searching for.
Pritty by Keith F. Miller Jr. HarperTeen, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-326492-2. College bound Jay and Leroy, the younger brother of the Black Diamonds gang’s leader, begin a friendship that is impeded when an unexpected attack leaves both boys injured, and it becomes evident that there are greater threats to their fledgling relationship.
Ruptured by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz. Holiday House, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5233-0. Thirteen-year-old Claire Sloan explores different methods of healing when her mother suffers a medical injury that will influence the status of her parents’ impending divorce.
Santiago Saw Things Differently: Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Artist, Doctor, Father of Neuroscience by Christine Iverson, illus. by Luciano Lozano. MIT Kids, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-2453-5. This picture book biography of artist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) chronicles his childhood in Spain combining his father’s love of medicine with his own passion for art.
The Sky Over Rebecca by Matthew Fox. Union Square Kids, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-45495-189-6. Kara Lukas discovers Rebecca, a Jewish teen hiding with her younger brother in the woods, who has been transported to the present-day from 1944. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Tomfoolery! Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children’s Books by Michelle Markel, illus. by Barbara McClintock. Chronicle, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8118-7923-1. Readers can learn about the artistic career of Randolph Caldecott (1846–1886), one of the first artists to illustrate children’s books with an eye toward merriment rather than morality, in this picture book biography. The title received a starred review from PW.
What Rosa Brought by Jacob Sager Weinstein, illus. by Eliza Wheeler. HarperCollins/Tegen, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0630-5648-0. After Nazi forces march into Vienna, Rosa and her family make escape plans, but face the possibility of separation throughout the journey.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of November, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
