No need to fear, November books are here! Highlights include a chapter book about new residents in a San Francisco apartment house, a middle grade tale of free speech, and a YA romance debut within the competitive chess circuit, and more.
Picture Books and Chapter Books
The Apartment House on Poppy Hill
Nina LaCour, illus. by Sònia Albert. Chronicle, $14.99 (132p) ISBN 978-1-797213-73-6. Ages 7–10. In this chapter book series opener featuring three brief stories, nine-year-old Ella acts as a de facto concierge, welcoming new residents to her beloved San Francisco apartment house. See our q&a with LaCour.
Bob Graham. Candlewick, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3380-3. Ages 3–7. After a cold winter spent indoors, a group of children excitedly take to the outdoors to make chalk drawings around their neighborhood. The book received a starred review from PW.
James Howe, illus. by Sakika Kikuchi. Abrams, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4197-5520-0. Ages 4–8. While walking the same neighborhood route every morning with his mother, curly headed Milo points out small but notable differences along the path. The book received a starred review from PW.
Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illus. by Alex Bostic. Carolrhoda, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-7284-1923-7. Ages 7–11. Micheaux Nelson and Bostic highlight New Orleans first graders Gail Etienne, Tessie Prevost, and Leona Tate, who on November 14, 1960, were the first students to desegregate McDonogh No. 19 Public School. The book received a starred review from PW.
Nancy Kerrigan with Ryan G. Van Cleave, illus. by Arief Putra. Bushel & Peck, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-6381-9207-7. Olympic medalist Kerrigan (b. 1969) shares her childhood entry into ice skating in this autobiographical story. Ages 4–8.
Tomfoolery! Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children’s Books
Michelle Markel, illus. by Barbara McClintock. Chronicle, $18.99 (44p) ISBN 978-0-8118-7923-1. Ages 5–8. This picture book biography spotlights the career of celebrated children’s book creator Randolph Caldecott (1846–1886), one of the first artists to illustrate books for young readers with an eye toward merriment. The book received a starred review from PW.
Marion Dane Bauer, illus. by Hari & Deepti. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1859-6. Ages 6–9. Tackling a wide-ranging history of thought about the universe, Bauer describes the transformation of stories that humans tell about their surroundings. The book received a starred review from PW.
Brittany Luby, illus. by Natasha Donovan. Little, Brown, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-3165-9249-9. Ages 4–8. An Indigenous boy’s experience in a new city worsens when he can’t see the stars. The book received a starred review from PW.
Janet Fox, illus. by Jasu Hu. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5101-2. Ages 4–8. A child works hard to keep a window-sill herb garden alive through a cold winter. The book received a starred review from PW.
Why Do Elephants Have Big Ears?
Steve Jenkins, illus. by Robin Page. Little, Brown, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-45679-1. Ages 4–8. This signature-style q&a book from Page and the late Jenkin offers informative answers to queries about animals.
Middle Grade
Attacked! Pearl Harbor and the Day War Came to America
Marc Favreau. Little, Brown, $17.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-3165-9207-9. Ages 10 and up. Favreau employs multiple perspectives to render an account of Pearl Harbor, the toll that the tragedy exacted on Native Hawaiians, and the racism that Japanese Americans endured in incarceration camps. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jamie Oliver, illus. by Mónica Armiño. Tundra, $18.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-77488-414-0. Ages 8–12. Tween Billy and his compatriots Andy, Anna, and Jimmy venture into enchanted Waterfall Woods where they learn the natural balance of the forest—is off-kilter, and investigate a faceless industrial poultry farm to set things straight. See our q&a with Oliver.
Jessixa Bagley, illus. by Aaron Bagley. Simon & Schuster, $24.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-5344-9655-2; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-5344-9654-5. Ages 8–12. After a blowout argument at school, siblings Lucy and GiGi agree to a fencing match and soon question how the battle will affect their relationship. See our q&a with the Bagleys. The book received a starred review from PW.
Seiji Yoshida, trans. from the Japanese by Jan Mitsuko Cash. Amulet, $24.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-419-76124-9. Ages 12 and up. Yoshida showcases 30 homes ranging from traditional houses to train cars and military tanks in this assemblage. The book received a starred review from PW.
Marieke Nijkamp, illus. by Sylvia Bi. Greenwillow, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-302711-4. Ages 8–12. Tween apprentice Mestra Arrone hopes to spread truth via news pamphlets across her city of Siannerra, but after being arrested for printing an unflattering story about the Lord Magistrate, she finds allies and begins investigating the Magistrate’s corruption.
Blexbolex, trans. from the French by Karin Snelson. Enchanted Lion, $34.95 paper (210p) ISBN 978-1-59270-404-0. Ages 9 and up. The spirits of a trio of magicians wreak havoc on a nearby village until they come across huntress Aisha, who plans to put an end to their trickery. The book received a starred review from PW.
Matthew Fox. Union Square Kids, $16.99 (256p) ISBN 978-1-45495-189-6. Ages 8–12. Eleven-year-old Kara Lukas discovers Rebecca, a Jewish teen hiding on an island, and learns that she’s been transported to the present day from 1944. The book received a starred review from PW.
Rhonda Roumani. Union Square Kids, $16.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-4549-5071-4. Ages 8–12. Syrian Muslim 13-year-old Kareem is sent to live with his seventh grade cousin Samira and her family in America, and upon facing xenophobic comments at school the pair use their passion for art to fight against discrimination. See our q&a with Roumani.
Young Adult
Sharon Cameron. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (416p) ISBN 978-1-338-81395-1. Ages 12 and up. In this novel set in 1943 Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, 18-year-old Isa DeSmit lacks money for taxes and coal, and Isa sells her father’s forgery of a Rembrandt to high-ranking Nazis. See our q&a with Cameron. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ali Hazelwood. Putnam, $14 paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-593-61991-9. Ages 14 and up. Talented chess player Mallory Greenleaf returns to the competitive chess circuit once she discovers she can use the prize money to help her family. Things get complicated when she forms a relationship with Nolan, the current chess world champion. See Hazelwood’s recent In Conversation with fellow YA romance author Alex Aster.
Jesse Q. Sutanto. Delacorte, $18.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-59343-401-7; $12.99 paper ISBN 978-0-593-43404-8. Kiki Siregar, a gamer who cosplays as a boy online to avoid harassment, moves to a new school where her online gaming friend may be her IRL rival. Ages 12 and up.
L.C. Rosen. Little, Brown, $18.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-316-52477-3. Ages 14 and up. In this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, gay high school senior Emmett Woodhouse endeavors to help his peers who are unlucky in love. The book received a starred review from PW.
Godly Heathens (The Ouroboros #1)
H.E. Edgmon. Wednesday, $20 (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-85361-5. Transgender teen Gem Echols discovers that they and their new friend Willa Mae are soulmates and part of a pantheon of gods that ruled a realm before a murderous coup forced their exodus to Earth. Ages 14 and up.
Linda Cheng. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-86499-4. Ages 14 and up. Two years after the sudden death of a fellow girl group member, Sunny prepares to reenter the entrainment industry via a K-pop competition. When competitors begin turning up injured, Sunny must investigate if it has anything to do with the death of her friend.
The Queer Girl Is Going to Be Okay
Dale Walls. Levine Querido, $19.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-6461-4-2705. Ages 12 and up. Aspiring director Dawn begins to document queer love through the perspectives of her best friends Georgia and Edie for her entry into a film competition. The book received a starred review from PW.
