There are plenty of books for young reads to fall for this month, including a picture book celebrating natural hair, a kids’ graphic novel debut from a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, a YA novel about agency, and more.
Picture Books
As Edward Imagined: The Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts
Matthew Burgess, illus. by Marc Majewski. Knopf, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-9848-9380-2. Ages 4–8. Via affectionate prose and playfully elegant acrylic illustrations, the creators trace the life of Edward Gorey (1925–2000).The book received a starred review from PW.
Chang’e on the Moon (Everlasting Tales #1)
Katrina Moore, trans. from the Mandarin by Jaime Chu, illus. by Cornelia Li. HarperCollins, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-329580-3. Ages 4–8. In this first of the Everlasting Tales series, Moore and Li retell the story of the moon goddess Chang’e and her legendary romance with a skilled archer, Hou Yi.
Crowning Glory: A Celebration of Black Hair
Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-763-69794-5. Ages 7–10. Boston Weatherford pens an ode dedicated to the CROWN Act movement in this visually stunning celebration of African hair and heritage.
Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don’t) Throw Away
Andrew Larsen, illus. by Oriol Vidal. Sourcebooks Explore, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-72828-351-7. Ages 4–8. This book highlights Nelson Molina and the museum he curated, which displays 45,000 items found in garbage collected in New York City’s El Barrio neighborhood. See our q&a with Larsen on the true story behind the picture book. The book received a starred review from PW.
Veera Hiranandani, illus. by Vesper Stamper. Random House Studio, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-64556-7. Ages 4–8. Newbery Honoree Hiranandani’s picture book debut is a moving ode to family connection from the perspective of a grandfather who’s perceived as both “the greatest” and “a simple, ordinary” person. The book received a starred review from PW.
Hiro, Winter, and Marshmallows
Marine Schneider, trans. from the French by Vineet Lal. Eerdmans, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8028-5632-6. Ages 4–8. A wintry bonfire establishes creaturely camaraderie between two unlikely friends, a brown bear and a human boy, in this warmhearted story. The book received a starred review from PW.
The House Without Lights: A Glowing Celebration of Joy, Warmth, and Home
Reem Faruqi, illus. by Nadia Alam. Holt, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-250-90721-9. Ages 4–8. Faruqi gives a longing voice to an unoccupied house watching as its neighbor residences are festooned in lights, including Diwali lamps and Hanukkah menorahs. The book received a starred review from PW.
Questlove, illus. by Sean Qualls. Abrams, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-419-73826-5. Ages 4–8. An affirming tone invites readers to explore an idea until it materializes into something more in this picture book debut from musician Questlove.
Atinuke, illus. by Angela Brooksbank. Candlewick, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3555-5. Ages 3–7. Atinuke and Brooksbank reteam for an L-focused story about two adults and four children setting off to sell lemons, leaving two elders behind. The book received a starred review from PW.
Christina Soontornvat, illus. by Isabel Roxas. Knopf, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-5936-4426-3. Ages 4–8. A child learns the importance of each individual voter in this lively picture book. See our q&a with Soontornvat and other authors about their new election-themed books for young readers. The book received a starred review from PW.
Brandon Sanderson, illus. by Kazu Kibuishi. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-2508-4366-1. Ages 4–8. Opening this tongue-in-cheek title, readers will sense that no self-respecting creator would willingly call a book “the most boring ever” without having something up their narrative sleeve.
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic
Candace Fleming, illus. by Deena So’oteh. Random House/Schwartz, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-593-37778-9. Ages 4–8. In prose both graceful and suspenseful, Fleming introduces the “shy,/ swift/ small (for a whale)” narwhal, weaving scientific observation into gripping storytelling. The book received a starred review from PW.
Seina Wedlick, illus. by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu. Random House Studio, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-56368-7. Ages 4–8. Wearing a cape and carrying a bag of golden coins offered by two adults, a child explores a night market’s marvels with the reader as companion. The book received a starred review from PW.
Meg Medina, illus. by Brittany Cicchese. Candlewick, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1944-9. Ages 5–9. When Ana’s abuela moves in with Ana and Mami, Ana grieves the change in her relationship with her neighbor and babysitter Señora Mimí. See our q&a with Medina. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sea Without a Shore: Life in the Sargasso
Barb Rosenstock, illus. by Katherine Roy. Norton, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-324-01607-6. Ages 4–8. Rosenstock explains in clear, punchy prose the immense body of water called the Sargasso Sea after the floating sargassum forests within it. See Roy’s conversation with fellow illustrator Jason Chin about their new picture books and their techniques for bringing complex underwater worlds to life. Sea Without a Shore received a starred review from PW.
They Call Me Teach: Lessons in Freedom
Lesa Cline-Ransome, illus. by James E. Ransome. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-763-68155-5. Ages 5–8. Secretly nicknamed Teach by the community in which he resides, the enslaved protagonist of this historically steeped picture book “learnt reading and writing/ comin’ up ’longside Master’s son Thomas.” The book received a starred review from PW.
Whalesong: The True Story of the Musician Who Talked to Orcas
Zachariah OHora. Tundra, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-77488-394-5. Ages 4–8. In a moving tale about “two whales, two boys and two Pauls,” Ohora introduces two kids and their flute-playing father, Paul Horn (1930–2014), who bond with a pair of orcas at a Vancouver sea park. The book received a starred review from PW.
Mary Lyn Ray, illus. by Felicita Sala. Chronicle, $18.99 (44p) ISBN 978-1-79721-458-0. Ages 3–5. Lines of free verse alternate between playful and philosophical as Ray praises the charms of rocks. The book received a starred review from PW.
Middle Grade
Jules Feiffer. HarperCollins/di Capua, $29.99 (296p) ISBN 978-0-06-296383-3; $21.99 paper ISBN 978-0-0629-6382-6. Ages 8–12. Siblings Shirley, Pearlie, and Curlie’s world is turned upside down when Pearlie and Curlie are whisked away by a two-headed swan to a lost dimension. Read more about Feiffer’s first graphic novel for children here. The book received a starred review from PW.
J.C. Cervantes. HarperCollins, $19.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-06331-207-4. Ages 8–12. When brujxes suddenly disappear, secret witch of Chaos Esme embarks on a quest to find one of San Bosco’s original witches, whom no one has seen in more than a century.
Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected
Jay Jay Patton with Kiara Valdez, illus. by Markia Jenai. Graphix, $24.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-5461-2837-3; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-3388-9320-5. Ages 8–12. In this joyful graphic novel memoir with a mission, debut author Patton and Valdez give voice to the experience of a child with an incarcerated parent. Read our q&a with Patton.
Ginger Reno. Holiday House, $17.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-82-345480-8. Ages 10 and up. Debut author Reno, who is Cherokee, dives into issues regarding the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis through the lens of one child who was left to wonder where her loved one has gone. The book received a starred review from PW.
H.E. Edgmon. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-87397-2; $9.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-87396-5. Ages 8–12. Millie and her family have been hiding underground from the aftermath of the deadly Flicker, a solar flare that scorched Earth’s surface. Then Millie pledges to take her infant brother Sammy somewhere they can learn to survive nature’s new normal: South Carolina, home to Millie’s Seminole grandmother. The book received a starred review from PW.
Linda Sue Park. Allida, $18.99 (176p) ISBN 978-0-0633-4629-1. Ages 8–12. Tween ocean lover Gracie convinces her family to take a trip to Roatán, an island in Honduras, where she discovers that coral reefs worldwide are at risk due to global warming.
Katherine Rundell, illus. by Ashley Mackenzie. Knopf, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-593-80986-0. Ages 8–12. A boy with an affinity for animals, a girl who can fly when the wind blows, and a secreted-away world in need of saving propel this realms-roving dazzler. See our recent profile on Rundell. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President
Doris Kearns Goodwin, illus. by Amy June Bates. Simon & Schuster, $18.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-6659-2572-3. Ages 8–12. Goodwin chronicles the childhoods of former presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson and the events leading to their presidencies in this expansive children’s debut. See our interview with Goodwin here.
Cynthia Leitich Smith. Heartdrum, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-287000-1. Ages 8–12. “Over eight hundred human generations ago,” the Animals participated in the Great Ball Game, a match between the Birds and the Mammals to determine who was better. A rematch between the Animals leads to elderly Cherokee and Seminole Charlie and his grandson on a road trip to drop off a star player. The book received a starred review from PW.
James Ponti. Aladdin, $18.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-6659-3253-0. Ages 8–12. Alex Sherlock and his friends establish the Sherlock Society detective agency and set their sights on their first cold case surrounding Al Capone’s legendary lost fortune “buried somewhere in south Florida.” The book received a starred review from PW.
Marieke Nijkamp. Greenwillow, $18.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-332626-2. Ages 8–12. Princess Adelisa of Calinor returns to her kingdom’s capital after years away and befriends Splinter, who dreams of becoming a squire despite everyone doubting her ability. The book received a starred review from PW.
Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools
Dan SaSuWeh Jones. Scholastic Focus, $19.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-33-888947-5. Ages 8–12. This nonfiction work chronicles the history of Chilocco Indian Agricultural School from its opening in 1884 to its closure in 1980. The book received a starred review from PW.
Chris Raschka. HarperCollins/di Capua, $21.99 (312p) ISBN 978-0-0628-5827-6. Ages 8 and up. Cleo and Muffin enlist in a mission to stop an antagonistic global society from kidnapping all dogs on Earth. The book received a starred review from PW.
Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back
Ruth Chan. Roaring Brook, $22.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-85533-6; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-85534-3. Ages 8–12. In this earnest graphic novel memoir set in 1993, Chan chronicles her experience replanting her roots when her family moves from Toronto to Hong Kong. The book received a starred review from PW.
Tony Weaver Jr., illus. by Jes and Cin Wibowo. First Second, $22.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-77286-2; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-2507-7287-9. Ages 10–14. A Black 11-year-old faces a gauntlet of obstacles in debut author Weaver’s uplifting graphic novel memoir, which examines issues surrounding the pressures of fitting in, mental health, and suicide. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares. Simon & Schuster, $18.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-66595-081-7. Ages 8–12. Twelve-year-olds Henry, Frances, and Lukas from Millerton, N.J., communicate across time in this high-stakes series launch from siblings Ann and Ben Brashares. The book received a starred review from PW. See our Cover Reveal for insight on the making of the book.
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary
Alice Hoffman. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-338-85694-1. Ages 8–12. In collaboration with the Anne Frank House, Hoffman presents a thoroughly researched fictionalized account of Frank’s life. Read more about the novel here. The book received a starred review from PW.
Young Adult
Andrew Joseph White. Peachtree, $19.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-68263-612-1. Ages 14 and up. Autistic transgender 16-year-old Miles Abernathy and his socialist family have been feuding with Twist Creek’s governing powers, and tensions hit a new high following an act of violence and the appearance of a strangely familiar figure wearing a red bandana. The book received a starred review from PW.
Gita Desai Is Not Here to Shut Up
Sonia Patel. Dial, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-5934-6318-5. Ages 14 and up. Informed by personal experience, as addressed in an endnote, this searing novel set in 1992 explores the ways that prolonged abuse can shape behavior, via the lens of premed student Gita. See Patel’s essay for PW on representing the reality of sexual abuse in YA.
The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s
Hanna Alkaf. Salaam Reads, $19.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-5344-9458-9. Ages 14 and up. Khadijah investigates why the students of St. Bernadette’s, a 112-year-old premier all-girls school, inexplicably begin to let out terrified, unrelenting screams. The book received a starred review from PW.
Tigest Girma. Little, Brown, $19.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-316-58144-8. Ages 14 and up. Following the disappearance of her sister, Kidan heads to Uxlay University, where draniacs (vampires) reign, in order to find new information. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sarah Henning. Tor, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-84106-3. Ages 13 and up. Sisters Ruby and Wren are paid handsomely to attend a private dinner, but when the host is murdered, they are magically trapped in the estate until her killer is found. The book received a starred review from PW.
Lydia Gregovic. Delacorte, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-5935-7237-5. Ages 12 and up. Gregovic’s foreboding Regency fantasy debut, set in an alternate historical England shrouded in toxic fog, combines a zombie plague with the society intrigue of Austenian classics. See our In Conversation between Gregovic and Krista Marino, senior executive editor at Delacorte.
Francisco X. Stork. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-3390-1023-6. Ages 12 and up. Nico, a grieving teen from the Bronx, turns a class journal into a lifeline. See our q&a with Stork.
A.S. King. Dutton, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-593-35397-4. Ages 14 and up. Homeschooled Jane questions the stories she’s been told about her mother by her dictatorial father and attempts to escape their labyrinth home in this new YA from two-time Printz Medalist King.
Lamar Giles. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-338-89413-4. Ages 12 and up. Black high school senior and football star Cade makes a wish that has unexpected, terrifying consequences. The book received a starred review from PW.
Juan Vidal. Holiday House, $18.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-823-45711-3. Ages 14 and up. Sixteen-year-old Marcos head to Cartagena, Colombia to grieve the death of his father. There he befriends Camilo, a young taxi driver with a dangerous secret that could endanger them both. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jandy Nelson. Dial, $21.99 (528p) ISBN 978-0-5254-2909-8. Ages 14 and up. In this multigenerational epic sprinkled with magic, Nelson tackles grief, love, and the ways in which history commingles with the present. See our Cover Reveal for insight into the making of the novel. The book received a starred review from PW.
