No tricks, just treats for young readers looking for new titles this month, including a twist on a yuletide classic, a YA love story about a teen navigating his first sexual experience, and much more.
Picture Books and Chapter Books
Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Holiday House/Porter, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4867-8. Ages 4–8. Counting down from 10 to one, Vaccaro Seeger offers readers concept-based puzzles both visual and tactile. The book received a starred review from PW.
Devin Elle Kurtz. Knopf, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-593-71096-8. Ages 4–8. After a massive storm rolls in, a kindly local baker offers shelter, and teaches Ember the dragon to make golden loaves of bread so delicious that the other dragons are willing to pay anything for them—and maybe even give up their larcenous ways. The book received a starred review from PW.
Beti and the Little Round House
Atinuke, illus. by Emily Hughes. Candlewick, $18.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2518-1. Ages 7–9. Atinuke draws from her experiences having moved from a mansion in Lagos to Wales, where she lived with her son in a “roundhouse built of straw and clay in the woods,” to showcase a life lived “simply on the land” in four gentle tales. The book received a starred review from PW.
Chuck Groenink. Tundra, $18.99 (56p) ISBN 978-1-77488-106-4. Ages 3–7. Groenink creates a story about a connective moment in human prehistory: contact between Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. The book received a starred review from PW.
Andrea L. Rogers, illus. by Rebecca Lee Kunz. Levine Querido, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-64614-454-9. Ages 4–8. Two-year-old Chooch seeks to help everyone, often with disastrous results, in this tender familial picture book from Cherokee creators Rogers and Kunz. The book received a starred review from PW.
Paul Fleischman, illus. by Hannah Salyer. Abrams, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-949480-43-6. Ages 4–8. Newbery Medalist Fleischman follows a teacher helping students to imagine themselves as veeries migrating from Brazil to Wisconsin, where the classroom is. The book received a starred review from PW.
Daniel Nayeri, illus. by Matt Rockefeller. HarperAlley, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-327716-8. Ages 4–8. After emerging into a new world beyond, a boy activates a glowing talisman that brings a stone image of his mother to life, at least long enough to answer a burning question. The book received a starred review from PW.
Renée Ahdieh, illus. by Alea Marley. Simon & Schuster, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5344-8661-4. Ages 4–8. The Wrath & the Dawn author pivots into picture books with this story about a character who knows how to make others feel seen and valued.
How to Pee Your Pants: The Right Way
Rachel Michelle Wilson. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-2509-1017-2. Ages 3–5. For debut creator Wilson, handling the potentially mortifying action of the title isn’t so much about honing biological mechanics as it is about striking the right attitude. The book received a starred review from PW.
Kim Hyo-eun, trans. from the Korean by Deborah Smith. Scribble, $19.95 (52p) ISBN 978-1-957363-85-1. Ages 4–9. In a family of five siblings, this book’s narrator—the second-oldest—tumbles while riding the family scooter and experiences a handful of precious solo experiences that lead to a moment of collective sibling empathy, and a slice of a cake that’s clearly for sharing. The book received a starred review from PW.
Hilary Horder Hippely, illus. by Matt James. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5666-6. Ages 4–8. While drawing a realistic looking owl in class, Belle reminisces about how she knows the creatures so well. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ada Limón, illus. by Peter Sís. Norton, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-324-05400-9. Ages 4–8. The cadenced text of this poem by U.S. poet laureate Limón, making her children’s book debut, will be etched on Europa Clipper, a spacecraft launching in October 2024 that will head toward Jupiter and its moons. See our story on the making of the book and its journey into space. The book received a starred review from PW.
Cheryl B. Klein, illus. by Juana Medina. Abrams, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4197-6733-3. Ages 2–5. “Hey there, babies./ I hear you.// Everyone thinks your lives are easy,” begins the compassionate narrator of this picture book focused on infant experiences. The book received a starred review from PW.
Triinu Laan, trans. from the Estonian by Adam Cullen, illus. by Marja-Liisa Plats. Yonder, $19.95 (64p) ISBN 978-1-63206-370-0. Ages 5–8. A dry, quirky story from Estonian creators Laan and Plats introduces an elderly couple who give a home to a skeleton, John—once a fixture in a science classroom. The book received a starred review from PW.
Raakhee Mirchandani, illus. by Supriya Kelkar. Little, Brown, $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-58773-0. Ages 4–8. Mirchandani and Kelkar reunite in this cursory biography of Kamala Harris, the first “Black, South Asian woman to run for president and the first to be vice president.” See our story on the crashed picture book.
Winsome Bingham, illus. by Molly Mendoza. Beach Lane, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-534-46995-2. Ages up to 8. When beloved Granny Dee doesn’t arrive on her usual trip one weekend, Missy persuades Momma to take the “one train and one bus and two more trains” themselves, reversing the journey—and the moments of care. The book received a starred review from PW.
Rosemary Wells. Hippo Park, $18.99 (80p) ISBN 978-1-66264-071-1. Ages 4–8. Hidden in every kitchen, Wells promises in this charming three-tale collection, is a wall-concealed telephone that can summon a team of “small and clever” toque-wearing human chefs, portrayed with various skin tones, to rescue cooks in need of help. The book received a starred review from PW.
Bob Staake. Random House/Schwartz, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-5937-0702-9. Ages 3–7. A child whose orange cat has gone missing distributes homemade “LOST” signs around the neighborhood in this largely wordless picture book. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ariel Bernstein, illus. by Marc Rosenthal. S&S/Wiseman, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-6659-4040-5. Ages 4–8. Prior collaborators Bernstein and Rosenthal once again demonstrate social-emotional nuance in this savvy, playground-set work. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ryan Seacrest and Meredith Seacrest Leach, illus. by Bonnie Lui. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-66594-987-3. Ages 4–8. Sibling creators Seacrest and Seacrest Leach spotlight daydreaming in this fantasy-forward double author debut. See our q&a with the authors.
A Map for Falasteen: A Palestinian Child’s Search for Home
Maysa Odeh, illus. by Aliaa Betawi. Holt, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-250-89670-4. Ages 4–8. Falasteen knows her family is Palestinian, but after her teacher asks students to point out on a map where their family is from, she can’t find Palestine, and heads home to ask her family. The book received a starred review from PW.
Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld, illus. by Tom Booth. HarperCollins, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-0632-1866-6. Ages 4–8. Brown bear brothers Pete and Tiny are top-notch movers but learn they may have accidentally packed up a friend. The book received a starred review from PW.
One Wise Sheep: An Untraditional Christmas Story
Ulrich Hub, illus. by Jörg Mühle. Gecko, $18.99 (88p) ISBN 978-1-7765-7-5954. Ages 6–10. On the day a baby is born in a manger, sheep lose their shepherds and afraid they’ve been abandoned, go on a journey in search of them. The book received a starred review from PW.
Lian Cho. HarperCollins, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-0632-3751-3. Ages 4–8. A child is invited to a porcine party in this sharply funny rabbit-hole story. The book received a starred review from PW.
Mac Barnett, illus. by Sydney Smith. Viking, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-52497-8. Ages 3–7. Offering moments of abundance, laughter, and surprise, the creative duo’s assembly of classic yuletide elements gives readers a chance to encounter an old holiday anew—freshly through the eyes of its most iconic figure. The book received a starred review from PW.
Annie Barrows, illus. by Sophie Blackall. Chronicle, $15.99 (108p) ISBN 978-1-7972-1970-7. Ages 6–9. The creators of Ivy & Bean return in this delightful series kickoff for early readers that follows sisters Stella and Marigold. See our q&a with collaborators Barrows and Blackall. The book received a starred review from PW.
Stephen Briseño, illus. by Sonia Sánchez. Random House Studio, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-5936-4781-3. Ages 4–8. Inspired, per an author’s note, by his own grandmother, Briseño chronicles a matriarch’s tamale production leading up to Christmas, as “with masa in one hand, corn husks in the other,” she makes enough tamales to sell—finding a way “to fill the space underneath the tree.” The book received a starred review from PW.
Kyo Maclear, illus. by Katty Maurey. Enchanted Lion, $18.95 (56p) ISBN 978-1-59270-405-7. Ages 6–9. A child spots a ghostly figure in their garden and learns to appreciate its lessons. The book received a starred review from PW.
Allen Say. Clarion, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-324847-2. Ages 4–8. Caldecott Medalist Say, who grew up in Japan and the U.S., creates a surreal, bittersweet, and sometimes unsettling journey in this time-spanning picture book.
Tove and the Island with No Address
Lauren Soloy. Tundra, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-77488-315-0. Ages 4–7. Soloy doesn’t so much directly recount an episode from the life of Moomin creator Tove Jansson as contemplate Jansson’s world, a place that here seems to morph between the real and the imaginary. The book received a starred review from PW.
Adam Rex, illus. by Audrey Helen Weber. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5717-5. Ages 4–8. Rex lets his storytelling powers rip in a tale whose gleeful surrealism seems to draw on Sandburg’s Rootabaga Stories among other tales of the American West.
Jacob Grant. Viking, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-5936-2406-7. Ages 3–7. Limited culinary options create a path for exploration in this playful tale. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jocelyn Chung, illus. by Julia Kuo. Penguin/Paulsen, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-5935-3357-4. Ages 3–7. The caring acts of loved ones are the focus of this first-person work that models how affection can be relayed by actions. The book received a starred review from PW.
Mark Teague. Beach Lane, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-6659-4074-0. Ages 4–8. An anthropomorphized, brown-spotted pink piglet isn’t ready for a nap post-storytime and takes matters into its own hooves to get cozy. The book received a starred review from PW.
Middle Grade
Pete Hautman. Candlewick, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3488-6. Ages 8–12. A wily border collie shakes up a boy’s quiet life in this finely tuned, heartfelt novel by Hautman. The book received a starred review from PW.
Nicole D. Collier. HarperCollins, $18.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-06-332616-3. Ages 8–12. Black middle schooler Zariah discovers her bracelets have the ability to turn anyone into her BFF. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. Viking, $18.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-59352-754-2. Ages 10 and up. This dynamic collaboration from Sepetys and Sheinkin, following the top-secret WWII codebreakers of Bletchley Park, is marked by swift, snappy, and suspenseful storytelling narrated by Polish Jewish siblings Jakob and Lizzie. Read more about the historical mystery in our Cover Reveal. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jodi Meadows. Holiday House, $18.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5638-3. Ages 10–14. Eighth grader Ingrid has a vibrant online life, where she’s built a supportive community away from the drama of her popular best friend. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Fairy Tale Fan Club: Legendary Letters Collected by C.C. Cecily
Richard Ayoade, illus. by David Roberts. Walker Books US, $17.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2217-3. Ages 8–12. In a comical introduction, C.C. Cecily, Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club, describes at length fielding “Where are they now?”–type queries from curious humans to fairy tale icons. The book received a starred review from PW.
Robin Benway. HarperCollins, $19.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-06-331159-6. Ages 8–12. Twelve-year-old twin sisters Aggie and Jac navigate their new life in Los Angeles and friendships on their ragtag softball team. See our q&a with National Book Award winner Benway on her middle grade debut. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Hill: Inside the Secret World of the U.S. Capitol
Kate Andersen Brower. Quill Tree, $19.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-322931-0. Ages 8–12. Taking up more than 1.5 million square feet and boasting more than 600 rooms, plus its own subway system, barbershop, and dining options, the U.S. Capitol proves a fascinating subject in this cutaway-feeling view of its inner workings. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek
Kwame Mbalia. Freedom Fire, $17.99 (480p) ISBN 978-1-368-06473-6. Ages 8–12. Black 12-year-old Jax starts at a new school for magical summoners and accidentally unleashes a spirit that ups the tension on a war that’s been brewing for decades between his family and another.
The Hotel Balzaar (A Norendy Tale #2)
Kate DiCamillo, illus. by Júlia Sardà. Candlewick, $17.99 (160p) ISBN 978-1-536223-31-6. Ages 7–10. While wandering the titular hotel, Marta encounters a countess who regales the child with seven tales that contain details and phrases that spark recognition in Marta. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Last Dragon on Mars (Dragonships #1)
Scott Reintgen. Aladdin, $18.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-6659-4651-3. Ages 10 and up. In this series starter, martian society is nearing collapse, and orphaned 13-year-old Lunar finds a secret bunker that’s home to juvenile dragon Dread and a squadron of kids training to be his flight crew. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents
Nicki Pau Preto. Viking, $18.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-593-52851-8. Ages 8–12. A lonely tween finds her place among fellow misunderstood magicians in this empowering middle grade fantasy debut from Pau Preto.
Avi. Quill Tree, $19.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-308695-1. Ages 8–12 Upon his arrival following a wretched ocean journey from his small Italian village to New York City, Santo is separated from his family and falls in with the Downtown Dukes, a child street gang, and encounters danger at every turn. The historical adventure received a starred review from PW.
The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science
Kate McKinnon, illus. by Alfredo Cáceres. Little, Brown, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-316-55473-2. Ages 8–12. Actor McKinnon celebrates weirdness in this ludicrous and unpredictable female-centered romp, a series-starting debut following a sisterly trio who are taken in by the “infamous mad scientist” Millicent Quibb. See our q&a with McKinnon.
The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets
Ed. by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illus. by Mercè López. Carolrhoda, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-72849-210-0. Ages 7–11. Latham and Waters collaborate anew with this selection of 20 edifying poems that invite readers, per an introduction, to “experience through poetry the real-life mistakes from some people who are brave and open and growing—just like you.” The book received a starred review from PW.
Edited by Ellen Oh. Crown, $17.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-593-64844-5. Ages 8–12. In this heartwarming anthology, edited by Oh and set in N.Y.C. apartment building the Entrada, a dozen authors—including Tracey Baptiste, Adam Gidwitz, Meg Medina, and Jasmine Warga—chronicle the exploits and misadventures of the building’s young residents, who come from myriad backgrounds. The book received a starred review from PW.
Christina Wyman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-374-39190-4; $9.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-29326-8. Ages 8–12. At almost 5’10”, seventh grader Stephanie “Stevie” Crumb struggles with friendship troubles, crushes, and unwarranted attention from strangers. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood
Robert Beatty. Disney Hyperion, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-368-00758-0. Ages 8–12. Sylvia Doe uncovers a river filled with prehistoric animals and a child who needs her help to return to his time. The book received a starred review from PW.
Young Adult
The Dividing Sky
Jill Tew. Joy Revolution, $19.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-593-71035-7. Ages 12 and up. Debut author Tew presents a heart-racing dual-perspective dystopian romance set in a cyberpunk, ultra-capitalistic vision of 2460 America. See our q&a with Tew. The book received a starred review from PW.
Magdalene Visaggio, illus. by Paulina Ganucheau. HarperCollins, $26.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-06-306066-1; $18.99 paper ISBN 978-0-06306-065-4. Ages 14 and up. Phoebe Zito, a geeky white transgender girl, navigates a friendship that requires her to make big changes and must figure out who she is in a world that seems against her. See our In Conversation with Visaggio and Lucy Uncensored authors Mel Hammond and Teghan Hammond about trans representation in YA. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sabaa Tahir. Putnam, $21.99 (512p) ISBN 978-0-593-61694-9. Ages 14 and up. Set 20 years after the events of the Ember in the Ashes series, this propulsive, action-packed duology launch by Tahir finds the world once again in danger from both human and supernatural forces. The book received a starred review from PW.
Beth Reekles. Delacorte Romance, $12.99 paper (384p) ISBN 978-0-593-80908-2. Ages 12 and up. On the first day of her internship with a manufacturing company, Annalise runs into Lloyd, a boy she had a brief flirtation with, who turns out to be the CEO’s son. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sarah Winifred Searle. First Second, $25.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-250-86319-5; $17.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-86318-8. Ages 14 and up. After separate medical emergencies result in teens Perley, a human, and Amadine, a recently turned vampire, missing the first few weeks of school, they find their relationship blossoming into something more intimate. The book received a starred review from PW.
Son M., illus. by Robin Yao. HarperAlley, $26.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-306733-2; $18.99 paper ISBN 978-0-06-306732-5. Ages 13 and up. M. explores intricate themes of ambition, friendship, and social justice with heart in this captivating graphic novel set in a vertically stacked dystopian city, where one’s quality of life is determined by which tier one occupies. The book received a starred review from PW.
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...
Jason Reynolds. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $19.99 (256p) ISBN 978-1-6659-6127-1. Ages 14 and up. Reynolds astounds in a sweetly hilarious story of two Black teens preparing to take a huge first step in their relationship. See our q&a with Reynolds. The book received a starred review from PW.
Randi Pink. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends, $21.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-82037-2. Ages 13 and up. Alternating between Black 19-year-old Atlas’s first-person POV in the present and her ancestor’s third-person perspective in the 1770s, Pink offers an expansive intergenerational portrait that uses a fantastical lens to highlight the importance of family and knowing one’s history. The book received a starred review from PW.
Emily Lloyd-Jones. Little, Brown, $19.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-316-56814-2. Ages 12 and up. Branwen and Gqydion enter the Wild Hunt, a friendly but lethal contest, as agents of an enemy kingdom, but must team up with Prince Pryderi. As the Hunt becomes increasingly treacherous, they weigh the cost of achieving their goals against their bonds to one another. The book received a starred review from PW.
