Volume 262
Issue 36
09/07/2015
Carolyn Ahern
Tino the Tortoise: Adventures in the Grand Canyon
(WestWinds, available)
In the first book in a series on national parks, Tino the desert tortoise and Rudi the jumping jerboa journey through the Grand Canyon to help Penny, a fuzzy-eared Kaibab squirrel. A portion of the proceeds goes to Grand Canyon Association. Illustrated by Erik Brooks, who is not touring. Ages 5-9.
MPIBA
Jodi Lynn Anderson
My Diary from the Edge of the World
(S&S/Aladdin, Nov.)
Mainer Gracie Lockwood lives in a world where dragons go South for the winter. It all seems pretty ho-hum to her until a Cloud comes looking for her little brother. Ages 8-12.
SIBA
Katherine Applegate
Crenshaw
(Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends, Sept.)
Applegate explores hunger in America through the story of a boy, who lives with his family and his imaginary cat in a van. Ages 8–12.
NCIBA
Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows
(Holt, Sept.)
“This has all the right elements to keep readers enthralled: a cunning leader with a plan for every occasion, nigh-impossible odds, an entertainingly combative team of skilled misfits, a twisty plot, and a nerve-wracking cliffhanger,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 14–up.
PNBA
Mac Barnett (author) and Christian Robinson (illustrator)
Leo: A Ghost Story
(Chronicle, out now)
When a new family moves into Leo’s home and his efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, he decides to leave and see the world. Ages 3–5.
NCIBA (Robinson only), PNBA
Robert Beatty
Serafina and the Black Cloak
(Disney-Hyperion, out now)
In the first volume of a multi-book series, Serafina, who lives in the basement of a wealthy mansion in Asheville, N.C., has never had reason to disobey her pa and go into the forest, until the children upstairs begin to disappear.
A SIBA Okra Pick.
SIBA
Nina Berry
The Notorious Pagan Jones
(Harlequin Teen, out now)
PW’s reviewer called this noirish tale, the beginning of a series set in 1961 Berlin, “a fast-paced spy thriller.” Ages 14–up.
NCIBA
Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Book Scavenger
(Holt, out now)
This debut novel follows two friends as they race through San Francisco to discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of book publisher and game creator Garrison Griswold. Ages 9–14.
MPIBA
Erin Bow
The Scorpion Rules
(S&S/McElderry, Sept.)
“In this gripping dystopian adventure, Bow (Sorrow’s Knot) explores the price of power.... [She] crafts a masterly story with a diverse cast, shocking twists, and gut-punching emotional moments,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 14–up.
SIBA
Martha Brockenbrough
Game of Love and Death
(Scholastic/Levine, out now)
Flora and Henry were born a few blocks from each other—innocent of the forces that might keep a white boy and an African-American girl apart. When they meet again in Depression-era Seattle, romance blooms. Ages 12–up.
PNBA
Deb Caletti
The Last Forever
(S&S/Simon Pulse, April 2016)
Tess’s mother dies from cancer and leaves behind a pixiebell plant, which Tess takes with her on a trip to visit her father’s mother. “[This] inspiring novel eloquently depicts the nature of mutability,” writes PW in a starred review. Ages 12-up.
PNBA
Aimée Carter
Simon Thorn and the Wolf’s Den
(Bloomsbury, Feb. 2016)
When his mom is kidnapped by a herd of rats, 12-year-old Simon Thorn finds out that he was born to a secret race of animal shape shifters. Ages 8-12.
Heartland
Nancy Cavanaugh
Just Like Me
(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, April 2016)
Two weeks at camp with her “Chinese sisters”—two girls adopted from the same Chinese orphanage as her—could make this Julia’s worst summer ever. But she might find friendship where she least expects it. Ages 9-12.
Heartland
Gennifer Choldenko
Chasing Secrets
(Random/Lamb, out now)
Thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kentucky discovers a dark side of San Francisco during the Gilded Age—the plague. Ages 9–12.
NCIBA, PNBA
Leslie Connor
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
(HarperCollins/Tegen, March 2016)
Told from the perspective of an innocent 11-year-old boy, this book offers a rare peek inside prison life. Ages 8-12.
NAIBA
Alex Gino
George
(Scholastic Press, out now)
In its starred review, PW called this story about a 10-year-old transgender girl, “profound, moving, and... radiant, this book will stay with anyone lucky enough to find it.” Ages 8–12.
NCIBA
Michael Grant
Front Lines
(HarperCollins/Tegen, Jan. 2016)
The first book in the Soldier Girl series reimagines World War II with girls fighting on the front lines. Ages 14–up.
NCIBA
Alan Gratz
The Dragon Lantern
(Starscape, out now)
In book two of the League of Seven series, Archie Dent is convinced that he and his friends are the first three members of a group of heroes who come together to fight the Mangleborn. Winner of the 2015 YA SIBA Book Award. Ages 10–14.
SIBA
Aaron Hartzler
What We Saw
(HarperTeen, Sept.)
This debut novel, inspired by the Steubenville rape case, looks at what happens to a small town when some of its residents commit a terrible crime. Ages 14-up.
SCIBA
Sarah Harvey
Spirit Level
(Orca, Feb. 2016)
“Harry,” who was donor-conceived, reaches out to her two half-siblings and tries to figure out whether she wants to meet their donor. Ages 14-up.
PNBA
April Henry
Blood Will Tell
(Holt, available)
In book 2 of the Point Last Seen series, a woman’s body is found in a Portland park and suspicion falls on an awkward kid who lives a few blocks away. Ages 12-up.
PNBA
Jennifer and Matthew Holm
Sunny Side Up
(Scholastic/Graphix, out now)
From the sister-brother team behind Babymouse comes this semi-autobiographical graphic novel about an older brother’s delinquent behavior and how it affects the family. Ages 8–12.
PNBA (Matthew Holm only), SCIBA (Jennifer Holm only)
Ellen Hopkins
Traffick
(S&S/McElderry, Nov.)
Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life, in this sequel to her bestselling Tricks. Ages 14–up.
NAIBA
Shaun David Hutchinson, editor
Violent Ends
(S&S/Simon Pulse, Sept.)
Seventeen YA writers tell the story of how Kirby became a school shooter from a different victim’s point of view. Ages 14-up.
SIBA
Loren Long
Little Tree
(Philomel, Oct.)
Little Tree loves the leaves that keep him cool on hot summer days; when Autumn arrives, he doesn’t want to drop his leaves like the other trees. Ages 5–8.
SIBA
Marika McCoola
Baba Yaga’s Assistant
(Candlewick, out now)
The Russian folklore icon mentors a lonely teen in this graphic novel, which won the 2015 New England Children’s Book Award. Illustrated by Emily Carroll, who is not touring. Ages 10–up.
NEIBA
D.J. MacHale
Voyagers: Project Alpha
(Random, Sept.)
Earth is about to go dark in the first book in this sci-fi/eco-mystery series. Only four kids will make the cut to join a secret mission to save the world. Ages 8–12.
PNBA, SCIBA
Sonia Manzano
Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx
(Scholastic Press, out now)
The memoir of the Emmy award-winning actress and writer, a long-time star on Sesame Street. Ages 12–up.
NEIBA
Melissa Marr
Seven Black Diamonds
(Harper, Jan. 2016)
The author of the Wicked Lovely series returns to the world of faery courts in this story. Ages 14–up.
SIBA
Richelle Mead
Soundless
(Razorbill, Nov.)
In this stand-alone fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore, Fei grows up in an isolated mountain village with no sound, whose inhabitants depend on deliveries of food to survive. Ages 12–up.
PNBA
Lauren Myracle
Upside-Down Magic
(Scholastic, Sept.)
When 9-year-old Nory flunks out of her own father’s magic academy, she’s forced to enter public school, where she meets a group of kids whose magic is different. Coauthors Sarah Mlynowski and Emily Jenkins will not be attending. Ages 8-12.
Heartland
Jennifer A. Nielsen
A Night Divided
(Scholastic Press, out now)
One morning Gerta wakes up to find that her father and brother are trapped on one side of the Berlin Wall, while she, her mother, and her other brother are in East Berlin. Ages 8–12.
Heartland
Kenneth Oppel
The Nest
(S&S, Oct.)
“Oppel enters Gaimanesque territory,” wrote PW in a starred review of this “unnerving psychological thriller” with wasps and a newborn baby with a rare congenital disorder. Illustrated by Jon Klassen, who is not touring.
Ages 8–12.
NEIBA
Dav Pilkey
Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot
(Scholastic, out now)
Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune
(Scholastic, Nov.)
The Captain Underpants series has more than 70 million books in print worldwide; Dreamworks Animation is developing the property as a feature film.
NAIBA, NCIBA, NEIBA
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Rhythm Ride
(Roaring Brook, Sept.)
The two-time Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author captures the energy of the Motown movement in this middle-grade nonfiction title. Ages 10–14.
Heartland
Antoinette Portis
Wait
(Roaring Brook/Porter, out now)
“Economy and affection give this story the dimensions of a classic,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 3–7.
SCIBA
Aaron Reynolds
Nerdy Birdy
(Roaring Brook Press, Sept.)
When a lonely, but not nerdy, birdy moves in with the nerdy birds, Nerdy Birdy discovers his friends can be just as clannish as other birds. Illustrated by Matt Davies, who is not touring. Ages 4-8.
Heartland
William Ritter
Beastly Bones
(Algonquin, Sept.)
In the sequel to Jackaby, Abigail Rook and R.F. Jackaby, detective of the supernatural, hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer. Ages 12–up.
PNBA
Karen Rivers
The Girl in the Well Is Me
(Algonquin, March 2016)
Kammie Summers has fallen into a well during initiation into a club whose members don’t intend to let her join. Now she’s waiting to be rescued, or possibly not. Ages 10-up.
PNBA
Judith Robbins Rose
Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco
(Candlewick, Sept.)
PW’s reviewer calls this story about Jacinta Juarez, who is paired with a news anchorwoman as a mentor, “a moving portrayal of a girl’s effort to embrace both her Mexican roots and the possibilities of American life.” Ages 10-up.
MPIBA
Veronica Rossi
Riders
(Tor Teen, Feb. 2016)
This fantasy adventure features an Army Ranger-in-training, who becomes the embodiment of War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
NCIBA
Judy Schachner
Dewey Bob
(Dial, Sept.)
Dewey Crockett is a raccoon, who lives by himself in a house filled with the objects he collects. But there is one thing he misses: friends. Ages 3–up.
Heartland, MPIBA, PNBA, SCIBA
Pat Schmatz
Lizard Radio
(Candlewick, Sept.)
In a futuristic society run by an all-powerful Gov, a bender teen has choices to make that will change her life—and maybe the world. Ages 14-up.
Heartland
Eliot Schrefer
Immortal Guardians (Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts #1)
(Scholastic, available)
Each year in the world of Erdas, a few lucky children summon a spirit animal. The bond was thought to be lifelong …until a foul darkness began taking the spirit animals. Ages 8-12.
NAIBA
Laurel Snyder
Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova
(Chronicle, out now)
The story of a girl who becomes a famous prima ballerina. (Illustrated by Julie Morstad, who is not touring.) Ages 6–9.
SIBA
Rebecca Stead
Goodbye Stranger
(Random/Lamb, out now)
“This memorable story about female friendships, silly bets, different kinds of love, and bad decisions is authentic in detail and emotion,” wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 10–up.
NCIBA
Garth Stein
Enzo and the Christmas Tree Hunt! (HarperCollins, Sept.)
Enzo, the dog introduced to readers in The Art of Racing in the Rain, helps his family find the perfect Christmas tree. Ages 4-8
PNBA
Craig Thompson
Space Dumplins (Scholastic/Graphix, available)
For Violet Marlocke, family is the most important thing in the whole galaxy. So when her father goes missing while on a hazardous job, she can’t just sit around and do nothing. Ages 8-12.
MPIBA
Paul Tobin
The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat
(Bloomsbury, March 2016)
Sixth grade inventor Nate Bannister and his friend race to stop Proton, his invisible super-sized cat, from crushing everyone in town. Illustrated by Thierry Lafontaine, who is not touring. Ages 8-12.
PNBA
April Genevieve Tucholke, editor
Slasher Girls and Monster Boys
(Dial, available)
This collection of horror stories brings together works by Stefan Bachmann, Leigh Bardugo, and Marie Lu, among others. Ages 12-up.
PNBA
Carol Weston
Ava XOX
(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Feb. 2016)
In book three of the Ava and Pip series, Ava Wren experiences the power of words when she sees a friend bullied and the discomfort of a crush date someone else. Ages 10–12.
NAIBA
Walter Wick
Hey, Seymour!
(Scholastic, Oct.)
A search-and-find adventure with Seymour (from the Can You See What I See? series), which introduces Seymour’s new dog, Buttons. Ages 3-5.
SIBA
Judd Winick
The Boy Who Crashed to Earth
(Random House, Sept.)
In book 1 of the Hilo graphic novel series, 10-year-old D.J. Lim sees himself as boring until Hilo, a boy with super powers, comes to planet Earth. Ages 8-12.
NCIBA
Lindsey Yankey
Sun and Moon
(Simply Read Books, available)
The moon wants to take the sun’s place for a day in this beautifully illustrated picture book that PW’s reviewer says “call to mind 19th-century children's book illustrations.” Ages 4-8.
Heartland
Pamela Zagarenski
The Whisper
(HMH, Oct.)
The two-time Caldecott Honor artist debuts as an author with this picture book about the magic of reading. Ages 4-8.
NEIBA
