April showers bring a bounty of notable books for young readers this month, including a picture book biography about a spelling bee champ, a middle grade debut from a Grammy Award-winning artist, a YA novel following teen activists in Costa Rica, and much more.
Picture Books
Ed Vere. Doubleday, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-5255-8087-4. Ages 3–7. A little Godzilla-esque dinosaur overcomes making a big mistake on her path to becoming an artist.
Jessica Love. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1239-6. Ages 4–8. A father and son’s nighttime camping trip offers a moment of connection about the vastness of the universe. See our cover reveal. The book received a starred review from PW.
Wednesday Kirwan. Little Simon, $8.99 (36p) ISBN 978-1-66593-241-7. Ages 1–5. In this fizzy board book, a child makes several refusals in a demonstration of autonomy. The book received a starred review from PW.
Balint Zsako. Enchanted Lion, $29.95 (184p) ISBN 978-1-59270-393-7. Ages 7 and up. When a tree rescues a bunny from a scary fate, the bunny asks for its help finding its fellow rabbits. The book received a starred review from PW.
How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee
Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Frank Morrison. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-536-21554-0. Ages 7–10. This picture book highlights the accomplishments of Cox (1923–1976), who became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee, thus qualifying for the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The book received a starred review from PW.
Make Way: The Story of Robert McCloskey, Nancy Schön, and Some Very Famous Ducklings
Angela Burke Kunkel, illus. by Claire Keane. Random House Studio, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-593-37335-4. Ages 4–8. This dual picture book biography pairs the story of McCloskey and Make Way for Ducklings with the tale of sculptor Schön, whose duck figurines in Boston’s Public Garden commemorate McCloskey’s work. The book received a starred review from PW.
Allen Say. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-338-30040-6. Ages 4–8. When Andy’s grandmother struggles to remember his name, he helps jog her memory by revisiting memories of her time as a teacher.
Rise to the Sky: How the World’s Tallest Trees Grow Up
Rebecca E. Hirsch, illus. by Mia Posada. Millbrook, $20.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-72844-087-3. Ages 5–10. Using a variety of trees as its subject, Hirsch and Posada illustrate plant biology. The book received a starred review from PW.
Middle Grade
Brian Selznick. Scholastic Press, $32.99 (528p) ISBN 978-1-338-18063-3. Ages 7 and up. Two sycamore seed siblings, Louise and Merwin, search for a place to take root after a forest fire’s fallout propels them away from home. Read more about the making of Big Tree. The book received a starred review from PW.
M.T. Anderson, illus. by Junyi Wu. Candlewick, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-536222-81-4. Ages 8–12. Clay discovers paths to alternate realms led by his new white elf hound Elphinore. Read more about what’s in store for Anderson this season. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards
Susan Tan. Roaring Brook, $17.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-250-79700-1. Ages 8–12. Chinese American 12-year-old Mo Lin encounters the spirit of a deceased elephant and investigates how her death is tied to the town’s history. The book received a starred review from PW.
Angie Thomas, illus. by Setor Fiadzigbey. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-322513-8. Ages 8–12. Nichole Blake is ready to embrace her gift as a Manifestor but encounters a prophecy that promises the destruction of the Remarkable world unless a Chosen One can intervene. See our q&a with Thomas about her pivot to middle grade. The book received a starred review from PW.
Questlove, with S.A. Cosby, illus. by Godwin Akpan. Putnam, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-593-35406-3. Ages 10 and up. Hip hop fanatic Rahim finds himself stuck in the past and befriending his father, while his neighbor Kasia struggles to find a way to bring him back to the present.
Jerry Craft. Quill Tree, $24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06-288554-8; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-0-06-288553-1. Ages 8–12. In the companion to Newbery winner New Kid and its sequel, Class Act, eighth grader Jordan Banks travels to Paris on a school trip and navigates homesickness and friendship troubles. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Graphix, $27.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-338-35632-8; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-338-35631-1. Ages 12 and up. This YA graphic novel memoir, a follow-up to Krosoczka’s National Book Award finalist Hey, Kiddo, follows the creator’s summer working at a camp for kids with life-threatening illnesses. Read more about the making of the memoir here. The book received a starred review from PW.
Young Adult
Martine Leavitt. Holiday House/Ferguson, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-823-44342-0. Ages 12 and up. A Canadian homesteader’s daughter carves out a place for her feminist dreams within her 1890s Latter-Day Saints community in this historical novel based on the lived histories of the author’s ancestors. The book received a starred review from PW.
Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything
Justine Pucella Winans. Clarion, $19.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-35872-164-2. Ages 14 and up. Despite her list of many fears, Bianca Torre investigates her neighbor’s murder when she’s the sole witness. The book received a starred review from PW.
Terry J. Benton-Walker. Tor Teen, $18.99 (416p) ISBN 978-1-250-82592-6. Ages 13 and up. Magical heirs and siblings Cris and Clement Trudeau must discover the traitor within their court when they learn their mother has been poisoned. The book received a starred review from PW.
Alyson Derrick. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-6659-0237-3. Ages 14 and up. After a devastating fall leaves Stevie without memories of the past two years and her girlfriend, she attempts to readjust to her life. See our q&a with Derrick on her solo debut.
Global: One Fragile World. An Epic Fight for Survival
Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illus. by Giovanni Rigano. Sourcebooks, $24.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-7282-5723-5; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-7282-6219-2. Ages 10–14. Two youths, 12-year-old Sami and 14-year-old Yuki, struggle to overcome perilous situations caused by climate change.
Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-53-621860-2. Ages 12 and up. Hughie Wolfe’s job at a culturally insensitive haunted house lead to an encounter with a ghost trying to protect young Native women. The book received a starred review from PW.
Robbie Couch. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-5344-9749-8. Ages 12 and up. Clark Huckleton’s time loop finally shifts when Beau arrives and helps him make changes to his repetitive day. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Making of Yolanda La Bruja
Lorraine Avila. Levine Querido, $19.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-64614-243-9. High school sophomore Yolanda Nuelis Alvarez, a budding bruja, contends with dangerous visions surrounding gun violence at her Bronx school. See our interview with Avila on incorporating astrology in her YA novel. The book received a starred review from PW.
Joana Estrela, trans. from the Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Levine Querido, $21.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-64614-255-2; $16.99 paper ISBN 978-1-64614-256-9. Ages 12 and up. Raquel’s budding friendship with artist Pardalita presents her with questions about her sexuality. The book received a starred review from PW.
Alexandra Bracken. Knopf, $19.99 (496p) ISBN 978-0-593-48165-3. Ages 14 and up. In order to save her brother from a curse, Tamsin competes with cutthroat artifact-hunters to find an ancient relic that could be a cure.
Melissa de la Cruz. Putnam, $18.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-593-32668-8. Ages 12 and up. In this retelling of “Snow White,” Sophie flees her kingdom when her relationship with the prince causes war, and finds refuge in the woods with seven young miners.
F.T. Lukens. McElderry, $19.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-66591-622-6. Ages 14 and up. Sixteen-year-old Edison Rooker must team up with rival apprentice Sun to save both of their mentors after they’re taken by magical authorities. See our q&a with Lukens.
Kayla Cottingham. Sourcebooks Fire, $11.99 paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-7282-3644-5. Ages 14 and up. Cannibalistic ghouls Zoey, Celeste, Jasmine, and Valeria head to a music festival, but when they discover someone is attempting to purposely force ghouls to become feral by drugging them, they must investigate before it’s too late. See our q&a with Cottingham. The book received a starred review from PW.
Maurene Goo. Zando Young Readers, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-63893-020-4. Ages 14 and up. After a major fight with her mother, Sam ends up in 1995 where she befriends a younger version of her mother and helps with her campaign to win homecoming queen in hopes of returning home. [Read more in our cover reveal. The book received a starred review from PW.
Claire Forrest. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-338-81383-8. Ages 12 and up. Wheelchair user Effie combats ableist school administrators while searching for the perfect college. The book received a starred review from PW.
Margarita Engle. Atheneum, $18.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-66592-636-2. Ages 12 and up. Soleida and Dariel, brought together by circumstance in Costa Rica, start a human rights campaign to help Soleida’s family and the endangered wildlife and forests. The book received a starred review from PW.
Zion Clark and James S. Hirsch. Candlewick, $18.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2421-4. Ages 14 and up. Professional athlete and disability activist Clark (b. 1997) chronicles his childhood navigating the Stark County, Ohio, foster care system and his journey to becoming an athlete.
