Spring is in full swing, with plenty of worthwhile reads for kids and teens out this month, including a picture book about letting go of perfection, a middle grade novel about a child facing housing insecurity, the next installment in a poignant series of YA memoirs, and more.
Picture Books
Traci Sorell, illus. by Michaela Goade. Kokila, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-984816-03-0. Ages 4–8. An Indigenous child narrator looks forward to adjusting “our tempo” in this expansive portrait of a family’s move away from metropolitan surrounds and to “our ancestors’ land/ and to our people.” The book received a starred review from PW.
Big Bear and Little Bear Go Fishing
Amy Hest, illus. by Erin E. Stead. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4975-0. Ages 4–8. The creators follow a father-son bear duo as they gather needed items for an outing. The book received a starred review from PW.
Ed Vere. Doubleday, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-525-58090-4. Ages 3–7. An elderly elephant who has always imagined what it would be like to go sailing makes his dreams a reality. The book received a starred review from PW.
Carlos Matias, illus. by Gracey Zhang. HarperCollins/Tegen, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-327145-6. On his first day of school, Ernesto receives a quarter from his mother for emergencies, and saves them for when he needs them. Ages 4–8. The book received a starred review from PW.
Kevin Henkes, illus. by Laura Dronzek. Greenwillow, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-324566-2. Ages 4–8. A canine brings home the items they find during their outings and discovers an abandoned kitten. The book received a starred review from PW.
Growing Up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution
Ying Chang Compestine, illus. by Xinmei Liu. Rocky Pond, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-5935-3398-7. Compestine’s childhood informs this tense account of 10 years under Mao Zedong’s oppressive rule. Ages 6–9. See our q&a with Compestine and other authors for AAPI Heritage Month. The book received a starred review from PW.
Danielle Daniel, illus. by Matt James. Tundra, $18.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-77488-070-8. Ages 3–7. Different entities in nature express their fears and receive affirmation from one another. The book received a starred review from PW.
Lesléa Newman, illus. by Susan Gal. Levine Querido, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-64614-370-2. Ages 4–8. In this picture book look at contemporary Jewish life, Newman and Gal focus on a synagogue baby-naming ceremony. The book received a starred review from PW.
May You Love and Be Loved: Wishes for Your Life
Cleo Wade. Feiwel and Friends, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-250-87395-8. Ages 3–6. Wade shares gladdening wishes in this benedictive poem accompanied by pen, ink, and watercolor sketches. See our q&a with Wade.
Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Kenard Pak. Chronicle, $18.99 (56p) ISBN 978-1-79720-013-2. Ages 3–5. A child awakens from their sleep on a summer night and questions who has disturbed other moving entities. The book received a starred review from PW.
Toni Yuly. Little, Brown, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-49781-7. Ages 4–8. Rhyming questions are answered with the triumphant titular cry in this picture book that displays the pelican’s power and balletic grace. The book received a starred review from PW.
Matt de la Peña, illus. by Paola Escobar. Putnam, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-593-32563-6. Lucas is transported to an alternate world where he learns to appreciate the importance of making mistakes. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sidura Ludwig, illus. by Sophia Vincent Guy. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2549-5. Ages 4–8. A child enjoys watching food preparations for a festive outdoor Shabbat meal with guests. The book received a starred review from PW.
Breanna Carzoo. HarperCollins, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-0633-3493-9. Ages 4–8. After it is stomped by one of its kid creators, the indignities keep piling up for this picture book’s googly-eyed sandcastle protagonist. The book received a starred review from PW.
Renée Watson, illus. by Bea Jackson. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-547-60586-6. Ages 3–6. A dark-skinned Black protagonist embraces summer via a litany of seasonal activities in this experiential first-person ode. The book received a starred review from PW.
Bruce Handy, illus. by Lisk Feng. Enchanted Lion, $18.95 (52p) ISBN 978-1-59270-406-4. Ages 5–7. This picture book observes shadows as they grow and fade, reflecting life over the course of a day. The book received a starred review from PW.
They Built Me for Freedom: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park
Tonya Duncan Ellis, illus. by Jenin Mohammed. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-328605-4. Ages 4–8. Ellis offers a moving tribute to Houston’s Emancipation Park in this picture book narrated in the park’s voice. The book received a starred review from PW.
Amy Hest, illus. by Taeeun Yoo. Two Lions, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5420-1855-5. Ages up to 7. George, an elderly dog, enjoys spending time with Rosie, the family’s smallest member. The book received a starred review from PW.
Richard Jackson, illus. by Brian Floca. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4495-3. Ages 4–8. The late editor and author, along with Caldecott Medalist Floca, highlight a special father-son adventure that becomes a cherished memory.
Middle Grade
The Boo Hag Flex (Tales from Cabin 23 #1)
Justina Ireland. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $15.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-06328-782-2. Ages 8–12. Desperate to save her beloved grandmother as well as the other trailer park inhabitants from the boo hag terrorizing their community, Tasha embarks on a risky adventure. [See our story on the inspiration behind the new series.]LINK TK
Pablo Cartaya, illus. by Miguel Diaz Rivas. Disney Hyperion, $24.99 (192p) ISBN 978-1-368-09009-4; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-368-08926-5. Ages 8–12. Cartaya and Diaz Rivas chronicle the trials and tribulations of baseball-playing Latinx middle schooler Elena Rueda, who faces spending a summer on hiatus from her beloved sport after an injury. See our q&a with Cartaya.
Ritu Hemnani. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-0632-8448-7. Ages 8–12. Drawing from family history, Hemnani delivers a wrenching historical debut in verse that traces the end of British rule in India and the subsequent conflicts between Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh populations during the 1947 Partition, which forced millions to relocate. See Hemnani’s In Conversation with fellow middle grade authors about their novels addressing Partition. The book received a starred review from PW.
Jes and Cin Wibowo. HarperAlley, $24.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-305760-9; $15.99 paper ISBN 978-0-06-305759-3. Ages 8–12. Socially anxious Indu faces a move from their beloved community spaceship to neo-Indonesian New Earth. The book received a starred review from PW.
Naila Moreira. Walker US, $18.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-5362-1830-5. Ages 8–12. Aspiring naturalist Samantha Tabitha Smith meets budding nature photographer Bram Layton and the two bond over their love of science and the wilderness. The book received a starred review from PW.
Vera Brosgol. First Second, $22.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-250-31485-7. Ages 10–14. Orphaned Jane must make a rescue mission to the ocean floor, after her would-be fiancé—and only hope of security—is abducted by a murderous mermaid. See our q&a with Brosgol. The graphic novel received a starred review from PW.
Hiba Noor Khan. Allida, $19.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06335-186-8. Ages 8–12. Tween Safiyyah learns about history via the maps in her library and must contend with how what she’s learned about the past may be impacting her present. The book received a starred review from PW.
Kekla Magoon. Candlewick, $18.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3088-8. Ages 8–12. The discovery of a magical library containing books that can transport a person to the scene of critical family memories changes life for grieving Dally Peteharrington. See our profile of Magoon and her busy year. The book received a starred review from PW.
Lisa Fipps. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-593-40632-8. Ages 10 and up. Fipps depicts situations of abuse, financial precarity, houselessness, and hope through the journey of 11-year-old comics fan Joseph Oak. The book received a starred review from PW.
Leah Stecher. Bloomsbury, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-5476-1302-1. Ages 9–12. Following a flippant wish to skip the awfulness of middle school, J.P. uncovers a door that allows her to fast forward to the future and soon faces the consequences of missing difficult moments. The book received a starred review from PW.
Robin Easter. Little, Brown Ink, $24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-316-42942-9; $12.99 paper ISBN 978-0-316-42952-8. Ages 7–12. Ash Price struggles with feelings for their best friend during their culminating summer at theater camp. See our roundup of middle grade books about queer camp crushes. The book received a starred review from PW.
Young Adult
Jennifer Donnelly. Scholastic Press, $18.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-3388-0944-2. Ages 12 and up. In this “Beauty and the Beast” reimagining, thief Beau is captured at a castle where he meets the lovely yet cold Lady Arabella. The book received a starred review from PW.
LaDarrion Williams. Labyrinth Road, $20.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-593-71192-7. Ages 14 and up. Trauma triggers Malik’s dormant ancestral magic, leading him to a magical school for Black students in Williams’s contemporary fantasy series opener. See our What’s the Buzz? article on Williams’s highly anticipated debut.
Monica Hesse. Little, Brown, $18.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-316-04565-0. Ages 14 and up. In 1918, 18-year-old Edda works night shifts as an American Bell Telephone operator in Washington, D.C., and becomes embroiled in a mystery involving her previous wartime work in France. The book received a starred review from PW.
Andrea Lynn. CamCat, $19.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-744308-46-4. Ages 13 and up. Teenager Stella Fischer uncovers a portal to a land full of resources but soon learns there’s a price to pay for entrance into this dreamworld. The book received a starred review from PW.
Eva Des Lauriers. Holt, $19.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-91055-4. Ages 14 and up. After a summer avoiding each other, former best friends Natalia and Ethan reunite during a senior class seaside camping trip and grapple with their feelings for each other. See Des Lauriers’s essay for PW on her background as a social worker.
Crystal J. Bell. Flux, $14.99 paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-63583-098-9. Ages 14 and up. A teenager living in a superstitious seaside village must fight to keep her position as a Lamplighter when townsfolk begin disappearing under her watch in Bell’s 19th-century-set debut. The book received a starred review from PW.
Paula Yoo. Norton, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-324-03090-4. Ages 12 and up. Yoo depicts the events surrounding the acquittal of the four police officers who brutalized Black motorist Rodney King in 1992 L.A. and outlines the system that still denies Black and Korean communities basic rights. The book received a starred review from PW.
Rex Ogle. Norton, $18.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-3240-1992-3. Ages 14 and up. In 1998, 17-year-old Ogle is kicked out of his house and grapples with the dangers off a relationship with an older man. The memoir received a starred review from PW.
Sweet Nightmare (The Calder Academy #1)
Tracy Wolff. Entangled, $21.99 (496p) ISBN 978-1-64937-706-7. Ages 14 and up. When Clementine Calder’s powers start manifesting, she’s left with no choice but to rely on her former best friend Jude. See our q&a with Wolff about the series starter, which centers new characters set in the world of Crave.
Jas Hammonds. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-2508-1659-7. Ages 14 and up. Eighteen-year-old Blake Brenner is invited to pledge an exclusive sorority and gets swept up in parties and myriad pledge tasks that lead into substance reliance. The book received a starred review from PW.
Samira Ahmed. Little, Brown, $18.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-3165-4784-0. Ages 12 and up. Noor Khan transfers to a new school during her senior year, and when she learns of the administration’s attempt to remove books from the library, decides to take a stand. See our roundup of books for young readers addressing book banning. The novel received a starred review from PW.
Shivaun Plozza. Holiday House, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-823-45634-5. Ages 14 and up. Sixteen-year-old Tegan Masters must prove that the version of heaven that’s been made for her is incorrect, or face being trapped in it forever. The book received a starred review from PW.
Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illus. by Faith Schaffer. HarperAlley, $26.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-358-46493-8 9780358464938. Ages 14 and up. Sixteen-year-old Chihiro enlists the help of Tatsuo Nakano, the first female samurai who later renounced her title, in a military mission.
