We’re crushing on the many new releases out this month including a picture book about boundaries, a middle grade series starter about a kid detective’s first case, a YA novel about a sinister plot aboard a ship, and more.
Picture Books and Early Readers
Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day
Lana Button, illus. by Suharu Ogawa. Orca, $8.95 paper (96p) ISBN 978-1-4598-4001-0. Ages 6–8. Impulsive and enthusiastic almost-nine-year-old Brianna starts a new friendship when she offers to help a new student be her class helper of the day. The book received a starred review from PW.
Travis Jonker, illus. by Ruth Chan. Abrams, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4197-6-5032. Ages 4–8. Narrator Hippo loves being first in line, but when placed at the back of the line, Hippo cultivates a back-of-line expertise that goes too far. The book received a starred review from PW.
Eliza and the Flower Fairies (Fairy Door Diaries #1)
Megan McDonald, illus. by Lenny Wen. Candlewick, $17.99 (96p) ISBN 978-1-5362-0142-0. Ages 5–9. Young Eliza enters a fairy world, where she accidentally picks a dangerous flower and falls into the Stranglewood Hollows and must save herself and her new fairy friends.
Jashar Awan. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-66593-815-0. Ages 4–8. Mondays don’t get a lot of love—unless you’re the eponymous protagonist of this picture book, in which case, “Monday is the best day of the week.” The book received a starred review from PW.
Carole Lindstrom, illus. by Aly McKnight. Bloomsbury, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5476-0688-7. Ages 4–8. Rose and her family gather with hundreds of other Métis families for a biannual buffalo hunt. The book received a starred review from PW.
Julia Kuo. Roaring Brook, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-2508-8132-8. Ages 3–6. A young protagonist grapples with grief and excitement while preparing to move to a new home. The book received a starred review from PW.
How to Love the Whole World: A Story About Artist Agnes Martin
Henry Martin, illus. by Shelley Hampe. Abrams, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-949480-53-5. Ages 4–8. Martin’s sensorial lines and Hampe’s pale mixed-media illustrations capture the spirit of the art of Agnes Martin in this softly told exploration of her work and life. The book received a starred review from PW.
Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illus. by Selina Alko. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-6659-1-497. Ages 4–8. This picture book recounts the 1966 fire at New York City’s Jewish Theological Seminary Library, and how volunteers formed a human chain to remove the books, saving 170,000 volumes. The book received a starred review from PW.
Shawn Harris. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5709-0. Ages 4–8. In this sound-centric account of a riotous readaloud session from Caldecott Honoree Harris, a bearded caregiver offers animals to imitate with their child. See our q&a with Harris. The book received a starred review from PW.
Mo Willems. Union Square, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4549-5149-0. Ages 3–6. Via anthropomorphized rabbits that represent the words me, you, we, them, and us, Willems movingly explores themes of individuality and belonging. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Mysterious New Girl (Casey’s Cases #1)
Kay Healy. Holiday House/Porter, $16.99 (160p) ISBN 978-0-8234-5650-5. Ages 7–10. On her birthday, Casey receives a magnifying glass and binoculars and uses her new tools to investigate the mysteries around her, in this first volume of a young graphic novel series. The book received a starred review from PW.
Vivian Mansour, trans. from the Spanish by Carlos Rodríguez Cortez, illus. by Emmanuel Valtierra. Levine Querido, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-6461-4515-7. Ages 3–8. Incorporating facets of Mesoamerican mythology, Mansour and Valtierra, making a picture book debut, chronicle a family’s arduous journey from a place north of Tenochtitlán to the U.S. The book received a starred review from PW.
Supriya Kelkar. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-3743-9220-8. Ages 4–8. In a series of collaged images and lightly rhyming stanzas, a child with light brown skin reflects on how teachers create a caring learning community.
Jon Klassen. Candlewick, $8.99 (24p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3083-3. Ages 2–5. In this playful board book, publishing alongside two others in the Your Places series, Caldecott Medalist Klassen positions familiar elements of a forest landscape against a blank white backdrop. The book received a starred review from PW.
Middle Grade
Cassi and the House of Memories
Dean Stuart. Viking, $24.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-5933-5112-3; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-0-593-35113-0. Ages 8–12. Stuart’s tender graphic novel debut presents a fanciful and uplifting take on memory loss. The book received a starred review from PW.
Katherine Paterson, illus. by Sally Deng. Chronicle, $21.99 (112p) ISBN 978-1-4521-8262-9. Ages 8–12. Paterson applauds the work of writer and translator Lepman, who spearheaded a post-WWII effort to reeducate German youth, “mostly along the lines of an idealized American society.” See our q&a with Paterson on her research for the book.
Jojo vs. Middle School (Team Awkward #1)
Veeda Bybee and Joy McCullough. Aladdin, $18.99 (192p) ISBN 978-1-66595-073-2; $7.99 paper ISBN 978-1-6659-5072-5. Ages 8–12. Jojo Lopez is having a terrible first day of sixth grade, until she discovers a group of peers, all of whom have their own first-day horror stories. The book received a starred review from PW.
Murder at the Museum (Montgomery Bonbon #1)
Alasdair Beckett-King, illus. by Claire Powell. Candlewick, $18.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-5362-4166-2; $9.99 paper ISBN 978-1-5362-4167-9. Ages 9–12. Bonnie Montgomery assumes her alter ego, the gentleman detective Montgomery Bonbon, to uncover the mystery of disappearing items at a museum, in this kickoff to a series. The book received a starred review from PW.
My Presentation Today Is About the Anaconda
Bibi Dumon Tak, trans. from the Dutch by Nancy Forest-Flier, illus. by Annemarie van Haeringen. Levine Querido, $19.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-6461-4510-2. Ages 8–12. The dread (or excitement) of a class presentation isn’t exclusive to young humans, as evidenced in this humorous all-dialogue collection, which gives voice to an animal cast of 20. The book received a starred review from PW.
Guojing. Holt/Godwin, $21.99 (160p) ISBN 978-1-250-81837-9; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-81838-6. Ages 8–12. Siblings JieJie and DiDi get lost in the desert and when they encounter a robot and activate its Mother mode, they hope it will help them navigate their parent’s sudden absence until her planned return for the annual moon festival. The book received a starred review from PW.
Barbara Dee. Aladdin, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-665917-67-4. Ages 9–13. After discovering the sexist writings of her hometown’s namesake Benjamin Wellstone, Freya plots ways to show her neighbors just how problematic their hero was. The book received a starred review from PW.
The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest
Aubrey Hartman. Little, Brown, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-3165-7572-0. Ages 8 and up. Clare, an Usher, one who helps wandering souls find their way to their respective afterlife, learns he’s being replaced, forcing him to confront his loneliness and fear of death. The book received a starred review from PW.
Kyle Lukoff. Dial, $18.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-593-61898-1. Ages 10–14. A transgender teen and a golem aim to dismantle a supernaturally evil conversion therapy program in this satisfying horror-tinged novel. The book received a starred review from PW.
Young Adult
Neal Shusterman. S&S, $21.99 (528p) ISBN 978-1-5344-3275-8. Ages 12 and up. This epic biological thriller by Shusterman finds three teens grappling for world-changing power during a post-Covid-19 pandemic of an evolved coronavirus. The book received a starred review from PW.
Taylor Robin. Union Square, $24.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-45495-024-0; $17.99 paper ISBN 978-1-4549-5025-7. Ages 13–17. Emery Botwright and Neeta Pandey’s ocean liner S.S. Lark is bought by an American with sinister intentions. The book received a starred review from PW.
Tony Keith Jr. Quill Tree, $19.99 (128p) ISBN 978-0-06-329605-3. Ages 14 and up. Poet and educator Keith delivers a hip-hop-fueled collection of poetry that’s equal parts memoir, love letter, and rallying cry to Black boys. The book received a starred review from PW.
Emily J. Taylor. Putnam, $20.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-593-40454-6. Ages 12 and up. A teen endeavors to exonerate her father, who was killed and blamed for a deadly infestation, in this pulse-pounding fantasy. The book received a starred review from PW.
Sasha Peyton Smith. HarperCollins, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-06-337252-8. Ages 13 and up. Teen Ivy enters the competition to win the prince’s hand in marriage, and must use her wits and form unlikely alliances if she hopes to survive this dangerous game. The book received a starred review from PW.
Lili Wilkinson. Delacorte, $19.99 (464p) ISBN 978-0-593-81098-9; $12.99 paper ISBN 978-0-593-81101-6. Ages 14 and up. Page accepts a scholarship to attend prestigious Agathion College, but questions if she was brought there for a reason. The book received a starred review from PW.
Catherine Bakewell. HarperCollins, $19.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-06-335908-6. Ages 13 and up. Following her mother’s disappearance, Ofelia and her best friend Caballera travel to gods-blessed palace Le Château Enchanté for answers, but find that the supposed safe place has secrets. The book received a starred review from PW.
