Hitting bookshelves next week are a rhyming picture book that follows the adventures of an eager dog, a nonfiction book about a breakthrough medical procedure, a YA novel that centers on the lives of two very different sisters, and many more.
Through the Dark by Alexandra Bracken. Disney-Hyperion, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4847-5687-4. This collection of YA stories isacts as a companion to the Darkest Minds series.
Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood. Running Press, $9.95 paper; ISBN 978-0-7624-5840-0. This YA science fiction novel – a debut duology for Elwood – melds Rromance, politics, and space adventure.
Nellie Belle by Mem Fox, illus. by Mike Austin. S&S/Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4169-90055. This picture book about an eager dog is told in rhyme and contains plenty of visual gags.
Bear and Bunny by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Candlewick, $15.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-7153-2. Bear and the rabbit he met in picture book Bear in Love (2012) are now the best of friends, exploring the woods together and apart.
Instructions for the End of the World by Jamie Kain. St. Martin’s Griffin, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-04786-1. Kain follows The Good Sister with another YA novel about sisters – one dutiful, one rebellious – whosestuck in a family that is falling apart.
The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill. Delacorte, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-553-49797-7. Band geeks and those who love them are a natural audience for this romantic comedy, which takes place set on a cruise ship full of high school students participating in a performing arts competition.
Breakthrough! How Three People Saved “Blue Babies” and Changed Medicine Forever by James Murphy. Clarion, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-547-82183-2. This middle- grade nonfiction title details the contributions of three major participants in the first heart operation on a child with congenital heart defects resulting in oxygen-poor blood, known as a “blue baby.”
Wandering Star by Romina Russell. Razorbill, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-59514-743-1. In this follow-up to YA sci-fi novel Zodiac, protagonist Rho tries to live a peaceful life helping others, but a terrorist group threatens to destroy the galaxy’s harmony, and she is’s called to fight.
The Red Hat by David Teague, illus. by Antoinette Portis. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4231-3411-4. In this picture book, a high-rise is built next door to protagonist Billy, and a girl in a red hat appears on its roof. Billy tries all kinds of strategies to meet her – a paper airplane, a kite – but the wind foils every attempt.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of December, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
