New titles hitting bookshelves next week include a rhyming picture book about a mischievous bear, a middle grade novel based on the friendship of two important literary figures, and a YA novel featuring Sherlock Holmes reimagined as a young woman, among many others.
The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown, illus. by Christian Robinson. Harper, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-028931-7. Robinson’s fresh illustrations reimagine Brown’s 1938 story; the book earned a starred review from PW.
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-239890-1. Debut author Cavallaro brings Arthur Conan Doyle’s sleuths (or their distant relatives, anyway) into the 21st century, casting Holmes as a brilliant young woman and Watson, who narrates, as her admirer and accomplice.
Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole. S&S/Little Simon, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-4225-1. Spot is a light-colored cat with a dark oval on his side, and he plays a lighthearted game of hide-and-seek in this wordless book.
Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-544-58249-1. The star of Fantaskey’s first foray into middle grade fiction is a newsie, hawking the Tribune in Prohibition-era Chicago.
When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons by Julie Fogliano, illus. by Julie Morstad. Roaring Brook/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-59643-852-1. In a contemplative tour of the year, Fogliano and Morstad evoke seasonal experiences like standing at the ocean’s edge, anticipating sweater weather, and uncovering acres of mud beneath melting snow in this picture book of poems. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Therese Makes a Tapestry by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs, illus. by Renée Graef. Getty, $19.95; ISBN 978-1-60606-473-3. More than a decade and a half after Bruce Robertson and Kathryn Hewitt’s Marguerite Makes a Book comes a companion title, which likewise offers a child-focused window into a time-honored artistic tradition.
Hoot and Peep by Lita Judge. Dial, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-42837-4. Hoot the owl is ready to share his “owly wisdom” with his younger sister, Peep, and introduces her to nocturnal life in the city.
Are We There Yet? by Nina Laden, illus. by Adam McCauley. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-3155-9. A boy and his mother drive to his grandmother’s house, and before they’re even out of the neighborhood, he’s asking the titular question. The voyage turns out to be anything but ordinary as increasingly surreal sights appear in the ever-changing landscape.
Character, Driven by David Lubar. Tor Teen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7653-1633-2. Filled with wordplay and moments of wry observation and revelation, this contemporary coming-of-age-novel follows the trials of a teen who suffers hard knocks. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Forest of Wonders by Linda Sue Park, illus. by Jim Madsen. Harper, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-232738-3. The first in Park’s Wing and Claw trilogy follows a young apothecary on an adventure after he gives a bat the power of speech.
The Wildest Race Ever: The Story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon by Meghan McCarthy. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-0639-0. With her signature narrative zeal and goggle-eyed characters, McCarthy takes readers to the first Olympic marathon in America, held during the St. Louis World’s Fair.
Tru and Nelle by G. Neri. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-544-69960-1. A middle grade novel inspired by the real-life friendship of Truman Capote and Harper Lee.
President Squid by Aaron Reynolds, illus. by Sara Varon. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-3647-9. Reynolds’s (Nerdy Birdy) picture book comes just in time for Super Tuesday, starring a power-hungry, bubblegum-pink squid who claims: “I will be the greatest president who ever lived!”
Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3 by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illus. by Tom Lichtenheld. Chronicle, $7.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-4914-1. This board book spin-off of Rinker and Lichtenheld’s bestselling Steam Train, Dream Train takes readers from one to 10 as they check out the activities taking place in a string of train cars.
Harmony House by Nic Sheff. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-233709-2. In this YA novel, Sheff (Schizo) uses Gothic trappings to explore the many forms that addiction can take.
I Am Bear by Ben Bailey Smith, illus. by Sav Akyüz. Candlewick Entertainment, $15.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-7743-5. British actor, rapper, and comic (and brother of author Zadie) Smith’s first foray into children’s books introduces in rhyme a large purple bear with a knack for mischief.
Ideas Are All Around by Philip C. Stead. Roaring Brook/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-181-4. Children’s book creators are often asked where they get their ideas. What if they run out? Stead offers up a response in this unassuming collection of drawings, prints, and snapshots in Polaroid-style frames. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Can I Eat That? by Joshua David Stein, illus. by Julia Rothman. Phaidon, $16.95; ISBN 978-0-7148-7140-0. In a series of linguistically playful questions and answers about food, restaurant critic Stein suggests an exchange between an insatiably curious child and a good-humored parent.
The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez by Robin Yardi. Carolrhoda, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4677-8306-4. Mateo Martinez, a Mexican-American fourth grader, is tired of having to keep an eye on his five-year-old sister, Mila, and is having social troubles at school, but he has new problems to deal with when he sees two skunks steal a tricycle at night.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of March, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
