Books arriving on shelves next week include a picture book featuring an antagonizing monster, a middle grade novel in which boys face their own mortality, and a companion to a YA historical fiction series.

Not as We Know It by Tom Avery. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-553-53509-9. Eleven-year-olds Jamie and Ned find a strange creature on the beach; Ned, who has cystic fibrosis, is convinced it will bring good luck. Jamie, however, worries that the creature might foretell something more ominous. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Talking Leaves by Joseph Bruchac. Dial, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-8037-3508-8. In this middle grade novel, Cherokee villagers avoid protagonist Uwohali’s father, despite his artistry and storytelling skills, believing that his fascination with strange symbols indicates witchcraft.

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas, illus. by Erin Stead. Dial, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-8037-3868-3. The eccentric seaman of the title lives alone in a cottage, bringing the messages he finds floating in bottles on the waves to nearby villagers. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio, illus. by Greg Pizzoli. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-374-30049-4. There’s a dragon in the kingdom, and he’s a downright brat, pantsing palace guards, spitting on cupcakes, and even scribbling in books.

Nanobots by Chris Gall. Little, Brown, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-316-37552-8. This picture book introduces readers to a plethora of tiny bots with highly specialized functions, like steely Lady Lance-o-Bot, who keeps garden insects away from tomatoes. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Quit Calling Me a Monster! by Jory John, illus. by Bob Shea. Random House, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-385-38990-7. In this extended monologue from the team behind I Will Chomp You!, a hairy, purple, bean-shaped blob with claws argues that being called a monster – as natural as it might seem – hurts his feelings.

The Secret Sea by Barry Lyga. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-250-07283-2. In this standalone middle grade thriller, 12-year-old Zak Killian, whose dreams of boats and has visions of flooded Manhattan subways that no one else can see, begins to think that the voice he is hearing in his head might not be his imagination.

Ned the Knitting Pirate by Diana Murray, illus. by Leslie Lammle. Roaring Brook, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-59643-890-3. In this picture book told in rhyme, the young protagonist shares his hobby that, though rare for a pirate, eventually saves the day.

Maxi’s Secrets: (Or What You Can Learn from a Dog) Lynn Plourde. Penguin/Paulsen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-399-54567-2. In this middle grade novel, oft-bullied Timminy’s heart is won by a puppy, whose endearing personality and outgoing nature help Timminy develop relationships with two neighbors.

Ghostly Echoes: A Jackaby Novel by William Ritter (Algonquin, $17.95; ISBN 978-1-61620-579-9. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Jackaby, are enlisted by the ghost of their landlady to solve her murder, in this third entry in Ritter’s series.

For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of August, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.