Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a middle grade penguin adventure, a YA series opener, an interplanetary middle grade story, and a reimagined Arctic fairy tale.

Freya & Zoose by Emily Butler, illus. by Jennifer Thermes. Crown, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-1771-1. An etiquette-obsessed penguin and a vagabond mouse accompany Swedish air balloonist S.A. Andrée on his ill-fated journey to the North Pole, in this middle grade adventure novel.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. Wednesday, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-14454-6. In this series opener from Chokshi (A Crown of Wishes), Tower of Babel shards hidden around the world radiate energy that gifted individuals can use to “Forge”—magically manipulate—mind and matter. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee. Disney-Hyperion/Riordan, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-368-01335-2. In this middle grade science fiction novel by Lee (the Machineries of Empire series for adults), 13-year-old Min must venture to the stars of the Thousand Worlds in order to find her older brother, Jun, who is suspected of deserting the Space Forces to search for the legendary Dragon Pearl. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer. Page Street Kids, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-62414-715-9. In this reimagining of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” a young woman ostracized for the facial scars she received from a wolf attack finds new purpose when she bargains with that same wolf to save her father. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills. Holt, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-250-17963-0. Mills (Foolish Hearts) encapsulates small-town life in this eventful YA romance novel set in the fictional community of Acadia, Ill.

The Bell Rang by James E. Ransome. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4424-2113-4. Bold, painterly spreads by Ransome (Before She Was Harriet) give shape to the lives of a slave family whose days are ruled by the overseer’s bell. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

96 Words for Love by Rachel Roy and Ava Dash. Little, Brown/Patterson, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-47778-9. On her deathbed, Raya’s grandmother, Daadee, tells her that she’s left things that Raya and her cousin Anandi should have at a remote ashram in India, which Daadee visited in her own youth. The cousins connect with each other and their late grandmother at the ashram, in this debut YA novel by a fashion designer and her daughter.

How Do You Do? by Larissa Theule, illus. by Gianna Marino. Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-61963-807-5. In this picture book, animals learn to lighten up.

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams. Atheneum, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-6580-9. Genesis Anderson is a fragile middle schooler whose turbulent home life and drive for acceptance fuel this emotionally rich debut. The book earned a starred review from PW.

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