Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a YA novel about two estranged sisters, an anthology of stories about the Islamic holiday Eid, the follow-up to an award-winning novel, and one teen’s journey to self-acceptance.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. Quill Tree, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-288276-9. When Yahaira’s father leaves for his annual summer trip to the Dominican Republic, the plane crashes, leaving no survivors and upending the lives of Yahaira and his other daughter, Camino. In the months following the crash, the girls, previously unknown to each other, discover their sisterhood in this YA novel. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices Edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed. Amulet, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-4083-1. This effervescent anthology, edited by Ali (Love from A to Z) and Saeed (Amal Unbound), binds together 15 short stories in a variety of formats that explore the festival of Eid. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate, illus. by Patricia Castelao. HarperCollins, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-299131-7. With this stellar sequel to her Newbery Award–winning The One and Only Ivan, Applegate sounds notes of genuine humor and heart-tugging tenderness through the voice of Ivan’s best friend, Chihuahua mutt Bob. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-282025-9. This depiction of a complicated, romantic young artist navigating the bumpy road to self-love and self-determination earned a starred review from PW.
The Betrothed by Keira Cass. HarperTeen, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-229163-9. The opener to a new duology by Cass offers court intrigue and adolescent romance.
Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us by Lauren Castillo. Knopf, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-6671-9. An array of woodland characters pay kindness forward in this character-driven early reader series opener from Castillo (Imagine).
The One and Only Dylan St. Claire by Kamen Edwards, illus. by Jeffrey Ebbeler. Doubleday, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-984893-46-8. In his picture book debut, actor, writer, and producer Edwards aims the spotlight on a confident young triple threat with an emotional range that defies gendered expectations.
Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry, illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-544-70737-5. Ferry (Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish) tells the story of a curmudgeon sailor and his noisy new neighbors, with Caldecott Honoree Martinez-Neal’s drawings teetering between scenes crotchety and sweet, underscoring the story’s tensions.
The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish by Lil Miss Hot Mess, illus. by Olga de Dios. Running Press Kids, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7624-6765-5. Hips swish, shoes stomp, jewels bling, and shoulders shimmy “all through the town” in this fizzy celebration of drag queen fierceness set to the rhythms of “The Wheels on the Bus.”
Southwest Sunrise by Nikki Grimes, illus. by Wendell Minor. Bloomsbury, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0082-3. The boy of color who stars in this picture book is relocating from New York to New Mexico, and he’s not happy about it.
Grandparents by Chema Heras, trans. from the Spanish by Elisa Amado, illus. by Rosa Osuna. Greystone Kids, $17.95; ISBN 978-1-77164-566-9. This book’s generic title does not hint at what it actually delivers—a warmhearted romance, with a dance party at the end. The book earned a starred review from PW.
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly. Greenwillow, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-274730-3. Newbery Award–winner Kelly (Hello, Universe) follows three siblings in the weeks leading up to the January 1986 launch of the Challenger. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally. Sourcebooks Fire, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4926-8413-8. The four days of the title are four class trips that high schoolers Lulu Wells and Alex Rouvelis go on each May, from freshman to senior year, in this YA novel.
Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley. Random House Graphic, $20.99; ISBN 978-1-984896-84-1. Knisley’s autobiographical comics chops are on full display in her first graphic novel for kids, a fictionalized telling of her childhood experiences, the first in her new Peapod Farms series.
Clever Hans: The True Story of the Counting, Adding, and Time-Telling Horse by Kerri Kokias, illus. by Mike Lowery. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-51498-5. This nonfiction picture book tells the story of Clever Hans, a horse who astounded early 20th-century audiences in Berlin with his cognitive talents.
Lift by Minh Lê, illus. by Dan Santat. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-136803692-4. Collaborators Lê and Santat (Drawn Together) combine a tale about sibling rivalry with a classic fantasy quest. The book earned a starred review from PW.
I’m Sticking with You by Smriti Prasadam-Halls, illus. by Steve Small. Holt, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-61923-5. Jaunty rhymes by Prasadam-Halls (Don’t Make Me Cross!) render Bear and Squirrel as inseparable pals in this picture book.
Any Day with You Mae Respicio. Random/Lamb, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-525-70757-8. Filipina-American Kaia, 12, begins to see her beloved 90-year-old great-grandfather, Tatang, in a new light when he announces that he’ll be moving from their Santa Monica home to live in his homeland year-round.
Unstoppable by Adam Rex, illus. by Laura Park. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-6504-2. A put-upon crab and a crow realize that by combining the crow’s wings and the crab’s pincers, they can become the airborne scourge of their common enemy, a cat. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Good Guys, Bad Guys by Joanne Rocklin, illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Abrams, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-3417-5. With droll exaggeration, the collaborators introduce an Odd Couple sibling pair whose personalities, as first limned, are polar opposites.
My Rainy Day Rocket Ship by Markette Sheppard, illus. by Charly Palmer. S&S/Millner, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-6177-2. Bright, full-bleed paintings by Palmer (I Can Write the World) power this tale by Sheppard (What Is Light?) about low-tech play.
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0431-5. Set in a fantastical world devastated by imperialism, Tokuda-Hall’s YA debut follows a diverse array of characters as they journey across a conscious and omnipotent sea.
Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein. Delacorte, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-593-12157-3. This middle grade novel mingles deeply resonant themes, including self-esteem, loneliness, loss, and the rewards of improbable friendships.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of May, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
