Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a picture book about the power of stories, a speculative tale of identity, a picture book biography of an athlete and activist, a novel about a teen coder, and many more.

One Girl by Andrea Beaty, illus. by Dow Phumiruk. Abrams, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-1905-9. Skirting sentimentality by fully respecting the curiosity of its young protagonist, this poetic tribute to story focuses on the power of a potential unleashed.

Into the Real by Z Brewer. Quill Tree, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-269138-5. In Brewer’s (Madness) speculative tale of identity, 17-year-old Quinn exists in three iterations within the municipality of Brume, their gender presentation varying across story lines.

Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant, illus. by Frank Morrison. Abrams, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-4108-1. Bryant’s richly contextualized picture book about Elgin Baylor’s life, from his childhood in Washington, D.C., where the “nice parks” were “whites only,” to playing in the nascent NBA in a segregated U.S., shows how a star athlete used his influence to raise awareness and trigger change.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak Jillian Cantor. Inkyard, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-335-09059-1. In this Jane Austen update, high school senior Emma, copresident of her school’s coding club, thinks she has a winning idea for this year’s New Jersey state competition: creating a matchmaking app for her schoolmates.

All Because You Matter by Tami Charles, illus. by Bryan Collier. Orchard, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-338-57485-2. Caldecott Honoree Collier’s (Trombone Shorty) tender, close-up watercolor portraits of a growing Black boy give visual power to this celebration of young Black lives. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

Roxy the Last Unisaurus Rex by Eva Chen, illus. by Matthew Rivera. Feiwel and Friends, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-61992-1. In this picture book, self-esteem isn’t an issue for half-dinosaur, half-unicorn Roxy, who, in her own words, is “only the most magical creature in the world.”

Forget This Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke. Holiday House, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-82344-608-7. It’s 1993, and 17-year-old Claire Whitmore is stuck in her mother’s retrograde hometown of Indianola, Tex., for the summer, caring for her chronically ill grandmother. But when furred lizard-creatures speak to her in the backyard, Claire learns about the town’s secret: the monster colony in its old power plant. The YA novel earned a starred review from PW.

Your House, My House by Marianne Dubuc. Kids Can, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5253-0490-3. This day-in-the-life tale takes place in a modest apartment building seen in Richard Scarry-style cutaways. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

Hush by Dylan Farrow. Wednesday, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-23590-9. Activist Farrow illustrates truth’s revolutionary nature in this duology-opening fantasy debut in which magicians manipulate reality with language.

A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi. Quill Tree, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-294320-0. Faruqi (A Place at the Table) deftly explores Pakistani culture through the dual perspectives of Mimi and Sakina, two girls from different backgrounds.

Kondo & Kezumi Visit Giant Island by David Goodner, illus. by Andrea Tsurumi. Disney-Hyperion, $14.99; ISBN 978-1-368-02577-5. After she finds an intriguing map in a bottle, adventurous Kezumi—a small orange island dweller—persuades her much warier and larger companion, yellow Kondo, to build a boat and explore. The early chapter book earned a starred review from PW.

Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds by Elise Gravel. HarperAlley, $12.99; ISBN 978-0-06-298222-3. Stripped-down forms, bold black contours, and hand-lettered type by Gravel (I Am Scary) reveal crows’ many talents in this simple story of would-be friendship.

Out the Door by Christy Hale. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-4644-5. Intricate, textural cut-paper collages distinguish this directional tale, which follows a brown-skinned child through a weekday commute via the New York subway—from a Brooklyn brownstone to school and back. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, illus. by Lauren O’Hara. Chronicle, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-8155-4. With this chilly fable, Hargrave (The Deathless Girls) invokes a feeling of folklore set in an ambiguous era and location where two sisters contend with a never-ending winter.

Aaalligator! by Judith Henderson, illus. by Andrea Stegmaier. Kids Can, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5253-0151-3. This fable-like tale emphasizes questioning assumptions and creative problem solving when a boy meets an alligator who could be hungry, or is simply injured.

Girl Giant and the Monkey King by Van Hoang, illus. by Nguyen Quang and Kim Lien. Roaring Brook, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-250-24041-5. Ever since moving from California to Georgia with her mother, 11-year-old Thom Ngho has felt out of place. She’s painfully aware of her Vietnamese ethnicity at her nearly all-white school, and she’s also hiding barely controlled superhuman strength. The middle grade novel earned a starred review from PW.

Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-10861-1. Hopkins creates realistic portrayals of two kids trying to do their best even when it’s not easy, in this prose poem told from alternating perspectives.

What We’ll Build: Plans for Our Together Future by Oliver Jeffers. Philomel, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-20675-1. In this standalone companion to Here We Are that is dedicated to his daughter, Jeffers imagines a stream of fanciful projects that a father, sporting a wool hat, and his sailor dress–clad daughter might do together.

The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung. Levine Querido, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-011-4. This middle grade novel treats themes including toxic masculinity, anti-Asian racism, and homophobia while following two friends in a resonant portrayal of the transitory nature of adolescence.

The Poisoned Apple: A Fractured Fairy Tale by Anne Lambelet. Page Street Kids, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-64567-060-5. This “Snow White” reboot by Lambelet (Maria the Matador) borrows a princess, some dwarfs, and a poisoned apple from the fairy tale universe to tell a cautionary tale about well-laid plans.

Louis by Tom Lichtenheld, illus. by Julie Rowan-Zoch. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-328-49806-9. The title character of this picture book is all talk and no action—and that makes him one endearing teddy bear.

Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1238-9. Julián from Julián Is a Mermaid) returns, and is going to be in a wedding; he arrives, dressed in a sharp lavender suit and magenta shoes, with his abuela. “A wedding is a party for love,” Love writes. The book earned a starred review from PW.

My Hair Is Magic! by M.L. Marroquin, illus. by Tonya Engel. Page Street Kids, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-6241-4981-8. A sweet appreciation of a confident Black child and her beautiful, versatile hair who declares, “My hair is ME!” The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu. Sourcebooks Fire, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-7282-1659-1. Debut author Nagamatsu blends mystery and melancholia in the Riverdale-esque story of friends grieving the strange death of 17-year-old Lincoln Miller, found drowned in a forest with no water.

Oh, the Things We’re For! by Innosanto Nagara. Triangle Square, $17.95; ISBN 978-1-64421-014-7. With Seussian rhyme, Nagara crafts a progressive call-to-arms about social justice topics in this picture book.

Breathless by Jennifer Niven. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-0196-3. In this YA novel, Niven intimately and sensually depicts a teen girl’s determination to know herself and her body, and to genuinely connect not just with a budding love interest but with herself.

While You're Away by Thodoris Papaioannou, illus. by Petros Bouloubasis. Minedition, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-66265-005-5. Wild creatures do wonderful things even when no one is around to see them, Papaioannou writes in this picture book meditation on the natural world.

Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander, illus. by Dawud Anyabwile. Little, Brown/Patterson and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-3164-9816-6. Newbery Medalist Alexander (The Crossover) teams up with bestselling author Patterson to deliver this fictionalized biography of boxer, activist, and cultural icon Muhammad Ali. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Turtle Walk by Matt Phelan. Greenwillow, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-293413-0. The gentle joke at the heart of this picture book is that a short trip takes this turtle family four seasons to arrive. The book earned a starred review from PW.

On Account of the Gum by Adam Rex. Chronicle, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-8154-7. Snappy second-person verse (“That’s the gum./ Right there./ That you got in your hair”) enumerates a family’s vain efforts to remove a blob of shocking pink bubblegum as Rex (Unstoppable) dreams up ever-grosser remedies for the hairy dilemma.

Attack of the Underwear Dragon by Scott Rothman, illus. by Pete Oswald. Random House, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-11989-1. The sweet spoofery of debut author Rothman’s text matches Oswald’s (Hike) gently irreverent vignettes in this picture book where a knight and his assistant defeat a formidable adversary.

The Chicken Who Couldn’t by Jan Thomas. Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4169-9699-6. In this picture book, a chicken retrieves his self-confidence after losing a fair competition.

Migrants by Issa Watanabe. Gecko, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-77657-313-4. In this animal allegory about the plight of present-day migrants, Watanabe gracefully captures both dignity and determination.

The Wanderer by Peter Van den Ende. Levine Querido, $21.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-017-6. Dutch artist Van den Ende follows a mysterious paper boat on a surreal, at times oppressive-feeling journey across the world’s oceans.

There Must Be More Than That! by Shinsuke Yoshitake. Chronicle, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-8322-0. In an era specializing in dark predictions, Yoshitake (I Can Be Anything) gives young readers a new way of thinking about what’s to come in this picture book.

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