Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a middle grade fantasy, a YA novel about an alien in disguise, a wordless book about an alien conspicuously undisguised, a bilingual anthology of immigrant’s stories illustrated by award winning artists, and many more.
The Last Windwitch by Jennifer Adam. HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-298130-1. An intriguing setting, an interesting magical system, and a resourceful, empathic heroine mark this fantasy debut that combines horses, myth, and shadow magic.
Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders. Tor Teen, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-31731-5. A teen anticipates her true form in this fast-paced YA debut from Anders (All the Birds in the Sky, for adults). Though she’s been living on Earth for the last 17 years, the protagonist is actually a purple alien clone with a beacon implant that will signal for her comrades to collect her.
Alien Nation by Sandro Bassi. Levine Querido, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-038-1. This haunting, wordless story by Venezuelan artist Bassi opens with a spread of an ordinary commuter moving through a crowded metropolitan train station, glued to a smartphone screen that shows a map. Dark pencil drawings give extra impact to the only feature that distinguishes the commuter and fellow travelers from ordinary humans.
Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz: The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States compiled by Warren Binford, illus. by Cecilia Ruiz et al. Workman, $19.95; ISBN 978-1-5235-1348-2. This hard-hitting bilingual book assembles the testimonies of 61 migrant children from Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, ages five to 17. The collection is movingly illustrated by 17 Mexican and Mexican American artists, including Yuyi Morales and Raúl the Third, to share truths of life in U.S. Border Patrol and detention facilities.
Aven Green Sleuthing Machine by Dusti Bowling, illus. by Gina Perry. Sterling, $12.95; ISBN 978-1-4549-4221-4. In this first volume in a prequel series to Bowling’s middle grade Life of a Cactus novels, eight-year-old Aven Green, who was born without arms, doesn’t solve mysteries “like any old detective.”
Yes & No by Elisha Cooper. Roaring Brook, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-25733-8. An adorably over-the-top puppy and a fastidious black cat offer a study in contrasts in this sweetly comic interlude by Caldecott Honoree Cooper (Big Cat, Little Cat). The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Threads of Magic by Alison Croggon. Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0719-4. When 12-year-old pickpocket Pipistrel, who has fair hair and pale skin, lifts an ornate silver box from a noble, he’s just hoping to support his sister, as they were orphaned as toddlers due to typhus. But inside the box is a sinister “rough black” Stone Heart, an object of great power sought by some of the most commanding people in the kingdom.
Saving American Beach by Heidi Tyline King, illus. by Ekua Holmes. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-99629-4. In her picture book debut, King profiles MaVynee Betsch (1935–2005), a Black opera singer who devoted herself to maintaining American Beach, which her great-grandfather bought during the Jim Crow era to make “open to everyone.” The nonfiction picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Three by Stephen Michael King. Roaring Brook/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-4923-1. In this picture book, a small, city-dwelling stray with a sunny disposition is unruffled by his missing right foreleg: “Every day was a skip and a hop for Three.”
The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen. Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1562-5. The most gratifying feature of this new offering by Caldecott Medalist Klassen is that there’s so much of it–96 pages of dark, Beckett-caliber comedy, told in episodes. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Hello, Rain! by Kyo Maclear, illus. by Chris Turnham. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-3819-0. From distant thunder to clearing skies, a downpour offers plenty to see and do for the star of this story and her dog companion.
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky. Holt, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-23010-2. This twisty YA novel with a diverse cast from Moldavsky (No Good Deed) is at once a gripping teen melodrama, an incisive meditation on fear, and a love letter to horror and the genre’s tropes. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-358-43455-9. Subplots involving an incurable prison-wide plague in the face of the loss of the prison’s healer, along with the arrival of a handsome new inmate, Jaren, add mystery and romance to this high-stakes YA fantasy trilogy opener from Noni (the Whisper series).
Girls and Boys Come Out to Play by Tracey Campbell Pearson. Holiday House/Ferguson, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-4713-8. In this picture book mashup, Mother Goose invites children and a host of other nursery rhyme celebrities, including Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole, and others to play.
The House of Grass and Sky by Mary Lyn Ray, illus. by E.B. Goodale. Candlewick, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0097-3. Joining a growing shelf of picture books about dwellings that witness generational change, this quiet story by Ray (The Friendship Book) stars an old white saltbox house that has long been occupied by families.
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera. HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-294755-0. Pretending to be an apprentice bruja, an unassuming preteen enters a dangerous competition to rescue her 15-year-old sister from monstrous forces in this mesmerizing middle grade fantasy. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff. Candlewick, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1585-4. Through an unnamed, ungendered teen’s sharp eye and knowing narration, Printz Medalist Rosoff tells a dryly humorous story of summer and love gone awry.
The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit, trans. from the Spanish by Elisa Amado. Greystone Kids, $18.95; ISBN 978-1-77164-782-3. A multigenerational group of sweet-faced capybaras seeks refuge during hunting season in a gently drawn story that parallels human concerns. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Regina Is Not a Little Dinosaur by Andrea Zuill. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-12728-5. Peeved when her T. rex mother won’t let her go on a hunt (“Stay in the nest and be Mama’s good little carnivore”), strong-willed Regina heads out on her own in this picture book.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of April, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
