Step into fall with a slew of new September sequels for children and teens. Readers can join in an underwater adventure in a new submarine, don their sleuthing caps as they follow a true crime mystery about Alcatraz escapees, face off against a god in a series finale, and more.
Picture Books and Graphic Novels
Ants in Our P.A.N.T.S. by John Patrick Green (First Second, Sept. 28 $9.99; ISBN 978-1-250-22005-9)
The new mission for the sewer-loving secret agents in the fourth InvestiGators installment has agent Brash trapped in a mysterious coma. The technicians at S.U.I.T. have designed the ultimate replacement, RoboBrash, but it seems he’s got a few bugs in his system. Will Mango and his new partner be able to stop the giant ants that are on a rampage in the city?
Best Friends Forever! by Beth Ferry, illus. by Tom Lichtenheld (Clarion, Sept. 7 $17.99; ISBN 978-0-358-47302-2)
A new adventure is in store for BFF duo Stick and Stone. Stick has always wanted to find his family tree. Stone is happy to accompany his friend on the journey to find the tree he comes from—until it gets dark.
Dragons Are the Worst by Alex Willan (Simon & Schuster, Sept. 7 $17.99; ISBN 978-1-534-48511-2)
In this companion to Unicorns Are the Worst, Gilbert the Goblin is absolutely, definitely, 100% certain that dragons are the worst. But really, it’s the dragons who should be afraid of Gilbert and his tremendous goblin power.
Hurricane by John Rocco (Little, Brown, Sept. 28 $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7595-5493-1)
A boy’s favorite place in the world is the old, splintery neighborhood dock, in the follow-up to Blizzard and Blackout. There the boy can swim, fish, or watch minnows dart between the rocks. But a hurricane is approaching and its violent winds and rain carry with it anything that can float.
Jailbreak at Alcatraz by Tom Sullivan (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, Sept. 7 $12.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-06-299154-6)
The second book in the Unsolved Case Files series takes place in 1962 when Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin devised one of the most involved and innovative plans to escape Alcatraz. Hatching an elaborate plan, the pair successfully vanished one night. After decades of false leads and dead ends, the fate of these escapees still remains a mystery.
Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse—and Dandy, Too! by T.L. McBeth (Holt, Sept. 14 $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-26383-4).
Randy is back in this sequel to Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse, but he’s not alone. Dandy is the new horse in town, and he’s claiming to be Randy’s best friend. Dandy can’t wait to go on an adventure together but Randy isn’t impressed. Will they learn to work together?
Tiny T. Rex and the Tricks of Treating by Jonathan Stutzman, illus. by Jay Fleck (Chronicle, Sept. 7 $7.99; ISBN 978-1-452-18490-6)
Tiny T. Rex returns for a Halloween adventure and, along with Pointy, shares tips and tricks so that readers can have a treat-filled Halloween.
What Do You Say, Little Blue Truck? by Alice Schertle, illus. by Jill McElmurry (Clarion, Sept. 28 $14.99; ISBN 978-0-358-56195-8)
The friendly Little Blue Truck beeps hello to all of his animal pals, in this new story in the Little Blue Truck series.
What the Hex? by Sophie Escabasse (Random House Graphic, Sept. 7 $9.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-593-11930-3)
Effie returns in this sequel to Witches of Brooklyn, in which she copes with the anxiety of shifting friendships. Suddenly Effie is no longer the newest kid in school, and it seems like her friends are happy to grow their little group, but Effie isn’t so sure.
Novels
As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson (Delacorte, Sept. 28 $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-37985-1)
In the finale to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. Although she’s used to the death threats, she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: “who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?”
The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi (Wednesday, Sept. 21 $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-14460-7)
The crew is fractured after Séverin’s betrayal in this finale to the Gilded Wolves trilogy. Armed with only a handful of hints, they must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice to locate Séverin. With only 10 days until Laila expires, the gang faces plague pits and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself... but at a price they may not be willing to pay. See our q&a with Chokshi about the series.
Crush stuff. by Lisi Harrison (Putnam, Sept. 28 $8.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-984815-01-9)
In the second book in Harrison’s girl stuff. series, Halloween is just around the corner and with it comes the dreaded overnight class trip at a smelly farm. Fonda has ideas for a way cooler trip but other kids come up with proposals of their own. There’s only one solution: a petition competition, and whoever gets the most signatures wins.
Egg Marks the Spot by Amy Timberlake, illus. by Jon Klassen (Algonquin, Sept. 14 $18.95; ISBN 978-1-64375-006-4)
When Skunk and Badger head out on a rock-finding expedition, they find surprises behind every boulder in this follow-up to Skunk & Badger. Buried in the heart of every animal is a secret treasure. For rock scientist Badger, it’s the Spider Eye Agate he found as a cub. For Skunk, the treasure is Sundays with the New Yak Times Book Review. When Mr. G. Hedgehog announces his plan to come for the Book Review as soon as it thumps on the doorstep, Skunk decides an adventure will solve Badger’s problems as well as his own. See our q&a with Timberlake about the series.
Einstein: The Fantastic Journey of a Mouse Through Space and Time by Torben Kuhlmann (NorthSouth, Sept. 7 $22; ISBN 978-0-7358-4444-5).
From the creator of Lindbergh–The Tale of a Flying Mouse, Armstrong–The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon, and Edison–The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure comes an inventive mouse who is determined to turn back the clock. With the help of a mouse clockmaker and the notes of a certain famous Swiss physicist, he succeeds in traveling back in time– but misses his goal by 80 years. See our story on Kuhlmann’s Mouse Adventure series.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Little, Brown, Sept. 7 $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7595-5763-5)
Heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions, in this sequel to The Inheritance Games. Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she’s not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. See our Cover Reveal here.
Into the Dying Light by Katy Rose Pool (Holt, Sept. 21 $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-21179-8)
In the conclusion to the Age of Darkness trilogy, from the destruction of the City of Mercy, an ancient god has been resurrected and sealed inside Beru’s body. Meanwhile, far away from Pallas Athos, Anton learns to harness his full powers as a Prophet. Amidst it all, the group’s tenuous alliance is threatened by mounting danger and a secret that Anton is hiding: a way to destroy the god at the price of an unbearable sacrifice.
The Invisible Mix-Up by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen (Random House, Sept. 21 $5.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-593-30879-0)
The third installment in the Mermicorns series finds Sirena and Lily learning amazing magic at school. When they take a field trip to the library, they discover how to make things disappear. But turning invisible is dangerous, especially when you don’t know all the rules.
The Last Kids on Earth and the Doomsday Race by Max Brallier, illus. by Douglas Holgate (Viking, Sept. 14 $14.99; ISBN 978-1-984835-37-6)
The seventh book in The Last Kids on Earth series follows Jack Sullivan and his buddies as they head toward the mysterious Tower, where they must stop Rezzoch from descending upon our dimension. But the journey is cut short when they are swept up by the Mallusk, an enormous centipede monster carrying the world’s largest shopping mall on its back.
Maya and the Return of the Godlings by Rena Barron (Clarion, Sept. 21 $16.99; ISBN 978-0-358-10632-6)
Now a guardian in training, Maya spends her days patching up veils with her father and cleaning up near-disasters, in this sequel to Maya and the Rising Dark. But when Maya and her friends discover that something went wrong during their quest to bring her father back, they are forced to return to The Dark and restore what they left behind: the one thing keeping the veil from falling, her father’s soul.
The Perfect Planet by Jon Scieszka, illus. by Steven Weinberg (Chronicle, Sept. 21 $14.99; ISBN 978-1-452-17121-0)
Time is up for the AstroNuts in their third mission. When the team finds out they’re being sent to a place called “the perfect planet,” their mission sounds way too easy. Unfortunately, the second they land, they realize they’ll be dealing with the most dangerous species of all time—humans.
Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker, illus. by Jon Klassen (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, Sept. 7 $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-293034-7)
In the sequel to Pax, it’s been a year since Peter and his pet fox, Pax, have seen each other. Pax and his mate, Bristle, have welcomed a litter of kits. Meanwhile Peter, newly orphaned after the war, leaves his adopted home with Vola to join the Water Warriors. When one of Pax’s kits falls ill, he turns to the one human he knows he can trust. See our Cover Reveal here.
Room to Dream by Kelly Yang (Scholastic Press, Sept. 21 $17.99; ISBN 978-1-338-62112-9)
In this new Front Desk Novel, Mia Tang finally gets to go on vacation with her family—to China. As she roams around Beijing, witnessing some of the big changes China is going through, Mia reflects on the transformations in her own life.
Set Me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte (Scholastic Press, Sept. 21 $18.99; ISBN 978-1-338-74249-7)
This standalone companion to Show Me a Sign takes place three years after Mary Lambert has been kidnapped as a “live specimen” in a cruel experiment to determine the cause of her deafness. Mary has grown weary of domestic life, so when an old acquaintance summons her to an isolated manor house outside Boston to teach a deaf girl to communicate, Mary agrees.
Sunny Makes a Splash by Jennifer L. Holm, illus. by Matthew Holm (Graphix, Sept. 21 $12.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-338-23317-9)
The latest entry in The Sunny series brings Sunny into a sink-or-swim summer, where she needs to float her first job and dive into her first maybe-flirtation. Sunny’s mother isn’t sure Sunny should be quite so independent. But Sunny is sure: life is best when it’s free swim.
A Tale of Sorcery... by Chris Colfer (Little, Brown, Sept. 28 $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-05599-4)
In the third book in A Tale of Magic, it’s been almost a year since Brystal Evergreen made a deal with Death to find and destroy the Immortal in exchange for her life. But she still hasn’t found a single clue about who or where the Immortal is. To make matters worse, something dark and malignant has risen from deep within the earth, threatening life as we know it.
