Hitting shelves next week are a picture book about two turtles taken with a cowboy hat, a sculptural exploration of the Grimm fairy tales, and a YA debut about an Indian teen living in Hawaii working through trauma.

Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis by Jabari Asim, illus. by E.B. Lewis. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-16856-7. Asim and Lewis team up for this picture book biography of civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis. The title is drawn from an early scene in the figure’s life: on the Alabama farm of his childhood, Lewis was in charge of the chickens; inspired by church ministers, Lewis would preach to the birds, which “swayed to the rhythm of his voice.” The book earned a starred review from PW.

The Catalyst by Helena Coggan. Candlewick, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-8972-8. In this dystopian YA novel, written by a British teen, it’s been 18 years since the Veilbreak project went wrong, shorting out electronic devices across the globe, letting in something from another world that changed people in frightening ways, and leading to the brutal First War of Angels, during which the magical “Gifted” defeated the magic-less “Ashkind.”

Old Dog Baby Baby by Julie Fogliano, illus. by Chris Raschka. Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-59643-853-8. In this picture book about the loving relationships between children and pets, a towheaded baby and his shaggy dog share a sloppy kiss. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet: Skunked by Jacqueline Kelly. Holt, $15.99; ISBN 978-1-6277-9868-6. In the first volume of a new early chapter book series featuring middle grade heroine Calpurnia Tate, the protagonist cares for an abandoned baby skunk.

Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King. Dutton, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-99488-7. In this YA novel, many factors contribute to 16-year-old Sarah’s decision, during her sophomore year, to drop out of life and spend her days wandering the streets of Philadelphia, stalking a homeless artist, encountering past and future versions of herself, and avoiding what she does best: making art. The book earned a starred review from PW.

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen. Candlewick, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-5600-3. Klassen’s previous picture books, I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat stand alone, but they also form a setup for this tale, in which two turtles stumble upon a big white hat in the desert (“We found a hat. We found it together”) and try it on in turn (“It looks good on both of us”). Klassen’s artwork, spare and sly, tells a different story. The book earned a starred review from PW.

A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of the First International Flight by Balloon in 1785 by Matthew Olshan, illus. by Sophie Blackall. FSG/Ferguson, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-374-32954-9. In this historical picture book, the team behind the The Mighty Lalouche recounts the first international balloon journey, an expedition in 1785 across the English Channel undertaken by a British doctor named Jeffries and a French balloonist named Blanchard. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-6416-1. Based on the 19th-century Bone Wars, Oppel’s YA novel follows Rachel and Samuel as they join their fathers on digs in the Wyoming Territory, competing for fossil finds and the elusive T. rex. As their friendship develops into romance, the local Sioux tribe move in on their camps after Rachel and her father remove relics from a burial site.

Rani Patel in Full Effect by Sonia Patel. Cinco Puntos (Consortium, dist.), $11.95; ISBN 978-1-941026-50-2. In this debut YA novel, Patel portrays teen Rani’s entangled emotions, lack of self-confidence, and burgeoning sense of empowerment as she moves forward from trauma. The book earned a starred review from PW.

The Happiest Book Ever by Bob Shea. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4847-3045-4. Happiness can be a cudgel: that’s the gist of this meta-story in which the narrator is a relentlessly cheerful face who personifies the book itself and conscripts readers into helping create the “Happiest Book Ever.”

Beast by Brie Spangler. Knopf, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-93716-7. The picture book creator’s first YA novel follows outcast teen Dylan who starts to develop feelings for Jamie, and then learns that she is trans. The book earned a starred review from PW.

I Used to Be a Fish by Tom Sullivan (Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-245198-9. In a rare (and humorous) look at evolution for younger readers, Sullivan’s narrator is a boy who nonchalantly conflates evolutionary biology with his own backstory.

Black Widow: Red Vengeance by Margaret Stohl. Marvel Press, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4847-7347-5. In this sequel to Stohl’s previous Black Widow novel, Forever Red, readers delve deeper into the backstory of this mysterious Marvel assassin.

The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan. Scholastic/Levine, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-545-94612-4. Tan (Rules of Summer) fashions 75 haunting sculptures, each meant to capture the spirit of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. A short excerpt from the tale that inspired the artwork appears on the left of each spread, accompanied by a photograph of its sculpture on the right. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Sticker Girl by Janet Tashjian, illus. by Inga Wilmink. Holt/Ottaviano, $13.99; ISBN 978-1-62779-335-3. Nine-year-old Marti, the middle child in a boisterous Latino family, is so shy that she can barely speak at school. Marti desperately wants friends, but has trouble reaching out to the kids in her class. Instead she spends her time on her favorite hobby: stickers.

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