Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a free verse YA novel, the launch of a magical new series, and a collection of stories about influential women.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-266280-4. Debut novelist Acevedo’s free verse in this YA coming-of-age story reflects the determination and strength of the protagonist. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Holt, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-17097-2. Adeyemi’s buzzed-about debut, the first volume of the Orïsha Legacy trilogy, follows a teen who brings magic back to her community. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu, trans. from the French by Montana Kane. First Second, $17.99 trade paper; ISBN 978-1-62672-869-1. In this story collection about famous women, Bagieu (California Dreamin’) creates short graphic biographies about inspiring women from many unexpected times and places. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake. Little, Brown, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-316-51546-7. After 12-year-old Ivy’s rural Georgia home is obliterated by a tornado, she heads to a shelter with her parents, older sister, and twin baby brothers. The book earned a starred review from PW.
My Pet Wants a Pet by Elise Broach, illus. by Eric Barclay. Holt/Ottaviano, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-250-10927-9. A familiar conceit—a child begs a parent for a pet—takes an absurd turn when that pet, a frisky puppy, wants (and gets) a pet of his own, an orange kitten.
On the Other Side of the Garden by Jairo Buitrago, trans. from the Spanish by Elisa Amado, illus. by Rafael Yockteng. Groundwood, $19.95; ISBN 978-1-55498-983-6. In this picture book, a girl is consoled by animals when she feels abandoned. The book earned a starred review from PW.
She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History by Chelsea Clinton, illus. by Alexandra Boiger. Philomel, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-51699-6. Clinton expands the reach of her bestselling picture book She Persisted, highlighting 13 women who have made history internationally. Her subjects include familiar contemporary figures J.K. Rowling and Malala Yousafzai, and others less widely recognizable.
In Search of Us by Ava Dellaira. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-374-30531-4. In her second novel, Dellaira connects two stories—17-year-old Marilyn brought to Los Angeles by her mother, intent on making Marilyn a star —and many years later, Marilyn’s biracial daughter Angie, who wants to find her extended relatives. The book earned a starred review from PW.
This Is the Nest That Robin Built by Denise Fleming. Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-3083-8. Fleming’s cumulative picture book celebrates a favorite symbol of the season, a robin’s nest.
The Sky at Our Feet by Nadia Hashimi. Harper, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-242193-7. Hashimi (One Half from the East) addresses the plight of undocumented immigrants while taking middle grade readers on a madcap race through Manhattan. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. Dial, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7352-2851-1. After introverted Nisha receives a diary for her 12th birthday, she begins to find her voice as she documents her family’s upheaval amid the 1947 Partition of India. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The True Adventures of Esther the Wonder Pig by Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter, and Caprice Crane, illus. by Cori Doerrfeld. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-55476-3. Many animal lovers have already heard of this picture book’s protagonist: she’s the 650-pound rescue pig with 1.5 million followers on Facebook and Instagram.
The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by Diane Magras. Penguin/Dawson, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7352-2926-6. Set in a rugged Scottish landscape in the early 13th century, debut author Magras’s tale of courage and heroism centers on Drest, the youngest child and only daughter of Grimbol, the dreaded Mad Wolf of the North. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Mrs. Noah’s Pockets by Jackie Morris, illus. by James Mayhew. Otter-Barry (PGW, dist.), $18.99; ISBN 978-1-91095-909-1. Mr. Noah sets out to build an ark—under no one’s orders but his own—unaware that his wife is busy with her own plans. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Place Between Breaths by An Na. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-2225-3. Na (The Fold) creates a powerful impression of life with schizophrenia in this psychologically intense novel. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Field by Baptiste Paul, illus. by Jacqueline Alcántara. NorthSouth, $17.95; ISBN 978-0-7358-4312-7. A boisterous and unfettered love of futbol is at the heart of this energetic picture book from debut talents Paul and Alcántara, set on an unspecified Caribbean island.
Pignic by Matt Phelan. Greenwillow, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-244339-7. With simple text and lighthearted, luminous watercolors, Phelan (What Are You Waiting For?) lets readers find parallels between their own outdoor festivities and those of his characters. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Backup Bunny by Abigail Rayner, illus. by Greg Stones. NorthSouth, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7358-4282-3. The titular character of this picture book is backup to his owner’s primary plush bunny, when that toy goes missing.
After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-328-70227-2. Told in alternating first-person narratives, this layered story gracefully captures its protagonists’ external pressures and inner conflicts. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-6911-1. Dress-up-loving Harriet wears costumes everywhere; and her penguin costume gets her taken far away. The book earned a starred review from PW.
All the Animals Where I Live by Philip C. Stead. Roaring Brook/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-656-7. In the meditative manner of his previous book Ideas Are All Around, Caldecott-winner Stead looks at the animals in his neighborhood, and at his own life. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Blue Rider by Geraldo Valério. Groundwood (PGW, dist.), $19.95; ISBN 978-1-55498-981-2. In this wordless picture book, a girl travels to a vibrant meeting. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Break by Katherena Vermette. House of Anansi, $16.95 trade paper; ISBN 978-1-4870-0111-7. This YA novel is not a typical crime story but rather a mosaic, the fragments of which reveal the stories of an assault victim and her extended family, a young Métis police officer working on the case, as well her attackers. The book earned a starred review from PW.
A Busy Creature’s Day Eating by Mo Willems. Hyperion, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-368-01352-9. G is for gluttony (ok, “gravy,” technically) in Willems’s madcap abecedary, built around a youngster who devours everything in sight, then suffers the consequences. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk. Delacorte, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-1587-8. In this YA debut novel, set on a realistically diverse Long Island, Woodfolk surveys the devastation of those left behind after the deaths of three teenagers, and their tentative efforts to move forward
Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen. Philomel, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-25778-0. Yolen (The Devil’s Arithmetic) returns to the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust in this expansive, eloquent novel about Chaim and Gittel Abromowitz, 14-year-old twins connected by a secret language and a fierce love for each other.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of March, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
