Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a picture book that plays with form, the first volume in a new a chapter book series, a story of unwanted guests, and a middle grade adventure.
The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee. Dial, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-55545-2. In this sly fable by Agee (Life on Mars), a tall brick wall runs along the book’s gutter, and the action takes place on either side. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: The Questioneers Book #1 by Andrea Beaty, illus. by David Roberts. Amulet, $12.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-3360-4. The duo behind the bestselling STEAM-based picture book series that introduced engineer Rosie Revere, architect Iggy Peck, and scientist Ada Twist turns the kids into a team, “the Questioneers,” in a spirited chapter book series opener.
There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor by Wade Bradford, illus. by Kevin Hawkes. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-8665-9. In this picture book, a hotel guest’s encounters other, unwanted guests, who increase in size as he exchanges rooms.
The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs. Bloomsbury, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0046-5. Authors Condie (Matched) and Reichs (Genesis) team up to deliver an action-packed Goonies-like middle grade adventure set in the Pacific Northwest.
Little Christmas Tree by Jessica Courtney-Tickle. Big Picture, $15.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0311-0. Animals surround a pine tree in this wintry lift-the-flap book in verse. The volume earned a starred review from PW.
Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz. Starscape, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7653-9459-0. Cruz’s rich descriptions of Filipino culture intensify the sense of place and proffer bright spots in the difficult situation of the protagonist of this middle grade novel.
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-9463-0. Fans of Newbery Medalist DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale will delight in finding out what becomes of Raymie’s orphaned friend Louisiana Elefante in this “story of woe and confusion” that is also a “story of joy and kindness and free peanuts.” The middle grade novel earned a starred review from PW.
Little Brown by Marla Frazee. Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-2522-3. In this picture book set at a dog park, the protagonist has been cranky for so long that nobody knows which came first: is he that way because he’s lonely and ignored, or did his crankiness drive the other dogs away?
The Healer by Donna Freitas. HarperTeen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-266211-8. With a deep sense of longing and a beautiful coming-of-age undercurrent, Freitas (The Body Market) presents a stark and emotional tale about growing up as a saint.
Island War by Patricia Reilly Giff. Holiday House, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-3954-6. In 1941, two sparring Connecticut schoolmates travel to Attu, a remote island off the coast of Alaska, in this middle grade novel from the Newbery Honor author.
Silent Night illus. by Lara Hawthorne. Lincoln Children’s, $15.99; ISBN 978-1-78603-066-5. The Christmas Choir picture book series launches with this reverent and accessible adaptation of a favorite carol.
Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera, illus. by Lauren Castillo. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-7636-9052-6. Each stanza of this verse memoir by former U.S. Poet Laureate Herrera ends with the word “imagine.” The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
The Very Last Castle by Travis Jonker, illus. by Mark Pett. Abrams, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-2574-6. In this librarian and blogger’s debut picture book, a girl discovers the surprising secret behind a castle in the middle of her town.
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. Harlequin Teen, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-335-14516-1. Japanese folklore features heavily in Kagawa’s (Inferno) YA series opener.
Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller. Holt/Ottaviano, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-250-10723-7. In this mixed media picture book, a potato is excited to shop for pants.
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-269660-1. An idyllic island hides a deadly secret in this atmospheric, Gothic-flavored YA thriller, which mingles elements of dark fairy tales and outright horror.
My Father’s Words by Patricia MacLachlan. HarperCollins/Tegen, $15.99; ISBN 978-0-06-268769-2. Key relationships in her own life inspired this characteristically taut and resonant novel by Newbery Medalist MacLachlan; the book earned a starred review from PW.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi. HarperTeen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-0628-6656-1. In this YA novel, Mafi (the Shatter Me series) infuses a contemporary love story with a heartbreakingly realistic portrait of one post-9/11 Muslim life in the United States.
Dear Sister by Alison McGhee, illus. by Joe Bluhm. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $13.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-5142-0. Letters, drawings, and homemade coupons form this epistolary accounting of two siblings’ young life together, a portrait of frustration and love that spans 10 years: from the birth of Sister to her 10th year, when her brother departs for college.
Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara, illus. by Esmé Shapiro. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-6588-0. In a picture book told through letters, McNamara envisions Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, wife of Alexander, as an elderly woman writing to her yet-to-be-born great-granddaughter.
Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-43124-8. Omu (pronounced AH-moo; it’s Igbo for queen), the matriarch of her city neighborhood, is making “thick red stew in a big fat pot.” The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Broken Things by Lauren Oliver. Harper, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-222413-2. Five years after being publicly accused of, but never charged with, their friend’s murder, Brynn and Mia are determined to find out what really happened.
Lorraine by Ketch Secor, illus. by Higgins Bond. Jabberwocky, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4926-1692-4. Musician Secor deftly mines his songwriting talent in this paean to music and family bonds.
Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman. Simon & Schuster, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-8196-0. In Neal Shusterman (Scythe) and son Jarrod’s near-future or alternate-present America, a prolonged drought (“the Tap-Out”) results in the sudden curtailment of Southern California’s water supply. The book earned a starred review from PW.
The Collectors by Jacqueline West. Greenwillow, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-269169-9. First in a planned duology, West’s magical middle grade adventure offers humor as it follows a dreamer who is often the new kid at school.
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden. First Second, $32.99; ISBN 978-1-250-17813-8. In this sprawling, wholly original space jaunt by Walden (Spinning), the depicted characters are all female or gender nonbinary, and the diverse protagonists inhabit cluttered and homey quarters aboard a fish-shaped starship. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Unlimited Squirrels: I Lost My Tooth! by Mo Willems. Hyperion, $12.99; ISBN 978-1-368-02457-0. Full of signature Willems hilarity, this beginning reader series opener stars 16 squirrels whose cheerful energy bursts from the pages.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of October, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
