Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a YA novel about a teen with writer’s block, a memoir in essays, a picture book about civil rights leaders, and the story of two jet-setting dogs.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid. Inkyard Press, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-335-01255-5. After high school graduation and a breakup with her boyfriend, Lu develops writer’s block, leaving her at risk of losing her job as a love and dating columnist for an online teen magazine, and the journalism scholarship to NYU that goes with it.
Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse by Shane Burcaw. Roaring Brook, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-770-0. In his second memoir, a collection of 23 essays, Burcaw candidly shares hilarious, cringe-worthy, and poignant stories about his life and living with spinal muscular atrophy.
We Are the Change: Words of Inspiration from Civil Rights Leaders edited by Chronicle Books, illus. by Emily Hughes et al. Chronicle, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-7039-8. Inspired by the work of the American Civil Liberties Union and introduced by singer and activist Harry Belafonte, this volume pairs the works of 16 contemporary illustrators with quotations (chosen by those illustrators) by a wide range of historic and living public figures.
Honey & Leon Take the High Road by Alan Cumming, illus. by Grant Shaffer. Random House, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-55800-9. Quintessential New York dogs Honey and Leon are back for another adventure, this time tailing their travel-happy parents Cummings and Shaffer (The Adventures of Honey & Leon) to Scotland.
Animalicious: A Quirky ABC Book by Anna Dewdney and Reed Duncan, illus. by Claudia Boldt. Penguin Workshop, $14.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-9205-3. Duncan and Dewdney, his late wife, introduce make-believe animals with names that integrate wordplay, puns, and double entendres in this picture book.
Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-51625-5. Dugan captures an awkward and magical season in this YA novel about a bisexual teen navigating love and a carnival job in the summer before her senior year.
The Lost Boy’s Gift by Kimberly Willis Holt. Holt/Ottaviano, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-62779-326-1. In this quiet tale of community and new friendship by Holt (Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel), nine-year-old Daniel and his mother move across the county to While-a-Way Lane following his parents’ divorce.
That’s What Dinosaurs Do by Jory John, illus. by Pete Oswald. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-234319-2. Scaring people by roaring loudly at them is bad, right? Right. But William the T. rex does it anyway in this picture book.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-2096-4. The first in a science fiction series from the creators of the Illuminae trilogy is a novel about a group of misfits on the brink of a war.
Nocturna Maya Motayne. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-284273-2. First in a trilogy, Motayne’s debut introduces Finn Voy, an orphaned thief who can magically alter her appearance, and Alfehr Reyes, the crown prince of Castallan, who can see and manipulate magical threads that bind the universe.
Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos. Random/Lamb, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-525-64657-0. Autistic astronomy lover Nova Vezina is 12 years old in January 1986, and although she rarely speaks, she understands much more than people give her credit for, in this debut middle grade novel.
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry, illus. by Mónica Armiño. Greenwillow, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-289593-6. Parry (The Turn of the Tide) offers a middle grade wolf’s-eye view of the Pacific Northwest’s forests, mountains, and prairies in this harrowing survival tale based on the story of OR-7, a wolf electronically tracked by scientists.
The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle E. Pitman. Abrams, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-3720-6. Pitman takes a unique narrative approach to the Stonewall riots by introducing a series of meaningful objects associated with the historical event in this nonfiction book.
The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-062-69902-2. Like all the women in the Chernyavsky family, 16-year-old Ruby knows when she’ll die, and she knows her death date is immovable. When she tries to avoid her fate, she faces devastating consequences.
I’m a Baked Potato! by Elise Primavera, illus. by Juana Medina. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-5592-0. “You’re my little baked potato,” the lady in this picture book coos at her new brown terrier, inspired both by his appearance and her favorite food.
Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small. Algonquin, $17.95; ISBN 978-1-61620-878-3. Two ballerinas compete for a spot in a Paris ballet school in this YA novel.
Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis. Bloomsbury, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0100-4. This debut middle grade novel follows a girl who believes she’s a bird, and who starts to heal from her own difficult past when placed into a caring foster home.
Our Castle by the Sea by Lucy Strange. Chicken House, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-338-35385-3. In this WWII thriller, Strange (The Secret of Nightingale Wood) crafts an evocative portrait of wartime suspicion and intrigue. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Share Your Smile: Raina’s Guide to Telling Your Own Story by Raina Telgemeier. Graphix, $12.99; ISBN 978-1-338-35384-6. Bestselling graphic novelist Telgemeier encourages readers to tell their stories in this illustrated how-to book.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of April, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
