Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a book about a celebrated children’s author, an animal story, a middle grade coming-of-age novel, and the story of a camping trip.

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett, illus. by Sarah Jacoby. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-239344-9. This picture book biography depicts the dashing, colorful life of the author of more than 100 children’s books before her untimely death at age 42. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Leyla by Galia Bernstein. Abrams, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-3543-1. Bernstein (I Am a Cat) offers another taut and snappy animal story illustrated with correspondingly spare yet emotive pictures. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker. Viking, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-451-47940-2. It’s a year of big changes for Zenobia July. After her father died in what is being called a hunting accident (her mother passed away when she was small), she has moved from Arizona to Portland, Maine, to live with Aunts Phil and Lucy—a quirky couple with a diverse friend group, including the larger-than-life drag queen “Sprinkles.”

Camp Tiger by Susan Choi, illus. by John Rocco. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-17329-5. Making her children’s book debut, Pulitzer Prize finalist Choi (American Woman) pairs with Caldecott Honor-Award illustrator Rocco (Noah Builds an Ark) to deliver a story about a family camping trip. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

War in the Ring: Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, and the Fight Between America and Hitler by John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro. Roaring Brook, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-15574-0. Florio and Shapiro (One Nation Under Baseball) vividly recount the politically and racially charged rivalry between African-American boxing champion Joe Louis and white German boxer Max Schmeling, which grew between their 1936 and 1938 matches.

The Last Peach by Gus Gordon. Roaring Brook, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-350-4. This fable-like picture book follows two insects inspecting the last peach from a tree. The book earned a starred review from PW.

Cyril and Pat by Emily Gravett. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-53443950-4. In this picture book, Cyril, a lonely squirrel, is having so much fun with his new friend, Pat, that he doesn’t notice that Pat is not actually another squirrel.

Our Flag Was Still There: The True Story of Mary Pickersgill and the Star-Spangled Banner by Jessie Hartland. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-0233-1. The huge American flag that flew over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry and inspired The Star-Spangled Banner—and is now displayed in the Smithsonian—was hand-stitched in just six weeks by an indomitable female entrepreneur. This picture book tells her story.

Brave Face: A Memoir by Shaun David Hutchinson. Simon Pulse, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-3151-5. YA author Hutchinson (The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried) explores the travails of coming into his sexuality in the early 1990s, when homophobia was rampant in the U.S., the AIDS crisis was in devastating full force, and equal rights for anyone on the LGBTQ spectrum were still a distant dream.

Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson with Malik “Malik-16” Sharif. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-284032-5. Jackson (Monday’s Not Coming) deftly chronicles the timely story of bold young talent gone too soon and the survivors who struggle to keep it alive. The YA novel earned a starred review from PW.

We Are the Perfect Girl by Ariel Kaplan. Knopf, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-525-64710-2. In a clever YA retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, Kaplan (We Regret to Inform You) introduces best friends with opposing personalities who face challenges of the heart.

Paper Mice by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illus. by Phoebe Wahl. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-8166-3. In this picture book, an elderly woman and a girl craft two paper mice who come to life.

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