Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a picture book featuring dachshunds, a YA romance novel, an updated version of a Jane Austen story, and a picture book about grieving the loss of a pet.
Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-236726-6. One of these pups is not like the other in this picture book featuring decorated dachshunds.
Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-285730-9. This humorous YA romance novel in the vein of Jane Austen portrays a young woman who is very much of the time but modern in her thoughts about marriage and women’s roles.
Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-328-63519-8. In her first YA novel, Firkins, a playwright, screenwriter, and comics artist, offers a modernized, pared-down retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.
The Invisible Leash: A Story Celebrating Love After the Loss of a Pet by Patrice Karst, illus. by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-52485-8. In this follow-up to picture book The Invisible String, heavy-hearted Zack can’t stop thinking about his dog, Jojo, who has just died. The picture book offers an empathy-driven resource for children dealing with the loss of a pet.
A Girl, a Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon by Karen Romano Young, illus. by Jessixa Bagley. Chronicle, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-6952-1. Part mystery, part coming-of-age journey, Young’s (Hundred Percent) middle grade story interweaves real-world issues (declining library attendance and homelessness) and fantastical elements, alongside illustrations by Bagley.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of December, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
