Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including an improbable YA romance, the story of an aspiring stand-up comic, a picture book sequel about a fantastical house, a Christmas story, and many more.
All This Time by Mikki Daugherty and Rachael Lippincott. Simon & Schuster, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-6634-0. In this YA novel, Daughtry and Lippincott (Five Feet Apart) craft a fairy tale romance for readers who believe in second and third chances, as well as improbable but destined love.
Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott. Peachtree, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-68263-147-8. Fourteen-year-old Haylah, who is fat and white, tells readers early on not to expect a story where “I have an epiphany and become a slim, sexy, health freak who’s into yoga and mung beans.” Instead, Elliott (the Owl Diaries series) gives sharp, funny Haylah multiple slower realizations—about friendship, her single mother and the man she’s been dating, and, most importantly, about pursuing her dream of doing stand-up.
Julia’s House Moves On by Ben Hatke. First Second, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-19137-3. In this sequel to Julia’s House for Lost Creatures, the trolls, ghosts, and other beings who live in Julia’s ramshackle Victorian have been out of sorts, precipitating a move to the mountains. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Mistletoe: A Christmas Story by Tad Hills. Random House/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-17442-5. Hills introduces a memorable pair of characters who bring humor and thoughtfulness to their sweet celebration of Christmas in this picture book.
Sharko and Hippo by Elliott Kalan, illus. by Andrea Tsurumi. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-279109-2. Well-oiled comedic dialogue by Kalan (Horse Meets Dog) starts with a bang as Sharko and silent sidekick Hippo ready themselves to fish.
Skyhunter by Marie Lu. Roaring Brook, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-22168-1. Lu (The Kingdom of Back) creates a devastating, war-torn world, built upon the wreckage of a technologically advanced society. Readers will eagerly await a follow-up to this YA dystopian novel, which interrogates traumas of war, immigration, and imperialism.
Will You Be My Friend? by Sam McBratney, illus. by Anita Jeram. Candlewick, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1747-6. Twenty-five years after publishing evergreen bestseller Guess How Much I Love You, the collaborators offer a similarly resonant sequel in which Little Nutbrown Hare goes exploring alone when Big Nutbrown Hare is preoccupied. Author Sam McBratney recently died at age 77. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
One Boy’s Choice: A Tale of the Amazon by Sueli Menezes, trans. from the German by Kathryn Bishop, illus. by Annika Siems. Minedition, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-66265-003-1. Menezes’s words and Siems’s artwork demonstrate the Amazon’s miraculous profusion of life in this story.
Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-53677-6. “Inspired by the collective voices of many,” the married cocreators incisively invoke oral tradition in fictionalized accounts of a Black family enduring political and economic oppression under Jim Crow. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Dungeon Critters by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter. First Second, $22.99; ISBN 978-1-250-19547-0. Anxious dog June; stolid Goro, a legged snake; flamboyant cat Rose; and self-assured frog Prince Chirp are the Dungeon Critters, a wisecracking, villain-fighting, dungeon-raiding group of anthropomorphic friends who roam a magical fantasy kingdom. The graphic novel earned a starred review from PW.
Gnu and Shrew by Danny Schnitzlein, illus. by Anca Sandu. Peachtree, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-68263-146-1. When laid-back Gnu tells motivated Shrew about a diamond-filled cave on the other side of a crocodile-infested river, Shrew immediately works on a plan to reach it. Gnu, on the other hand, prefers daydreaming to doing.
Butts Are Everywhere by Jonathan Stutzman, illus. by Heather Fox. Putnam, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-525-51451-0. Utilizing a wealth of hilarious synonyms, married cocreators Stutzman and Fox (Llama Destroys the World) request in this picture book a little respect, please, for the buttocks, which is not just “something to crack jokes about.”
A Very Quacky Christmas by Frances Watts, illus. by Ann James. Doubleday, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-17377-0. Australian collaborators Watts and James underscore the rewards of ingenuity and sharing in this picture book about Samantha, a plucky duck who is determined to celebrate Christmas.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of September, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
