Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a story of tween friends, a book about a brown bear who wants to hide, a middle grade novel about mental health, a YA novel about a society scandal, and more.

Stick with Me by Jennifer Blecher. Greenwillow, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-274862-1. In this middle grade novel, Blecher (Out of Place) keenly illustrates the agonies and intricacies of tween friendship, as well as the familial challenges of being 12: “Too old to stomp your feet and whine. Too young to actually decide anything important.”

Find Fergus by Mike Boldt. Doubleday, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-984849-02-1. In this picture book, a big brown bear learns how to hide.

Serena Says by Tanita S. Davis. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-293697-4. Eleven-year-old Serena St. John, who is Black, does not like to stand out, unlike her best friend, outgoing JC, who is Filipina and has always been “funnier and louder and more confident than everyone.” In this middle grade novel, Serena contends with illness, mental health, and friendship.

Beautiful Wild by Anna Godbersen. HarperTeen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-267985-7. Anxious to flee an impending society scandal generated by their daughter’s flirtations, the parents of headstrong San Francisco socialite Vidalia Marin Hazzard, 17, hastily book passage to Hawaii for themselves and their daughter on a grand new ocean liner, the Princess of the Pacific, said to be unsinkable.

The Trouble with Penguins by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. Roaring Brook, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-20848-4. In this picture book, sharing wears a group of penguin friends’ patience, but they regroup over a warm drink in the Arctic.

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer. Feiwel and Friends, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-61881-8. Before an outing with friends gives her supernatural powers, the biggest trial of perfectionist Prudence Barnett’s sophomore year has been her sloppy and chronically tardy lab partner, Quint Erickson.

The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-44031-8. Caldecott Medalist Pinkney’s (A Place to Land) recasting of Andersen’s fairy tale affirms girls’ voices and power while offering dazzling undersea magic. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

A Fort on the Moon by Maggie Pouncey, illus. by Larry Day. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-4657-5. Pouncey, making her picture book debut, contributes a tender portrayal of the bond between two siblings as they build a spaceship together.

Life-Size Animals: An Illustrated Safari by Rita Mabel Schiavo, illus. by Isabella Grott. Abrams, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-4460-0. Echoing the concept of Sophy Henn’s Lifesize series, this new title offers “accurate illustrations” of animals and animal parts “that have the actual measurements beside them.”

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