Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including the story of a girl whose mother is working on the frontlines of the pandemic, a grief-infused middle grade fantasy, a picture book about dads, a story of New York’s essential workers, and more.

When Mom’s Away by Layla Ahmad, illus. by Farida Zaman. Second Story, $18.95; ISBN 978-1-77260-175-6. Crafted by a mother-daughter team, this first-person narrative follows a biracial girl whose mother is a frontline doctor in a situation whose name is never mentioned, while her father helps her prepare for virtual school at home.

River Magic by Ellen Booraem. Dial, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-525-42804-6. A dense emotional core, resonant voice, and themes of grief, shifting friendships, and family enliven Booraem’s (Texting the Underworld) contemporary middle grade fantasy, reminding readers that “hope is everywhere.”

The Great Whipplethorp Bug Collection by Ben Brashares, illus. by Elizabeth Bergeland. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-53825-1. With a mix of earnestness and humor, previous collaborators Brashares and Bergeland (Being Edie Is Hard Today) tackle the roles of men and fathers in this picture book.

Keeping the City Going by Brian Floca. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-9377-3. With his signature affection for architecture and keen sense of urban space, Caldecott Medalist Floca pays tribute to the frontline workers helping to make New York City run during the pandemic. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein. Wednesday, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-25300-2. Helnwein frankly conveys the joy, fear, and awkwardness of an all-consuming first love, poignantly depicting the teen protagonist Gracie’s growth in this novel about crushes and bullying.

Violet & Daisy: The Story of Vaudeville’s Famous Conjoined Twins by Sarah Miller. Random House/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-11972-3. This intriguing middle grade nonfiction history book chronicles the stardom and travails of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, born in Brighton, England, in 1908.

This Very Tree: A Story of 9/11, Resilience, and Regrowth by Sean Rubin. Holt, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-78850-4. Twenty years after 9/11, Rubin revisits the tragedy through the eyes of a tree that survived the devastation, providing a poignant tribute to a city’s resilience and a powerful introduction to the topic for young readers.

A Pizza with Everything on It by Kyle Scheele, illus. by Andy J. Pizza. Chronicle, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-79720-281-5. In this picture book, a child and his father make a pizza, and soon the toppings include not only ice cream cones and an entire turkey, but school supplies, the White House, a particle accelerator, a wheelbarrow full of penguins, and more.

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