Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a picture book about connecting with neighbors, stories about facing fear, a middle grade novel about addiction, a medieval fable, and many more.
Thank You, Neighbor! by Ruth Chan. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-290953-4. Social psychologists have shown that saying hello to the people one encounters can make one feel happier and more connected. Chan’s (The Alpactory: Ready, Pack, Go!) young protagonist, goes one better, trading “Thank you!” with the people in their multicultural community on daily dog walks. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Three Ways to Be Brave: A Trio of Stories by Karla Clark, illus. by Jeff Östberg. Rise x Penguin Workshop, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-22242-3. In straightforward language and saturated, unlined digital art, these three stories offers an object lesson on the way that occupying a mind with other concerns can drive fear away.
Violets Are Blue by Barbara Dee. Aladdin, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-534-46918-1. Weaving two very different but timely topics—makeup tutorial videos and opioid addiction—Dee’s (My Life in the Fish Tank) poignant middle grade novel depicts the ways that both adults and children can feel out of control.
The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illus. by Sophie Blackall. Candlewick, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1361-4. Set “during a time of war” when “terrible things happen everywhere,” Newbery Medalist DiCamillo’s engrossing medieval fable verges on darkness while examining what changes a world. The illustrated middle grade novel earned a starred review from PW.
Remember to Dream, Ebere by Cynthia Erivo, illus. by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-49615-5. Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Erivo presents an endearing bedtime story in dialogue that will ring true for many children and their guardians.
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber. Flatiron, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-26839-6. First in a series spun off from her Caraval trilogy, Garber’s romantic YA fantasy follows 17-year-old Evangeline Fox, whose boyfriend, Luc Navarro, unexpectedly proposes to her stepsister, Marisol Tourmaline.
You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow. Delacorte, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-525-70804-9. Glasgow (How to Make Friends with the Dark) tackles such difficult topics as classism and bigotry in the educational system, and draws struggles with addiction with compassion.
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray. Putnam, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-40568-0. Gray’s imaginative debut traces the twined fates of 16-year-old Koffi and 17-year-old Ekon, a pair of Black teenagers living in the corrupt fictional jungle city of Lkossa.
A House by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-309260-0. Eschewing a more traditional story arc in this volume, Henkes (Sun Flower Lion) creates multiple images of a dwelling—a tiny, boxlike structure with a pink tiled roof, a round window, and a blue chimney—and offers a series of questions about them.
Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma by Joanna Ho, illus. by Teresa Martinez. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-299454-7. This picture book biography presents an ambitious portrait of a storied humanitarian with a clear message of advocacy. Back matter features more information on the figure and his music, and an author’s note.
Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-302522-6. The 1908 Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition draws performers, entrepreneurs, and frauds to Seattle, and 16-year-olds Jack Nevin and Wilhelm Gessler work for people who qualify on all accounts.
Book Buddies: Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord, illus. by Stephanie Graegin. Candlewick, $12.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1354-6. In this early chapter book series starter, Newbery Honoree Lord (the Shelter Pet Squad series) introduces the Book Buddies, a collection of playthings that live at a public library and can be checked out for two-week intervals.
Time Will Tell by Barry Lyga. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-53778-0. Lyga (I Hunt Killers) grips readers at every turn in this mystery that tackles sexual assault, mental illness, bullying, homophobia, and racism. The YA novel earned a starred review from PW.
A Secret Shared by Patricia MacLachlan. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-288585-2. When deeply bonded twins Ben and Nora accidentally discover through a DNA sample test that their beloved younger sister Birdy is Swedish—not Irish, like their mother, or Italian, like their father—they are dumbfounded and seek to uncover family secrets.
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat. Quill Tree, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-06-294614-0. Set in 1821 England, this queer fantasy series opener from Pacat (the Captive Prince trilogy) follows two teenagers who learn that a successful trader and his acolytes intend to sacrifice them in a quest to resurrect the Dark King.
Pony by R.J. Palacio. Knopf, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-553-50811-6. Silas Bird, the introspective 12-year-old at the center of this 1860 Ohio-set adventure, lives with his inventive but reclusive father, a Scottish bootmaker and photographic scientist, as well as a protective teenage ghost named Mittenwool, until three men on horseback arrive at the family’s remote cabin to seize Silas’s father.
Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen. Quill Tree, $22.99; ISBN 978-0-06-299508-7. Enchanted to help Witch Agnes in her garden, anxious garlic bulb Garlic and her best friend Carrot live in a fruit- and vegetable-populated hamlet at the edge of a forest in this middle grade graphic novel.
When Carrot Met Cookie by Erica S. Perl, illus. by Jonathan Fenske. Penguin Workshop, $9.99; ISBN 978-0-593-22631-5. Packed with food puns and speech bubbles, this picture book fable features warring factions of anthropomorphic vegetables and desserts.
The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities: New Stories About Mythic Heroes Ed. by Rick Riordan. Disney/Rick Riordan Presents, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-368-07083-6. This middle grade anthology serves up 10 new stories from the imprint’s contributing authors, including a Celtic mythology–inspired piece by Riordan. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Hurricane by John Rocco. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-7595-5493-1. Naturalistic spreads in Rocco’s signature style capture the peace of a child’s world and the drama of a hurricane’s arrival and aftermath with detailed scientific matter at the back.
Cat Dog by Mem Fox, illus. by Mark Teague. Beach Lane, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4169-8688-1. A game of cat, dog, and mouse proves itself a meta tale in the works in this wry and original picture book, which earned a starred review from PW.
Nina: A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N. Todd, illus. by Christian Robinson. Putnam, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5247-3728-3. Todd’s telling shines in this portrait of Nina Simone—tracing her journey from a piano-playing child in North Carolina to her later years as a performer, protest song pioneer, and civil rights activist. The picture book biography earned a starred review from PW.
A Cub Story by Kristen Tracy, illus. by Alison Farrell. Chronicle, $9.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-7458-7. A smiling, dot-eyed brown bear cub narrates its life over the course of a year, taking readers through seasonal bear activities, including sitting “very still” in front of a waterfall during spring, rolling down a hill into blackberry bushes in the summertime, fishing in the fall, and hibernating in the winter. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi, illus. by Loveis Wise. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-291564-1. In her picture book debut, Zoboi employs magnetic, allusive free verse to describe the course of history as experienced by members of the African diaspora and enslaved African peoples. The book earned a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of September, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
