Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a picture book about appreciating small gatherings, a series installment about a tween facing a mentor turned foe, a poetry collection highlighting Hannukah, and more.
The Big Cheese Presents: Have Yourself a Cheesy Little Christmas by Jory John, illus. by Pete Oswald. Harper, $15.99; ISBN 978-0-06-343786-9. In the latest addition to the Food Group series, Big Cheese worries that their gathering won’t be as enjoyable when they’re unable to pull off a big party.
The Book of Anansi by Angie Thomas. Clarion, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-322518-3. In the second installment of the Nic Blake and the Remarkables series, Nic’s former hero returns for revenge while Nic struggles to control her newfound powers.
The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah by Laurel Snyder, illus. by Leanne Hatch. Clarion, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0632-7814-1. A luminous collection of brief free verse poems follows a family of five through their Hanukkah celebration. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Bunheads, Act 2 by Misty Copeland, illus. by Setor Fiadzigbey. Penguin/Paulsen, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-399-54768-3. In the second installment of the Bunheads series, Misty finds the courage to take on a new role when her friend is injured ahead of a performance.
The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala. Push, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-546-12587-7. La Sala fuses body- and eco-horror into this propulsive paranormal thriller, which follows a group of reunited teens stranded on an island overrun by infected beings, both human and pelagic, whose origins may be tied to a decades-old chemical spill. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
The Experiment by Rebecca Stead. Feiwel and Friends, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-250-37476-9. In this twisty, thoughtful tale from Newbery Medalist Stead, alien Nathan masquerades as human in New York City until physical alien traits develop and he’s called back to their Mother Ship, a place of inequity and deprivation.
Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity by Jane O’Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser (Harper, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-341122-7). In the first new Fancy Nancy picture book in seven years, after her best friend Bree leaves to visit family, Nancy makes a new friend and must navigate conflict when both friends collide.
Firebird by Elizabeth Wein. Union Square, $9.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-4549-6272-4. Drawing from extensive research on the House of Romanov and Russian female pilots in WWII, Wein crafts a thrilling series opener following Russian teen Nastia, who is drafted into the first all-woman aviation unit, led by renowned female pilot Marina Raskova. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes (Harper, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-335840-9). In this companion novel to National Book Award finalist The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, teen Cesar attempts to rekindle his relationship with his ex-boyfriend Jamal while grappling with his recent bipolar diagnosis.
Hekate by Nikita Gill. Little, Brown, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-316-58182-0. Raised in the Underworld after a war with the Olympians forced Hekate and her mother to flee, Hekate’s newly blossoming magic threatens Zeus and the Olympians who sundered her world.
The House That Floated by Guojing. Random House Studio, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-70905-4. Delicate chalk and digital renderings by Guojing engross in this wordless story about a house precariously perched on the edge of a seaside overhang.
I Like Cheese! by Salina Yoon. Bloomsbury, $12.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-1242-0. This retro-style early reader comic, a series kickoff from Yoon, centers on the lunchtime bond of pals Kat and Mouse.
I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This by Eugene Yelchin. Candlewick, $22.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1553-3. In the sequel to Yelchin’s memoir The Genius Under the Table, teen Yevgeny’s dreams of evolving through the Russian art scene is stalled by the threat of being drafted into the military.
If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry. Simon & Schuster, $21.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-7081-1. Jack the Ripper is stalking the streets of 1888 New York City, while a metropolitan sisterhood of Medusas seeks vengeance for the women he’s killed in this inventive Greek mythology-infused thriller.
If We Were Dogs by Sophie Blackall. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-58172-1. Readers are invited to imagine what kind of dog they would be in this companion to If I Was a Horse.
Moonleapers by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Quill Tree, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0633-9256-4. Twelve-year-old Maisie is given a mysterious phone from her ill aunt Hazel, who was a Moonleaper, a time-traveling spy, and Maisie must now take up the mantle and leap into Hazel’s past to change her great-aunt’s—and the world’s—future.
My Dog Smudge by Sujean Rim. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-66597-095-2. Rim’s sunny lift-the-flap book winsomely attempts a dog bark translation.
The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser. Allida, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0632-8443-2. Two tweens living in different timelines embark on parallel journeys to save their families in this absorbing magical adventure. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Roswell Johnson Saves the Galaxy by Chris Colfer (Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-51542-9). Roswell and his alien friends investigate the sudden disappearance of people and stars from the galaxy in the sequel to Roswell Johnson Saves the World!
Snow Kid by Jessie Sima. Simon & Schuster, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-6608-5. The protagonist of this identity-focused picture book, a snow kid created and named “Twig” by a bunch of human children, begins their “frozen and silent” life sporting a jaunty top hat. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri. Levine Querido, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-566-9. Nayeri considers the effects of WWII on two Iranian children in a heart-piercing historical novel. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
The Trouble with Giraffes by Lisa Mantchev, illus. by Taeeun Yoo (S&S/Wiseman, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-665-96276-6). In the picture book companion to Strictly No Elephants, a girl and a giraffe become close friends despite their height difference.
Wally Mammoth: The Sled Race by Corey R. Tabor, illus. by Dalton Webb. Greenwillow, $12.99; ISBN 978-0-0634-3491-2. Employing the snappy timing of a top-tier animated short, Tabor and Webb, making his traditionally published book debut, launch a series starring a woolly mammoth called Wally who enters a sledding race with competitive friends.
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?: A Hard-Boiled Mystery by Brianna Caplan Sayres, illus. by Mark Fearing. Holiday House, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5827-1. Exactly six years after her hatching, self-proclaimed inspector H. Poulet has just hung out her detective-agency shingle when three hen friends arrive demanding answers to the titular question.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of September, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
