Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a picture book about feeling seen, a picture book biography highlighting a female astronomer, a novel in verse following a young Chinese immigrant’s experience in 1880s California, and more.
Aaniin: I See Your Light by Dawn Quigley, illus. by Nanibah Chacon. Heartdrum, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06308-863-4. In an uplifting picture book about beholding others’ brightness, Ojibwe author Quigley, collaborating with Diné and Chicana artist Chacon, reassures: “Sometimes you might feel invisible. But I say to you: aaniin, I see your light.” The picture book received a starred review from PW.
The Curious Life of Cecilia Payne: Discovering the Stuff of Stars by Laura Alary, illus. by Yas Imamura. Eerdmans, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-8028-5515-2. Boundary-defying astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne stars in this picture book biography that highlights both the scientific and social aspects of Payne’s life story. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Eureka by Victoria Chang. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-3743-9353-3. Chang vividly renders discrimination and racism experienced by those of Chinese heritage in 1880s California through the eyes of a 12-year-old Chinese immigrant in this dynamic verse novel.
Freddie and Stella Got Hot by Maggie Horne. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-37737-1. Bisexual science whiz Stella and her newly out lesbian bestie Freddie are dismayed to realize that their former friend, popular lesbian homecoming queen Levi, seems destined to win their California all-girls high school’s coveted college scholarship, and decide to work together to sabotage Levi’s chances. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass. HarperCollins, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-331248-7. In this sharply rendered riff, Douglass reimagines The Great Gatsby as a sprawling Harlem Renaissance–set story starring queer Black protagonists.
Lost Girls of Hollow Lake by Rebekah Faubion. Delacorte, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-90043-7. Evie Williams and seven other teen girls vanish during a school–sponsored outing to Hollow Lake National Park, and 46 days later, only Evie and four fellow “Lost Girls” return home. When questioned, the nightmarish truth is hardly believable.
Reach by Celesta Rimington. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-86030-4. A tween struggles to undo the unprecedented result of an impulsive wish in this empathetic speculative novel.
Run Home by Alyssa Bermudez. Roaring Brook, $22.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-250-77430-9; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-77431-6. Organized as diary entries starting on Sept. 1, 2002, this moving graphic novel memoir by Bermudez follows the creator as she struggles to navigate ninth grade at a New York City all-girls school. The graphic novel received a starred review from PW.
Saber-Tooth by Robin Gow. Amulet, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-7738-7. As autistic and transgender incoming eighth grader Jasper forges ahead with a fossil hunt, he discovers a voice from underground claiming to be a saber-toothed tiger who needs Jasper to unearth them. The novel in verse received a starred review from PW.
The Star of Moon Village by Jennifer Ann Richter. Holiday House, $17.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-0-8234-5657-4; $9.99 paper ISBN 978-0-8234-6369-5. An aspiring tween scientist fights for what she believes in as she journeys to the moon in an uplifting adventure set in 2079.
Stronger Than by Nikki Grimes and Stacy Wells, illus. by E.B. Lewis. Heartdrum, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-063264-75-5. An Afro-Indigenous boy experiencing nightmares learns about the events experienced by his ancestors in this nested telling from African American poet Grimes and Choctaw author Wells.
Suuban’s First Day by Shugri Salh, illus. by Àlàbá Ònájìn. Roaring Brook, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-2503-4020-7. A child grows into new responsibilities around the rhythms of the natural world in this captivating tale that’s based on the author’s childhood in the deserts of Somalia. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice by Yvonne Clark-Rhines and Monica Clark-Robinson, illus. by Abigail Albano-Payton. Quill Tree, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-06-325160-1. This illuminating picture book biography frames the life of civil rights activist and teacher Septima Clark as one driven by the subject’s passion for education and belief in equality. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
What a Small Cat Needs by Natalia Shaloshvili, trans. from the Russian by Lena Traer. Enchanted Lion, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5927-0477-4. Conjuring a wee feline, Shaloshvili deftly kicks off a tenderly wrought picture book meditation on the power of unconditional love. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
When I Redraw the World by Audrey Vernick, illus. by Heather Fox. Random House Studio, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-81128-3. Lying on their stomach, crayon in hand, a child contemplates literally redrawing the world in this hopeful picture book.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of January, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
