Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a “monstrous” picture book, a YA sci-fi thriller, a story about a cat, a snake, and a wish, and a new version of an old soup.
Monster Boogie by Laurie Berkner, illus. by Ben Clanton. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-6465-9. Like a cheery preschool version of the Halloween classic “Monster Mash,” children’s music star Berkner’s snappy tune-turned-picture-book features not-so-scary monsters cutting a rug.
Contagion by Erin Bowman. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-257414-5. First in a duology, this horror-tinged sci-fi thriller from Bowman (Retribution Rails) unfolds from multiple viewpoints. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Cat Wishes by Calista Brill, illus. by Kenard Pak. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-544-61055-2. When three things Cat wishes for—something to eat, shelter from the rain, a friend—mysteriously appear, his doubts about a wish fulfilling snake’s abilities begin to shift. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.
Bone Soup: A Spooky, Tasty Tale by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illus. by Tom Knight. S&S/Wiseman, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-8608-8. The cupboard of three witches is bare save for “a small, dry bone.” Why not make bone soup? Before readers can say Stone Soup, the weird sisters embark on a quest to secure ingredients from their nasty neighbors in this picture book.
Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins. Atheneum, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-1362-7. In this picture book, a pumpkin without a stem hopes to be a jack-o’-lantern. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Día de Los Muertos by Hannah Eliot, illus. by Jorge Gutierrez. Little Simon, $8.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-1515-7. Eliot introduces readers to Día de los Muertos, describing traditional observance in Mexico and other places in this board book.
Big Box Little Box by Caryl Hart, illus. by Edward Underwood. Bloomsbury, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-68119-786-9. With its bold, retro-stylized images and easy-reader verse, this creation harkens to iconic picture books of decades past. It stars a gray cat with brilliant green eyes—a cat that loves, as most cats do, to play with boxes. Fortunately, the cat’s house is full of them.
Tessa Takes Wing by Richard Jackson, illus. by Julie Downing. Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-62672-439-6. Jackson (Have a Look, Says Book) employs minimal text with zephyr-like wit, and digitized watercolors by Downing (No Hugs Till Saturday) make Tessa’s flight from her mother’s arm both comically balletic and emotionally real.
Sanctuary by Caryn Lix. Simon Pulse, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-0533-2. The protagonist of this YA science fiction novel is a junior guard on Sanctuary, an orbital prison for superpowered teenage criminals.
I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall. Viking, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-425-29098-9. Marshall’s first novel follows two parts of 16-year-old Jess Cooper’s life: before and after her father is murdered and she’s left to fend for herself in the Canadian wilderness.
Scream All Night by Derek Milman. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-266565-2. In this YA novel, a boy faces his childhood trauma as an actor in B-horror films. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Samurai Scarecrow: A Very Ninja Halloween by Rubin Pingk. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4814-3059-3. In a visually dramatic Halloween tale (a companion to Samurai Santa), Kashi is eager to take part in all things Halloween with her brother, Yukio.
Go to Sleep, Little Creep by David Quinn, illus. by Ashley Spires. Crown, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-93944-4. In this bedtime tour of a spooky alternate universe, Quinn (the Not for Children Children’s Books series) and Spires (the Binky the Space Cat series) show that monster and fiend parents face the same challenges getting their offspring to sleep as their human counterparts.
Nightbooks by J.A. White. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-256008-7. In this clever synthesis of One Thousand and One Nights and “Hansel and Gretel,” a boy captured by a witch must tell a different spooky story every night if he wishes to stay alive long enough to escape her clutches. The middle grade novel earned a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of July, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
