Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a picture book about accepting limitations, a graphic novel following a tween disobeying a powerful order, a YA nonfiction book about the history of AIDs in the U.S., a summer adventure from a mother-son team, and more.
Can You Grow a Striped Banana? by Jill Santopolo, illus. by Momoko Abe. Rocky Pond, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5938-5885-1. Imagining scenarios in which an adult acknowledges that they can’t do the impossible, Santopolo, making her picture book debut, and Abe spin the admission into a silly-sweet expression of love.
Clock Hands by Marieke Nijkamp, illus. by Sylvia Bi. Greenwillow, $15.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-06-302713-8. Vale is invited by an outsider to help him build an astronomical clock against the wishes of the powerful guild.
The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America by Gabriel Duckels and David Levithan. Knopf, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-593-71092-0. Debut author Duckels teams up with Levithan to deliver an emotionally resonant portrait of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Found Sound by Meg Wolitzer and Charlie Panek, illus. by Ceej Rowland. Dutton, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-101-99462-7. Mother-son collaborators Wolitzer and Panek, making his debut, craft a charming summer romp with a brisk educational component, featuring two tweens who embark on a sound-inspired scavenger hunt.
The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko. Amulet, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-6437-0. Ifueko blends corporate dystopia, climate satire, and cinematic flair to launch a daring, high-concept series that recalls Black Mirror. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
Gods & Comics by Kat Cho, illus. by Robin Har. Penguin/Paulsen, $20.99; ISBN 978-0-593-40681-6. A Korean American high schooler moonlighting as a webtoon artist finds her meticulously planned future upended when her fictional creations inexplicably come to life in this epic fantasy adventure. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Hold by Randy Ribay, illus. by Zeke Peña. Kokila, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5938-5698-7. Jackets donned and marching toward the front door, a father and child turn carrying an armload into a full-fledged activity in this picture book portrait of trying to make it out of the house. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
My Sister, Goose by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illus. by Hyewon Yum. Hippo Park, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-6626-4099-5. Part sibling story, part leadership handbook, this conversational picture book foregrounds a big sister who knows how to channel a younger’s spectacular fashion sense.
The Octopus by Guojing. Two Lions, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-6625-2150-8. With velvety, dimensional digital illustrations arranged in wordless panels, Guojing crafts a context-building outing that inspires environmental stewardship.
Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive by Erin Frankel, illus. by Stacy Innerst. Calkins Creek, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-66268-095-3. This starry-eyed portrait of composer and lyricist Sondheim places curiosity at the heart of the musical theater virtuoso’s success. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Rayana Johnson’s Giant Leap by Jill Tew. Freedom Fire, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-368-10476-0. In Tew’s hopeful middle grade debut, a Black 13-year-old who lives with anxiety struggles to manage her diagnosis as she grapples with adolescent trials surrounding crushes, periods, and establishing agency.
Sockflea: A Stuffie in the Wild by Laura Dockrill, illus. by Eva Byrne. Candlewick, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-4510-3. In this high-energy picture book with a strong interpersonal dynamic, Dockrill and Byrne deliver an antic take on that eternal childhood tug-of-war between leaning into maturity and still needing comfort. The book received a starred review from PW.
Taking Flight by Kashmira Sheth, illus. by Nicolò Carozzi. Dial, $18.99; ISBN 979-8-2170-0388-4. In second-person prose and close-hatched, realistic images, Sheth and Carozzi’s deeply felt tale braids together tales of three young refugees. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Theft of the Ruby Lotus by Sayantani DasGupta. Scholastic Press, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-338-76687-5. The theft of a priceless artifact coincides with a tween’s unexpected upcoming relocation to a foreign country in this bustling caper. See DasGupta’s essay for PW on art repatriation and the personal and political inspiration for her new novel.
The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story by Kate Messner, illus. by Brian Biggs. Clarion, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0633-7262-7. Ostensibly a marine mammal smackdown, this neatly engineered picture book from Messner and Biggs also offers an eye-opening lesson on how rhetoric can be turned on its head.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of April check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
