Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a picture book about love for a growing family, a picture book highlighting a father’s care, a historical middle grade novel exploring the impact of baseball ahead of WWII, a YA thriller with a supernatural twist, and more.
Auntie’s Baby by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by Savanna Durr. Holt, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-250-88130-4. A child discovers their expanding capacity for familial love in this compassionate, realistic account about welcoming a baby to the family.
Baba Palooza by A.D. Ghani, illus. by Nadia Alam. Abrams, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-7715-8. In a touching picture book, Ghani and Alam craft an exuberant ode to a working father’s love. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Baseball’s Shining Season by Martin W. Sandler and Craig Sandler. Bloomsbury, $24.99; ISBN 978-1-547-60797-6. Father-son duo Martin and Craig Sandler take a look at how the game of baseball captured the nation’s attention on the eve of WWII.
The Beast You Let In by Dana Mele. Sourcebooks Fire, $12.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-4642-3701-0. The unsolved decades-old murder of local teen Veronica Green has long been treated as lore in her small rural town—until a Halloween party on the anniversary of her death sparks a chain of events that culminate in a quest for vengeance in this chilling thriller with a supernatural bent.
A Blood Moon (Snowlands #1) by Morr Meroz, illus. by Collin Fogel. Graphix, $25.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-5461-7174-4; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-5461-7173-7. In this earnest graphic novel, gradually declining prey causes tension within a wolf pack, whose members baselessly blame orphaned wolf cub Feba for their inability to find food.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga by Dav Pilkey, illus. by Motojiro. Scholastic/Graphix, $14.99 paper; ISBN 978-1-546-15121-0. In this manga adaptation of the first Captain Underpants book, best friends George and Harold invent the titular superhero.
The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss. Putnam, $22.99; ISBN 979-8-217-00612-0. Following the harrowing conclusion to the fourth installment of wildly popular locked-room competition show The Escape Game—during which the body of a contestant named Alice was unexpectedly found on-camera—producers invite 20 teens to participate in the fifth season’s taping.
Feo the Chupacabra by Sequoia Blankenship, illus. by Rob Thompson. Abrams Fanfare, $24.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-4197-6369-4; $16.99 paper ISBN 978-1-4197-6370-0. When a movie studio threatens to oust the townspeople of Cabrito Viejo, Mexico, from their homes, an unlikely duo steps up to save the day in this heartfelt graphic novel, a dual debut set in 1950.
Frank the Monster by Mats Strandberg, trans. from the Swedish by Julia Marshall, illus. by Sofia Falkenhem. Gecko, $18.99; ISBN 979-8-3480-2728-5. Strandberg presents a fresh take on a classic monster mythos in this timeless-feeling series starter.
Fly Away Home by Betty Quan, illus. by Akin Duzakin. Groundwood, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-77306-962-3. Via nursery rhyme cadences and scenes of animal migration alongside humans in flight, Quan and Duzakin movingly center one outcome of lives in jeopardy.
Fruitcake by Rex Ogle, illus. by Dave Valeza. Graphix, $25.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-338-57510-1; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-338-57507-1. As his friends start showing interest in romance, an eighth grader considers his own sexuality in this candid graphic novel memoir from previous collaborators Ogle and Valeza.
Girl Reflected in Knife by Anica Mrose Rissi. Dutton, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593-85982-7. A high school junior must reconcile past trauma to save herself from heartbreak in this propulsive novel.
Good Morning, Morning! by Maya Myers, illus. by Jennifer K. Mann. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5831-8. This lyrical ode celebrates wonder and autonomy amid the natural world.
Hello, Beautiful by Traci N. Todd, illus. by Loveis Wise. Viking, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-35298-4. Advice-filled lines welcome a growing child, “bright-eyed,/ bold,/ demanding to be heard/ and seen,” in this effusive picture book.
Hmong: A Graphic History by Vicky Lyfoung, trans. from the French by Kao-Ly Yang. Graphic Universe, $18.99 paper; ISBN 979-8-7656-5982-3. Lyfoung draws upon her experience growing up in France as the daughter of Hmong refugees from Laos in this bittersweet graphic novel memoir.
Home Is a Door We Carry by Constantin Satüpo. Yonder, $19.95; ISBN 978-1-6320-6421-9. Two long-journeying children vividly resurrect left-behind places in this yearningly imagined picture book.
How to Be Normal by Ange Crawford. Walker Australia, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-76160-256-6. An undercurrent of hope powers a fraught plot that probes subjects surrounding domestic coercive control in Crawford’s gritty debut.
How the Other Half Die by P.C. Roscoe. Little, Brown, $12.99 paper; ISBN 978-0-316601-78-8. Scandalous White Lotus mystery vibes combine with teenage mean girl drama in this suspenseful thriller.
Just One Gift by Linda Sue Park, illus. by Robert Sae-Heng. Clarion, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-063-32463-3. This slim collection of poems, a companion to Park and Sae-Heng’s previous collaboration The One Thing You’d Save, both inspired by Korean sijo verse, invites readers to reflect deeply about the needs and desires of people in their lives.
Just One Oak: What a Single Tree Can Be by Maria Gianferrari, illus. by Diana Sudyka. Beach Lane, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-66596-104-2. In a richly illustrated picture book that’s chock-full of ecological facts, Gianferrari and Sudyka venerate the astounding oak for its critical role as a keystone species. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Last Day Pool Party by Emma Steinkellner. Labyrinth Road, $21.99 hardcover; ISBN 979-8-217-03142-9; $14.99 paper ISBN 979-8-217-03141-2. In this witty and acutely observed graphic novel that recalls The Breakfast Club, Steinkellner skillfully captures the whirlwind of emotions that a group of teens confront amid their social transition from middle school to high school. The book received a starred review from PW.
Maybe Tomorrow I’ll Know by Alex Ritany. Norton, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-324-08363-4. The consciousness of a teenage boy stuck in a girl’s body—and in a time loop—searches for a way to return to his original vessel in this fresh and clever speculative romance.
Mixed Feelings by Sara Amini, illus. by Shadia Amin. Graphix, $25.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-338-79741-1; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-338-79739-8. In her debut graphic novel memoir, a series launch, Iranian and Colombian American actor Amini recalls her experience growing up as a “mixed kid” in 1999 Texas.
Mousestache Moosestache by Rowboat Watkins. Chronicle, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-7972-3391-8. All the world’s a ‘stache in this enthusiastic follicular fantasy from Watkins, who sprouts mustaches on absolutely everything.
The Not So Quiet Life of Marcel Marceau by Jenn Bailey and Sherry Bushue, illus. by Pamela Zagarenski. Levine Querido, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-660-4. Bailey and Bushue dramatically recount the formative war-time experiences of late performer Marcel Marceau before he became known for his alter ego, Bip.
Now I See Spring by Mac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen. Tundra, $9.99; ISBN 978-1-77488-673-1; ISBN 978-1-77488-677-9; ISBN 978-1-77488-665-6; ISBN 978-1-77488-669-4. Frequent creative collaborators Barnett and Klassen capture a year’s rhythms with stunning subtlety via a standout board book quartet that—across volumes named around the four seasons—matches spare text, identical in each work, with varying images that relay the passage of time. The book received a starred review from PW.
Olive Oakes and the Haunted Carousel by Kalynn Bayron. Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-1592-6. In this gripping ghost story, a Black tween must uncover the origins of the apparitions haunting the carousel of a traveling circus.
Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness. Candlewick, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-4830-2. An unknown entity plagues young human space settlers in this gripping trilogy opener from Ness, set two decades after his Chaos Walking series. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic: Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm by Philip C. Stead. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5809-7. A barefoot, redheaded goatherd embarks on a brave quest in Stead’s warmhearted middle grade debut, told via nonlinear chronology and tongue-in-cheek prose. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW. See our cover reveal here.
The Real Rosalind: The Truth about Rosalind Franklin’s DNA Discovery and How It Was Erased by Debbie Loren Dunn and Janet Fox. Zest, $19.99; ISBN 979-8-7656-2770-9. In this thorough collaboration, Dunn and Fox recount the life of late chemist and X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, the sexism she endured throughout her career, and the impact of her work on molecular biology and the understanding of DNA.
Release Me by Tahereh Mafi. Storytide, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-348033-9. In the second installment of the Shatter Me series, assassin Rosabelle seeks revenge for her sister while working alongside James, who must convince his allies that Rosabelle is not a liability to their cause.
Ripples by Katie Yamasaki. Norton, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-3240-5394-1. After climbing into a bright orange raft, Ayla and Aunty Koko paddle down a winding river in this environmentally focused story. Read about author-illustrator Yamasaki’s Earth Month tour here.
To Steal a Throne by Gabi Burton. Bloomsbury, $20.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-1727-2. A teen magician contemplates vengeance in this empowering series opener. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
Terry’s Many Hats by Terry Crews and Laura Baker, illus. by Tanisha Cherislin. Little, Brown, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-316-49999-6. Making his picture book debut, actor and athlete Crews writing with Baker explores the joy of multifaceted selfhood in this story featuring young Terry, “a boy with BIG dreams…/ and a whole lot of hats.”
Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp by Minoru Tonai and Jolene Gutiérrez, illus. by Chris Sasaki. Abrams, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-7289-4. A stone serves as metaphor and motif in this piercing story based around a child’s experience at a WWII-era incarceration camp. The book received a starred review from PW. See our In Conversation between authors Gutiérrez and Mia Wenjen about their new picture books on the cruelty of child separation.
When the Sun Goes Down by Greg Pizzoli. Knopf, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5936-4980-0. Employing cozy textures and pared-down visual geometries, Pizzoli creates a beguilingly simple wind-down story that’s equal parts lullaby and primer. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
When You’re Brave Enough by Rebecca Bendheim. Viking, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-69513-5. A Jewish eighth grader adjusts to a new environment while navigating societal pressure to uphold the status quo in Bendheim’s radiant debut. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of April check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
