Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles, including a middle grade novel about a tween grappling with a family secret, a picture book about family separation, a YA space opera about a teen seeking revenge, and more.
All That Chandni Knows by Khushboo Patel. Putnam, $18.99; ISBN 979-8-217-00448-5. Patel draws on personal experience to deliver an immersive 1999-set verse novel, her middle grade debut, about a tween who unwittingly discovers a family secret and must navigate its weight when she’s sent to boarding school.
Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illus. by Violetta Encarnación. Red Comet, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6365-5192-0. Via a reverso structure and layered images, Wenjen and Encarnación trace the stories of two children, seemingly generations apart, in a haunting dual narrative of imprisonment and family separation. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
The Celestial Seas by T.A. Chan. Viking, $20.99; ISBN 978-0-593-69374-2. A spacefaring teenage ship captain travels the cosmos seeking vengeance in Chan’s exhilarating Moby-Dick-inspired debut. The YA book received a starred review from PW. See our story on recent Melville retellings for young readers.
Cowboys at the Ballet: The Story of Choreographer Agnes de Mille by Claire Wrenn Bobrow, illus. by Ilaria Urbinati. Atheneum, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-66595-787-8. Choreographer and dancer Agnes de Mille yields a dynamic biographical story that’s rendered with verve in this portrait of her pioneering path to creating famed ballet Rodeo. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Danny Go’s Volcano Adventure! by Danny Go, illus. by Aleksandar Zolotic. Abrams, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-8610-5. In this picture book from YouTube stars Danny Go!, readers help guide titular adventurer Danny on a dangerous trip inside a volcano.
Devious Prey by Scott Reintgen. McElderry, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-7893-4. A dirigible carrying dangerous cargo crashes, inciting a bid for survival in this swashbuckling fantasy from Reintgen.
Fabulous Creatures: Legendary Animals from Around the World by Cornelia Funke, trans. from the German by Anna Schmitt Funke, illus. by Ruby Warnecke. NorthSouth, $21.95; ISBN 978-0-7358-4591-6. Funke presents 19 fantastical creatures from around the world in a handsome package that highlights both common and lesser-known entities.
The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst. Delacorte, $14.99 paper; ISBN 979-8-217-02430-8. Teen Calista arrives at her great aunt’s Vermon inn expecting to help out for the summer but soon suspects that the inn and its guests might be from another world.
Flowers for Mama by Deborah Freedman. Viking, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-69549-4. A quartet of gray kitties endeavor to find “something beautiful to celebrate beautiful Mama” in this lively process-oriented story.
Her Muddy Majesty of Muck by Beatrice Alemagna. Hippo Park, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6626-4130-5. Feeling like “tangled-up electrical wires” after her sullen older brother Shen barely acknowledges her at school pickup, young Yuki impulsively throws a pair of house keys down a manhole, launching the fantastical journey at the core of this deeply empathic picture book.
How a Bear Became a Book: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-The-Pooh by Annette Bay Pimentel, illus. by Faith Pray. Holt, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-250-35844-8. Bay Pimentel and Pray highlight the importance of teamwork, pulling back the curtain on the creators who produced the Winnie-the-Pooh books. The picture book received a starred review PW.
Inbetweens by Faith Erin Hicks. First Second, $22.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-250-83875-9; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-83874-2. In 1999, two artists eager to pursue careers in animation reckon with the reality of the dreams they once idealized in this bighearted graphic novel by former animator Hicks. The book received a starred review PW.
Judgy Bunny and the Terrible Beach by Scott Rothman, illus. by Linzie Hunter. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-7282-9672-2. A day at the beach is no day at the beach for the long-eared protagonist of this social-emotional seaside tale.
Others: A Story for All of Us by Kobi Yamada, illus. by Charles Santoso. Ten Speed, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-83967-6. Yamada and Santoso firmly challenge assumptions about “others” in this picture book composed as a dialogue between two children. See our cover reveal here.
Serafina Makes Waves by Matthew Burgess, illus. by Robin Rosenthal. Dial, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5936-9963-8. Serafina, the gray feline star of this picture book series starter hates swimming, but when her parents attempt to drag her to swimming lessons, she unleashes a full repertoire of avoidance tactics.
Shrinking Violet by Laurel Snyder, illus. by LeUyen Pham. Chronicle, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-79720-072-9. Seemingly pint-size worries—spiders, night sounds—make a child literally shrink in this polished picture book from Snyder.
Tested by Anna Monders. Aladdin, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-665-97279-6. In a world where a genetic report card determines one’s future, a bad grad sets tween Mikayla’s life off track in this middle grade debut. Monders was selected as a Spring 2026 Writer to Watch by PW.
Thank You, Sun by Douglas Florian. Beach Lane, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-66596-675-7. Heartfelt gratitude infuses Florian’s simple rhymes and naive-style artwork in this accessible collection of nature-based appreciations.
Wilderness Hacks by Joslin Brorsen. Knopf, $17.99; ISBN 979-8-217-03159-7. To navigate sudden disaster, two youths must put aside their mutual dislike and work together in Brorsen’s suspenseful debut. The middle grade book received a starred review PW.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of March, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
