Kid Lit News: Released This Week
Abracadabra, It's Spring!
By Anne Sibley O'Brien
Winter turns to spring in this lyrical book that celebrates the magic of nature and the changing seasons. Eleven gatefolds open to re-create the excitement and surprise of spring’s arrival, revealing what happens when snow melts, trees bud, flowers bloom, birds arrive, and eggs and cocoons hatch. Finally, it’s warm enough to pack away winter clothes and go out and play!
Where My Feet Go
By Birgitta Sif
Meet Little Panda. He's awake and ready for adventure. Where will his feet take him? Do they walk a normal walk down a normal street? Or will they find a new way to carry him through the day? Maybe a tree branch can be a shaky bridge. A sandbox a desert. A bath an underwater adventure. Maybe little feet can go anywhere. . . . There's a whole world to explore!
Blueberry Bear
By Eileen Pieczonka and Naomi C. Rose
Bear, how did you get so BLUE! Meet a rambunctious flat-coated retriever puppy named Bear who craves blueberries. Instead of following in her siblings paw prints, Bear follows her nose which gets her into more trouble than she can handle. Hold onto your knickers while Bear takes you spinning and laughing on one of her typica unruly days down on Farmer Bubba's blueberry farm. A pawsatively fun, down-on-the-farm story with the cutest blue puppy imaginable!
Super Jumbo
By Fred Koehler
Being a superhero isn’t easy. All Little Jumbo wants to do is fight crime and defend the weak, by doing things like halting traffic for snails to cross the street and stopping Dad from sneaking cookies. It’s not his fault grown-ups don’t appreciate his heroic deeds! Luckily, Little Jumbo doesn't give up easily. He even powerfully resists cake (his greatest weakness!) to help a new friend in need!
The Magical Fantastical Fridge
By Harlan Coben and Leah Tinari
It's family dinner night, and Walden would like to be anywhere other than the kitchen in the middle of chores. Suddenly his wish is granted - he is magically swooped into one of his own drawings on the fridge and finds himself on a one-of-a-kind adventure. After battling a crayon monster, he catches a plane ride into an old photo, escapes a troop of monkeys by cannonballing into an aquarium ticket, survives an ice-maker earthquake, and more.
Daniel Finds a Poem
By Micha Archer
What is poetry? Is it glistening morning dew? Spider thinks so. Is it crisp leaves crunching? That’s what Squirrel says. Could it be a cool pond, sun-warmed sand, or moonlight on the grass? Maybe poetry is all of these things, as it is something special for everyone—you just have to take the time to really look and listen. The magical thing is that poetry is in everyone, and Daniel is on his way to discovering a poem of his own after spending time with his animal friends. What is poetry? If you look and listen, it’s all around you!
Go, Little Green Truck!
By Roni Schotter and Julia Kuo
Ready, set, go! Little Green is ready to rumble. He is a happy, busy little pickup truck who loves helping out on the farm. Until... He wakes up one morning to find a big new blue truck ready to take his place. But can Big Blue take on all the jobs? Even the small and gentle ones? With some love, care, and paint... Ready, set, go! Little Green is ready to rumble again, all the way to the farmers' market.
The Almost Terrible Play Date
By Richard Torrey
Here is the story of two young children with VERY different ideas of what they want to play. What starts with an innocent question (“What do you want to play?”) soon veers hilariously toward chaos, as two children engage in the age-old struggle of princesses, ponies, and ballet vs. dinosaurs, dragons, and race cars. Which child will win? Or will both find a way to play nicely together?
The Night Gardener
By Terry Fan and Eric Fan
One day, William discovers that the tree outside his window has been sculpted into a wise owl. In the following days, more topiaries appear, and each one is more beautiful than the last. Soon, William’s gray little town is full of color and life. And though the mysterious night gardener disappears as suddenly as he appeared, William—and his town—are changed forever. With breathtaking illustrations and spare, sweet text, this masterpiece about enjoying the beauty of nature is sure to become an instant classic.
Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths
By Marilyn Singer and Josee Masse
Here is the story of two young children with VERY different ideas of what they want to play. What starts with an innocent question (“What do you want to play?”) soon veers hilariously toward chaos, as two children engage in the age-old struggle of princesses, ponies, and ballet vs. dinosaurs, dragons, and race cars. Which child will win? Or will both find a way to play nicely together?
Mrs. Meyer is on Fire
By Dan Gutman and Jim Paillot
In this fourth book in the new My Weirdest School series, the students of Ella Mentry School are learning about fire safety. Mrs. Meyer of the local fire department has been brought in to teach the students, but she is the weirdest safety expert in the world. She likes fire just a little too much. Will Mrs. Meyer catch on fire? Will she retire? What will transpire?Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.
The Great Pet Escape
By Victoria Jamieson
The class pets at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School want OUT . . . and GW (short for George Washington), the deceptively cute hamster in the second-grade classroom, is just the guy to lead the way. But when he finally escapes and goes to find his former partners in crime, Barry and Biter, he finds that they actually LIKE being class pets. Impossible! Just as GW gets Barry and Biter to agree to leave with him, a mouse named Harriet and her many mouse minions get in their way. What follows is class-pet chaos guaranteed to make readers giggle . . . and maybe look at their class pets a little differently in the future.
Big Nate Blasts Off
By Lincoln Pierce
Nate has a crush on Ruby. But after his scrap with Randy Betancourt makes headlines in the Weekly Bugle, he's got a problem WAY worse than detention! Can Nate bounce back? And will the annual Mud Bowl be a blast . . . or a bust?
This Kid Can Fly: It's About Ability (Not Disability)
By Aaron Phillip
In this heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting memoir, Aaron Philip, a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, shows how he isn't defined so much by his disability as he is by his abilities. Written with award-winning author Tonya Bolden, This Kid Can Fly chronicles Aaron's extraordinary journey from happy baby in Antigua to confident teen artist in New York City. His honest, often funny stories of triumph—despite physical difficulties, poverty, and other challenges—are as inspiring as they are eye-opening.
Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It's Criminal
By Lauren Magaziner
Troublemaking George has never heard of Pilfer Academy, a top-secret school for cultivating young crooks, until he's kidnapped as its newest student. The teachers are kooky at best, and naughty does not even begin to describe his sneaky, smart, and morally bankrupt new classmates. Between disguise classes, cracking safes, and DIY gadgets, George becomes an expert bandit and finds true friendship with Tabitha, his new partner-in-crime. But everything is ruined when George comes to a shocking realization: He is just too good-hearted to be a thief! Unfortunately, not thieving is not an option at Pilfer Academy, and "misbehaving" students face Dean Deanbuggle's favorite punishment—the Whirlyblerg! In order to gain their freedom, George and Tabitha must pull the biggest heist the school has ever seen and reveal their true colors not as thieves, but as kind (and, okay, mischievous) kids.
Bad Luck (#2)
By Pseudonymous Bosch
At Earth Ranch, things can get a little magical (some might say strange). Intrepid readers will discover a runaway boy, fishy cruise ship, strange cave paintings, dragon-like footprints, and other mysteries that Clay and his friends need to solve. Danger, adventure, mischief, mystery, llamas, and a delightfully irreverent and hilarious narrator make bestselling author Pseudonymous Bosch's anticipated new novel irresistible.
Some of the Parts
By Hannah Barnaby
Sometimes bad things happen, and we are not the same when they are over. For months, Tallie McGovern has been coping with the death of her older brother the only way she knows how: by smiling bravely and pretending that she's okay. She’s managed to fool her friends, her parents, and her teachers so far, yet she can’t even say his name out loud: “N—” is as far as she can go. But when Tallie comes across a letter in the mail, it only takes two words to crack the careful façade she’s built around herself: ORGAN DONOR. Two words that had apparently been checked off on her brother’s driver’s license; two words that her parents knew about—and never confided to her. All at once, everything Tallie thought she understood about her brother’s death feels like a lie. And although a part of her knows he’s gone forever, another part of her wonders if finding the letter might be a sign. That if she can just track down the people on the other end of those two words, it might somehow bring him back. Hannah Barnaby’s deeply moving novel asks questions there are no easy answers to as it follows a family struggling to pick up the pieces, and a girl determined to find the brother she wasn’t ready to let go of.