Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a book about shyness, a folkloric series opener, a picture book starring a tadpole, the story of a girl and her pony, and more.
Five Things about Ava Andrews by Margaret Dilloway. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-280349-8. This middle grade novel follows the journey of Dilloway’s (Summer of a Thousand Pies) thoughtful protagonist from timid observer to well-liked social activist.
Curse of the Night Witch by Alex Aster. Sourcebooks, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4926-9720-6. Debut author Aster takes inspiration from Colombian folklore to craft a middle grade series opener that’s both fast-paced and thrilling. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Tad by Benji Davies. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-256359-0. This picture book follows a school of tadpoles as they grow and change—all except the smallest, Tad.
Pony on the Twelfth Floor by Polly Faber, illus. by Sarah Jennings. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0930-3. Faber (the Mango & Bambang series) opens this caper on a droll note, explaining that though Kizzy had always dreamed of owning a pony, “she’d never expected to pick one up from the grocery store.”
It’s Not My Fault! by Jory John, illus. by Jared Chapman. Random House, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-3060-9. John (Giraffe Problems) and Chapman’s (Vegetables in Underwear) redheaded picture book protagonist is a pro at passing the buck: it’s his pen’s fault that his homework is messy and late, and the moon’s fault that he’s up past his bedtime.
American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar. Aladdin, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-3938-2. In this middle grade novel, a first-generation Indian American girl who initially wishes to blend into her predominantly white community learns to honor her identity.
The Turnover by Mike Lupica. Simon & Schuster, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-2158-5. Lupica’s newest feel-good sports story features dutiful 12-year-old Lucas Winston who, having lost his father to cancer when he was an infant, looks to his grandfather for guidance, especially when it comes to basketball.
Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-3164-8733-7. A viral pandemic breaks out in this dystopian YA novel. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Summer and July by Paul Mosier. HarperCollins, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06284936-6. Capturing the urgency and intensity of middle-school friendships, Mosier’s (Echo’s Sister) affecting third novel is a summer romance of sorts, with a golden-haired surfer girl named Summer at its center.
Seven Clues to Home by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin. Knopf, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-593-11961-7. Friends Joy and Lukas participated in scavenger hunts for their birthdays before Lukas’s untimely death. For Joy’s 13th birthday, she embarks on the last scavenger hunt Lukas prepared for her, and the novel is told in alternating perspectives—Lukas preparing the hunt a year in the past and Joy participating in it a year after his death—revealing the evolution of their friendship.
The Starkeeper by Faith Pray. Random House, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-9270-6. Wishing for something to drive “the lonely dark away,” a girl finds a glowing orb in a village fountain in this picture book. It’s a star, and it’s up to her to find out how to keep it shining brightly.
You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sanchez, illus. by Julie Maroh. DC Comics, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-4012-9081-8. In this queer YA graphic novel, which pairs text by the author of Rainbow Boys with the illustrator behind Blue Is the Warmest Color, Aquaman’s sidekick Aqualad falls in love and comes out.
Doodleville by Chad Sell. Knopf, $20.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-9471-7. Nine-year-old Drew’s primary companions, a friendly-looking crew of living Doodles that live in paper town Doodleville, are known to escape into the human world, where they can alter art.
The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth. HarperTeen, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-295711-5. This YA novel offers an emotionally stirring queer romance with witty, playful dialogue. The book earned a starred review from PW.
Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things by Matilda Woods. Philomel, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-525-51527-2. After Otto’s father dies, he and his seamstress mother move to Hodeldorf, “the coldest city in the world,” planning to sell coats for a living in this fabulist middle grade novel.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of June, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
