In Puffin, discover the intriguing world of this charming bird in a collaboration that pairs Martin Jenkins’s engaging, informative text with the warm energy of Jenni Desmond’s illustrations. Filled with interesting facts, this delightful introduction to the puffin offers young ornithologists more details in the back matter.

Check it out, along with the other picture book titles we are featuring below!

Berliners
Written by Vesper Stamper
Published by Alfred A Knopf
Available October 25th!

A Different Kind of Normal
Written and Illustrated by Abigail Balfe
Published by Crown Books
Available Now!

Just the Way You Are
Written and Illustrated by Emma Dodd
Published by Templar Books
Available October 25th!

My First Guide to Weather
Written by Camilla De La Bedoyere and Illustrated by Cinyee Chiu
Published by Big Picture Press
Available October 25th!

Puffin
Written by Martin Jenkins and Illustrated by Jenni Desmond
Published by Candlewick Press
Available October 25th!

Saturday AM Annual 2023: A Celebration of Original Diverse Manga-Inspired Short Stories from Around the World
Published by Saturday AM
Available Now!

Tasting Light: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Rewire Your Perception
Edited by A.R. Capetta and Wade Roush
MiTeen Press
October 11th, 2022
Ages 14 and up

Editors A.R. Capetta and Wade Roush use the preface of Tasting Light to outline the goals of their collection. To serve as a gateway into science fiction for those who don’t usually get into the genre, to show that YA SF is a place for conversations about identity, and to describe a hopeful future. The collection succeeds on two of its three points. However, it falls short of its third goal, as Roush describes, “there’s a central feeling (in the stories) – that the future is going to be better than the present, as long as we make it that way.” All the stories exist in dystopian worlds, and when characters find solutions, they are individual solutions that allow the characters to exist within systemic problems. These stories follow the tradition of using science fiction writing to describe reality in a way that cannot be done through a direct statement. They are thought experiments about current problems of identity and autonomy instead of predictions of how children will save the future.

In Junauda Petr-Nasah’s “Melanitis,” there is a medication that can give children an incredible intelligence boost. One of the side effects is the chance of their skin creating enough melanin to be perceived as Black when they reach adulthood—causing them to face discrimination similar to those born Black. This story follows Amari, a young Black person, as they are figuring out their own identity. They are breaking away from their parents’ expectations and the cultural expectation of what it means to be Black. This is shown through Amari’s change in their hair from Locs, like her parents, to a significant style for Amari and Amari breaking up with their white friend who has Melanitis. Amari’s friend only sees Blackness as a problem to be talked through now he is affected by it. The medication that causes Melanitis is theoretically possible, but it is not an extrapolation of a modern medical phenomenon, and this is not the point. It is used as a thought experiment to explore what it means to be Black. While this type of metaphor isn’t present in all stories, it enhances the already strong writing that is present in each of the ten stories. The collection feels cohesive. The primary themes are not present in every story, but the stories with them are spread out in a way to weave the book together. All are accessible for new Sci-Fi readers as well. As most are set in near future Earth, the reader only has to allow one significant difference in the world per story.

Tight writing, paired with themes relevant to teens, and a diverse group of authors and characters, makes Tasting Light a perfect place to start for a teen who wants to know what science fiction is all about.

Beginning is a poetic picture book where a father and child see all the wonders and connections in nature and life as they go about their day. A child and father observe the cycles of nature and come to see that as each journey ends, new adventures begin.

Check it out, along with the other picture book titles we are featuring below!

Beginning
Written by Shelley Moore Thomas and Illustrated by Melissa Castrillon
Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Available today!

Case of the Zaps
Written by Alex Boniello & April Lavalle and Illustrated by James Kwan
Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Dragon Noodle Party: A Story of Chinese Zodiac Animals
Written by Ying Chang Compestine and Illustrated by Paula Pang
Published by Holiday House
Available December 6th!

Our Story Starts in Africa
Written by Patrice Lawrence and Illustrated by Jeanetta Gonzales
Published by Magic Cat Publishing
Available now!

Spells for Lost Things
Written by Jenna Evans Welch
Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Available today!

Vegetables in Pajamas
Written and Illustrated by Jared Chapman
Published by Abrams Appleseed
Available January 10th!

Freestyle
Gale Galligan
Scholastic Inc. / Graphix
October 18th, 2022
Ages 8 – 12

Cory Tan wants to do things his way. As a member of his freestyle dance crew, 8-bit, he improvises when he should follow the choreography. In science class, his experiment creates a baking soda and vinegar bomb, ruining a backpack, and angering his smart but isolated new hijabi lab partner, Sunna. But this brashness is coming back to bite him. His arguments with the 8-bit’s leader are causing stress among all its members, and Cory’s grades are slipping, causing Cory’s mom to hire a tutor. That tutor, Sunna, is still upset with his unthinking action in class. When Cory finds that Sunna does something as unexpected and cool as competitive yo-yo, his perception of her changes from annoying, aloof, and overbearing to someone more complete. This change is presented to the reader through a splash panel of Sunna doing yo-yo tricks in an unrestrainedly detailed flower garden. The splash panels are packed with detail, and the scenes of dancing and yo-yo are chaotic but still readable; the characters feel like they are dancing. The creative composition of panels draws the eyes, making it easy to follow, even if the pattern changes from time to time. The exaggerated punch-in on successive panels as Cory’s mom pinch zooms on his grade report elevates the moment from a necessary story beat to one of the best jokes in the graphic novel. Sunna bribes Cory to study by teaching him yo-yo tricks. Even when Cory’s grades improve, his shortsighted selfishness and poor communication with his friends cause the plates he’s been trying to keep spinning all school year to crash around him during the Halloween dance, focusing on the moment’s drama and highlighting the range of Galligan. The expressiveness of the characters is a standout element of the book, with each character’s emotion always on their sleeve. The exaggerated cartoon style allows for fun bugging eyes of surprise or silly excited faces and the distraught expressions of friendships breaking up. The pages in the more dramatic section are dark for the night setting and the sad events to come. This is contrasted with the sunset introductory dance scene with 8-bit. The colorist, K Czap, uses the environmental elements to enhance the feelings already clear from character design and dialog, building tension in some spaces and bringing out the happy fun in others.

Freestyle is a bright, beautifully illustrated story about a young man learning to be a good friend.

When the king of Norway gifts a bear to the king of England, it starts poorly. Little feels like home to the bear, trapped in a cage far away from where it grew up. But when King Henry III requires the bear to be brought to the Thames River to swim and fish, giving the bear a bit of freedom and joy, the bear can feel a bit more at home in their new strange land.

Check it out, along with the other titles we are featuring below!

A Bear Far From Home
Written by Susan Fletcher and Illustrated by Rebecca Green
Published by Anne Schwartz Books
Available September 27th!

Even Robot Can Be Thankful!
Written and Illustrated by Jan Thomas
Published by Beach Lane Books
Available today!

Friends
Written and Illustrated by Daniela Sosa
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Available today!

It’s Diwali!
Written by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal and Illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan
Published by Beach Lane Books
Available today!

Little Red and the Bid Bad Editor
Written by Rebecca Kraft Rector and Illustrated by Shanda McCloskey
Published by Aladdin
Available today!

Three Little Vikings
Written and Illustrated by Bethan Woollvin
Published by Peachtree Publishing
Available now!

Action! by Meghan McCarthy tells the story of the invention and innovation of film from the silent black and white films leading to today in McCarthy’s signature easy-to-follow narrative voice.

Check it out, along with the other titles we are featuring below!

Action! How Movies Began
Written and Illustrated by Meghan McCarthy
Published by Simon and Schuster 
Available Now!

Aphrodite the Beauty
Written by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Published by Aladdin
Available Now!

Creepy Crayon!
Written by Aaron Reynolds and Illustrated by Peter Brown
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Available Now!

Four for the Road
Written by K.J. Reilly
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Available Now!

Maisy at Work
Written and Illustrated by Lucy Cousins
Published by Candlewick Press
Available September 6th!

Those Summer Nights
Written by Laura Silverman
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available Now!

In Trex by Christyne Morrell, the titular character Trex gets an experimental brain implant to save his life, however, it also causes him to shock everything he touches. At the same time, spy in training Mellie the Mouse becomes suspicious of him when Mellie sees electricity leave Trex’s hands. But there is a bigger mystery afoot, can the unlikely pair solve it before it’s too late?

Check it out, along with the other titles we are featuring below!

The Daredevils
Written by Rob Buyea
Published by Delacorte Press
Available Now!

If You Read This
Written by Kereen Getten
Published by Delacorte Press
Available Now!

Lemon Bird Can Help!
Written by Paulina Ganucheau
Published by RH Graphics
Available Today!

Pizza my Heart
Written by Mika Song
Published by RH Graphics
Available Now!

Trex
Written by Christyne Morrell
Published by Delacorte Press
Available August 30th!