Here we round up new and forthcoming children’s titles including a picture book biography of a writer, a picture book capturing the drama of nature, a YA sequel about teens solving increasingly difficult riddles on an island, and more.
The Boy Who Became a Parrot: A Foolish Biography of Edward Lear Who Invented Nonsense by Wolverton Hill, illus. by Laura Carlin. Enchanted Lion, $22.99; ISBN 978-1-59270-413-2. This picture book biography highlights the life and career of writer Edward Lear, known for popularizing the limerick.
Dawn: Watch the World Awaken by Marc Martin. Candlewick Studio, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-3240-0. Martin employs delicate, luminous watercolor, pencil, and digital panels, captioning them with simple words, to limn quiet moments of drama in the natural world. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
Glorious Rivals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Little, Brown, $20.99; ISBN 978-0-316-48131-1. The teen protagonists of Barnes’s bestselling The Grandest Game return in this sequel as they continue to survive the games of Hawthorne Island.
Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie. Delacorte, $21.99; ISBN 978-0-593-89880-2. Marie’s sprawling dark academia fantasy finds six students attending a school in purgatory and competing in high-stakes trials for a shot at a better afterlife.
The Last Tiger by Brad and Julia Riew. Kokila, $21.99; ISBN 979-8-217-00204-7. Sibling debut authors Brad and Julia Riew weave Korean folklore and history with intimate familial recollections in this magic-infused tale of star-crossed teens fighting for their forbidden love.
Masks by Brian Nathanson and Margaret Rae, illus. by Beck Kubrick. Andrews McMeel, $22.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-5248-8646-2; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-5248-8645-5. Young, green-skinned monster Poe and her found family of fellow creatures must find a way to stay hidden from a human monster-hunting organization when their hideout is destroyed, and learn to trust human Vaughn on their journey.
A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury. McElderry, $24.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-5736-6. Seventeen-year-old August Black joins a magical underground organization called the Learners’ Society in order to find her brother, and agrees to magically bond with a shapeshifter in exchange for his help. The YA book received a starred review from PW.
On Our Way with Mr. Jay by Chelsea Lin Wallace, illus. by Thyra Heder. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5704-5. Lavishly energetic slice-of-life artwork by Heder shows school bus driver Mr. Jay bringing unshakable cool to bear on an obstacle course of switchbacks, cobblestone roads, and an interstate, delivering his young passengers to school. The picture book received a starred review from PW.
A Rock Is Born: One Rock's Epic Journey Through Time by Richard Ho, illus. by Lily Williams. Roaring Brook, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-2507-4992-5. In this geological odyssey, a park ranger points out an unassuming gray rock that sits on the side of a hiking trail—a humble presence that, as Ho and Williams explore, is actually a time-traveling witness to and participant in millennia of dramatic transformations.
Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker. Simon & Schuster, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-6370-1. Eighteen-year-old Sivon is identified as a new soul with no previously recorded lives during her soul-matching process and is catapulted to instant celebrity. But she quickly discovers that the glamorous appearances of her new life belie a dark underbelly of corruption and deadly plots.
Soul of Shadow by Emma Noyes. Wednesday, $22; ISBN 978-1-250-34296-6. Grieving teen Charlie encounters transfer student Elias, a dark spirit who creates and consumes fear—and who may be connected to what’s become a string of missing-teen cases.
Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz. Putnam, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-593857-89-2. Dulce Castillo hopes to win this year’s annual murder mystery competition, but things take a dark turn when this year’s “victim” is found dead in the school’s greenhouse.
For more children’s and YA titles on sale throughout the month of July, check out PW’s full On-Sale Calendar.
