I’d rather not acknowledge that fall is approaching, mostly because I’ve made an embarrassingly small dent in my summer reading pile over the past three months. But the signs of autumn are unmistakable. Kids are going back to school, political ads are ramping up on swing state TV screens, and frazzled Lit Hub children’s book columnists are completely forgetting about Labor Day and then wondering why everything is closed.
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For book lovers, the most reliable signal of a change in the seasons might be the tons of amazing new books cropping up on retailers’ shelves. September is always a big month for new releases, and I’m particularly excited about this year’s fall harvest of titles for kids and teens. I’ve chosen a few of my favorites to share with you—fascinating nonfiction to get young brains humming, adventures on mountaintops and in magical lands, and at least three stories involving a family curse—but there are lots of wonderful new books that I didn’t have the space to mention here, and I hope you’ll swing by your local bookstore or library to take a good look at all that’s been happening recently in the world of children’s publishing.
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Sandra Nickel, Bear’s Big Idea
Illustrated by Il Sung Na
(Carolrhoda, September 10)
Recommended for ages 4-7
To the ranks of unlikely animal friends in children’s books, add Bear and Fish, two wonderfully mismatched buddies who share all kinds of adventures, from climbing trees (with Fish perched in her bowl atop Bear’s head) to exuberant puddle-sploshing. But Fish is the friend who usually comes up with the ideas for these adventures, and when she asks Bear to make a plan for the next day’s outing, Bear stays up all night worrying. If Bear can’t come up with an idea as great as Fish’s, will Fish still want to be her friend? The clever, emotionally astute text by Sandra Nickel is perfectly matched by Il Sung Na’s illustrations, which are some of the funniest and most engaging examples of picture book art I’ve seen recently. Readers who fall in love with anxious Bear and generous Fish will also enjoy Nickel and Na’s previous collaboration starring the same charming characters, Big Bear and Little Fish.
Anita Yasuda, Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains
Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu
(Clarion, September 24)
Recommended for ages 4-8
This picture book biography of mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, is a great fit for explorers of all ages. Readers first meet Junko in her childhood home in Japan, wandering the nearby hills and dreaming of reaching even greater heights. As Junko grows older, author Anita Yasuda’s poetic text highlights the ways in which Junko dares to chase her dreams even when people around her tell her that women—mothers, even!—shouldn’t climb mountains. While Junko’s Everest ascent makes for a thrilling tale, her later environmental efforts may be equally inspiring to young readers. Acclaimed artist Yuko Shimizu, who received a Caldecott Honor in 2020 for The Cat Man of Aleppo, depicts Junko’s life in vivid, joyful illustrations that capture the breathtaking nature of the mountains Junko loved.
Anne Nesbet, The Long Way Around
(Candlewick, September 10)
Recommended for ages 8-12
I had real trouble reviewing my advance copy of The Long Way Around for this column because my own young reader spotted it in our living room and stole it from me on the spot. A couple days later, when I asked her to return it, she explained why she absolutely couldn’t. “It’s hard finding a good stopping place in this book,” she said. “The whole thing is so epic! And dramatic!” If that’s not a ringing endorsement for a middle grade novel, I’m not sure what is.
I eventually learned that The Long Way Around is an adventure story about three kids who are on a camping trip with their parents when an earthquake cuts them off from the adults in their party. To reunite with their family, they’ve got to venture through the California mountains, overcoming nature’s obstacles and their own fears and worries along the way. Skilled storyteller Anne Nesbet understands what makes kids tick, and this book’s wilderness thrills will be irresistible to young readers. If you pick up a copy for yourself, you might want to hide it from the children in your life—or just agree to let them read it first.
Sarvenaz Tash, The Queen of Ocean Parkway
Illustrated by Ericka Lugo
(Knopf, September 3)
Recommended for ages 8-12
This speculative mystery for middle grade readers combines an Only Murders in the Building-style premise with a pinch of time travel. The titular Queen of Ocean Parkway is the grand old Brooklyn apartment building where eleven-year-old Roya lives with her mom, the building’s super. Roya is working on a podcast about the Queen’s tenants, and when she overhears two of them, Katya and Stefanie, talking about a cursed family fortune, she can’t help listening in. The next day, Katya disappears, and Roya and her new friend Amin decide they’re just the kids to investigate. Soon they’re on an adventure through time to save Katya and find out what happened to the generations of her family who came before. Occasional illustrations by artist Ericka Lugo add to the fun.
J.C. Cervantes, The Daggers of Ire
(HarperCollins, September 3)
Recommended for ages 8-12
In the town of San Bosco, descendants of the four original brujas work elemental magic—all except for Esmerelda Santos. Unlike her sisters, her father, and her friends, Esme is a Chaos witch, and her spells don’t always work out the way she’d imagined. Esme’s father is grieving the death of his wife, and Esme longs to cast a spell that can help ease his pain. But the trouble in San Bosco reaches farther than Esme understands. When all the other witches in town vanish and San Bosco loses its magic, Esme and her friend Tiago are the only ones left to embark on a magical journey to save their town and reunite with their loved ones. Middle grade fantasy fans will love exploring the story’s intricate, Latine-inspired world of legends and enchantments.
Amy Cherrix, Virus Hunters: How Science Protects People When Outbreaks and Pandemics Strike
(HarperCollins, September 10)
Recommended for ages 8-12
Do you love a good mystery? So do epidemiologists! In this fascinating nonfiction account of viruses both historical and recent, author Amy Cherrix presents readers with a series of “cases,” the stories of strange outbreaks of illness and the public health experts who figured out how to stop them. Each section of the book—about hantavirus, smallpox, the 1918 flu, COVID-19, and more—is as gripping as a detective drama, and Cherrix’s clear explanations make the history of epidemiology and public health entertaining and easy to follow. Virus Hunters is also a useful research resource, complete with black-and-white photos, sidebars, and an extensive bibliography. The book is designed for middle grade readers, but teen and adult science lovers will enjoy this one, too.
Dana Alison Levy, Not Another Banned Book
(Delacorte, September 10)
Recommended for ages 10-13
Dana Alison Levy brings smart humor and a spot-on middle school voice to a story about kids standing up for their right to read the books they’re passionate about. Eighth grader Molly is a member of the LBC: Ms. Lewiston’s Book Club, which meets at school every week to discuss “books, and life, and whatever else people want to talk about.” The club is crucially important to Molly and her friends, but when someone in the community raises concerns about a book the LBC has been discussing, Ms. Lewiston is suspended and books are removed from classroom shelves. To save their beloved LBC, the kids try to organize and protest, but Molly starts to wonder if anything she does can truly make change in her community. Never patronizing or preachy, Not Another Banned Book addresses a serious topic with an appealing blend of honesty and wit.
Neal Bascomb, The Salt Thief: Gandhi’s Heroic March to Freedom
(Scholastic, September 3)
Recommended for ages 12 and up
In The Salt Thief, nonfiction author and journalist Neal Bascomb tells the compelling story of Mohandas Gandhi’s famous Salt March, a campaign of civil disobedience against the British Raj during the Indian independence movement. In 1930, Gandhi marched with his followers for 241 miles to the coast of the Arabian Sea, stopping in villages along the way to speak to crowds both small and large about the unfairness of the salt tax imposed by the British. Although India had plenty of natural salt beds, the British controlled the production and sale of salt, and Indians couldn’t even collect salt from the shoreline without paying a tax. When Gandhi reached the coast, he scooped up a handful of mud and salt—an illegal, symbolic act that inspired other protests across the country. The Salt March served as a starting point for Gandhi’s further acts of nonviolent resistance, which Bascomb describes in clear, engaging prose that’s both informative and inspirational.
Lamar Giles, Ruin Road
(Scholastic, September 17)
Recommended for ages 12 and up
Cade Webster is tired of seeing fear on people’s faces when they look at him. He’s a star high school football player, but the largely white private school he attends isn’t always kind to a Black kid from Jacobs Court whose concerns feel worlds apart from his classmates’. Back in the Court, there’s fear, too: Cade’s neighbors are scared of the One Eight Disciples stirring up violence, and of local slumlord Arvin Skinner, who some people say is the devil. One night, seeking refuge after a racist incident on the bus, Cade finds himself in a mysterious pawnshop, where he buys a ring and makes a wish that people would stop acting so scared around him. Then Cade’s wish starts coming true, with unexpected and sometimes devastating consequences. What kind of a bargain has Cade really made? Lamar Giles balances masterful character work and thoughtful social commentary with well-paced, spine-tingling thrills that will keep readers devilishly enthralled.
Jandy Nelson, When the World Tips Over
(Dial, September 24)
Recommended for ages 14 and up
It’s been ten years since the publication of Jandy Nelson’s literary masterpiece I’ll Give You the Sun, and I’m sure I’m not the only reader who’s spent the past decade eager to read whatever Nelson writes next. This month, at last, we’ll all be able to do just that. When the World Tips Over details the lives of the three adolescent Fall siblings: musical Wynton, “perfect” Miles, and talkative Dizzy, each of whom has their own wounds to heal and their own ghosts to face. Is there really a family curse? Is the mysterious, rainbow-haired girl who appears in each sibling’s life at crucial moments really an angel? The story walks a tightrope between the real and the impossible, but like Nelson’s previous work, its heart lies in the absolutely genuine emotions of its characters.
