Some of our favorite children’s authors are back with new books this year! Check them out below and at your Heights Libraries.
Booked by Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander latest is called Booked, his follow up, though not a sequel, to the award winning The Crossover. This new sports-novel-in-verse introduces readers to soccer-obsessed Nick. Twelve year old Nick has plenty of issues to deal with, first crushes, bullies, and family problems. Fortunately he has the friends, skills, and even a rapping librarian to tackle them all.
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Another well-loved, award winning author, DiCamillo returns with a novel set in 1970s Florida. Raymie is desperate to get her father to return home, so desperate, in fact, that she decides to enter a beauty pageant and win. As she prepares for the pageant she meets two other baton twirlers who will change her forever.
Librarian Constance Dickerson: DiCamillo is brilliant at allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions about the other characters, with the help of Raymie’s wry observations. Each of the three baton students has endured significant losses and their flaws and less than ideal living situations are unsentimentally portrayed, so that when this novel reaches its heartwarming conclusion, it feels real.
Sara Pennypacker has two books out in 2016!
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Peter is forced to abandon his beloved pet fox, Pax, when his father is sent to war. Soon a guilty Peter realizes domesticated Pax will not be able to survive in the wild and he sets off on a dangerous journey to save his best friend. Told in alternating chapters readers will be gripped by the adventures of both Pax and Peter as they try to get back to each other.
One Awesome Thing by Sara Pennypacker
Readers of Pennypacker’s Clementine series may remember her friend, Waylon the “scienciest” boy in third grade. Waylon is back headlining his own books as he navigates new friendships, new family dynamics, and new inventions. The first title, One Awesome Thing, is available now.
The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
Riordan revisits Greek mythology with new series, The Trials of Apollo, introducing fans to, who else, but Apollo. In the first book, Apollo, son of Zeus has been thrown out of Olympus, banished to Earth, and stripped of his powers and immortality. He finds himself in a desperate situation and he knows exactly where to turn – Camp Half-Blood. Adding to the excitement: according to Riordan, readers can expect to get updates on all of the major characters from two previous series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus.
Publication date: May 3, 2016
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Readers meet two new sisters, Cat and Maya, in wildly popular Telgemeier’s next release, Ghosts. Cat’s family is moving to Northern California, they are hoping the clean, ocean air will help younger sister, Maya, with her cystic fibrosis. The prospect of a strange town and new home does not appeal to Cat. She’s even less excited when a new neighbor reveals a town secret – Bahia de Luna has ghosts.
Publication date: September 13, 2016
