Holiday House sent us the solicitation information for titles arriving in the Spring for middle-grade readers.
The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith by Tom Llewellyn (Holiday House, for ages 10-14, on sale 1/2/24)
Challenged by a secret society of metalworkers, Eden must do all she can to save the only family she has left in this fantasy adventure. In The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith, Tom Llewellyn has crafted a wholly original world of wild contraptions, roguish characters, and perilous feats perfect for fans of Karuna Riazi, Laura Ruby, and Lemony Snicket.
Bizard and the Big Bunny Bizness by Chrissie Krebs (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, for ages 8-10, on sale 1/2/24)
When Bizard the Bear Wizard’s friends decide to try to help him grant wishes, it turns out that two magic wands are so much worse than one. Author-illustrator Chrissie Krebs brings even higher stakes and bigger laughs in Bizard’s second book, a surefire hit with young readers looking for their next favorite graphic novel series.
Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 1/2/24)
It’s 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it? As Halle tries to warm her father’s coldness and learns to trust the girls and women of the hospital, and as she and her mother battle a disease that once paralyzed the country, a profound message of strength, hope, and healing emerges. Light and Air deals tenderly and insightfully with isolation, quarantine, found family, and illness.
The Selkie’s Daughter by Linda Crotta Brennan (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 1/2/24)
A richly imagined, Ghibli-esque fantasy where a young selkie girl must save her family from a vengeful king. Like sitting by a warm fireplace, The Selkie’s Daughter is an imaginative fantasy, steeped in Celtic mythology and rich with detail. Touching o the Scottish-Irish diaspora in nineteenth-century Nova Scotia and the power of friendship in hard times, Linda Crotta Brennan has crafted a magical portrait of a brave girl coming into her own.
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 3/5/24)
Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them lead them to a better life—or cost them everything they have—in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement. Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome’s striking verse masterfully portrays an underrepresented historical era. Tackling powerful themes of autonomy and Black self-emancipation, Cline-Ransome offers readers an intimate look into the lives of three women and an expansive portrait of generations striving for their promised freedom.
Table Titans Club by Scott Kurtz (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 3/5/24)
Growing pains, game-play adventure, and 20-sided dice abound in this new graphic novel series about a middle school Dungeon & Dragons cub. Set in the same universe as the Eisner Award-winning webcomic PvP, Scott Kurtz’s artwork blends zany, fantastical visuals with slice-of-life humor. For fans of fantasy and coming of age stories alike, Table Titans Club finds humor, heart, and adventure in a tale of friendship and finding your people.
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 3/5/24)
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse-keepers—and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking. . . The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a timelessly sweet tale of found family from rising Ojibwe voice Anna Rose Johnson, author of NPR Best Book of the Year The Star That Always Stays. Perfect for fans of L.M. Montgomery and Karina Yan Glaser!
The Great Peach Experiment 4: Duck, Duck, Peach by Erin Soderberg Downing (Pixel+Ink, for ages 8-12, on sale 4/9/24)
The fourth Great Peach Experiment book finds the family back in Duluth, Minnesota for a summer filled with mystery, competition, pie, and . . . the World’s Largest Rubber Duck. When the duck goes missing, it serves up humor and family mis-adventures! Stolen? Sunk? Airlifted by aliens? The hunt is on for the famous icon, and the Peaches are leading the search. Using all their skills—on land and water—they are determined to find the missing duck and bring it back to its home in the harbor.
And check out these middle grade faves coming soon in paperback!
Goblin Market by Diane Zahler (Holiday House, for ages 10-14, on sale 4/2/24)
When Minka is charmed and ensnared by a goblin prince, her sister Lizzie will have to draw on reserves of strength she never knew she had and follow her sister into a world of dreams, danger, and death. Rich worldbuilding inspired by Polish folklore combines with a tender sister story in this emotionally resonant and thrilling novel from author Diane Zahler.
Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week by Sarah L. Thomson (Peachtree, for ages 8-12, paperback on sale 4/2/24)
Take Pippi Longstocking’s joie de vivre, blend it with a 21st century urban setting, toss in a dog named Otto for good measure and what do you get? This joyfully carefree story about two unlikely friends. It’s a pair of silver sequined sneakers that unexpectedly flips Emily’s comfortable, predictable world upside down. Or, more precisely, it’s the girl wearing them. For steady and orderly Emily, Rani’s approach to life feels impossible . . . and more than a little irresistible. But is there a place for her in Rani’s world? And should she find a way to make space for Rani in her own?
