2024 Children’s Book Releases To Watch Out For

You don’t have long to wait until this middle grade crime novel releases! I have already read this one, and it’s so much fun. It’s about a girl attending an unusual boarding school in San Francisco. At the school, she joins a group of tween undercover spies. There’s a jewelry thief on the loose, and if the team doesn’t solve the crime fast, the school may lose funding. It’s a funny and high action read with great illustrations by Dan Santat. It’s the first in a series, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest!

This middle grade novel-in-verse is high on my TBR, and I’ll probably read it in the next week or two. It’s based on Schu’s teen experiences with anorexia. Jake has a voice in his head that urges him to disappear, and the best way to do that is to avoid eating. So that’s just what Jake does, and he wears baggy clothes to hide his weight loss, which works until he visits a doctor, who admits him to a patient treatment facility. This is Schu’s debut middle grade.

I adored James Catchpole’s first picture book—What Happened to You?—and I’m so excited he’s teaming up with his wife Lucy for another picture book pushing against some of the ableist narratives that are so frequently heard in the disabled community. In this one, kids and adults alike keep telling Jo he’s “amazing” even when he’s doing absolutely ordinary things. I need multiple copies of this one to hand out to mostly adults who feel the compulsion to tell disabled people this. It’s a delightful story, and George’s illustrations are once again perfect.

Both Traci Sorrel and Michaela Goade are familiar, award-winning, well-loved Indigenous American children’s book creators. However, this is their first team-up! I’ve only read a snippet from it, and those pages were luminous and magical, about a young Cherokee girl moving away from her beloved home. This is going to be amazing in print!

Julie Flett is another one of my favorite Indigenous American children’s book creators. This picture book is about a young child who longs to learn how to skateboard. It’s written primarily in English but has some Cree words as well. Flett’s warm illustrations are as lovely as they ever are, and children will love the story.

I have bemoaned before the lack of Jewish representation in chapter books, and while there are a few examples, there aren’t many. This makes me extra excited about Kapit’s new chapter book series. Kapit is already a familiar author to me with fantastic books like Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen! and Second Chance Summer. This book looks like such a funny, heartwarming read. And the cat on the cover means it’s going to be an instant read for my daughter!