PW Children's Bookshelf: Breaking children's and YA publishing news, author interviews, bestsellers lists and reviews.

America at 250

As the semiquincentennial approaches, authors reexamine the nation’s history and legacy.

Kids’ Books About
U.S. History
Nonfiction picture books and middle grade titles introduce young readers to historical American figures who fought to correct injustices, uplift their communities, and guide the country toward its highest ideals. more

15 Essential Works of American Literature
We polled PW’s staffers and freelance reviewers, as well as members of the National Book Critics Circle, on the most essential books published in the U.S. since 1776. The results include many classroom staples. more

In the News

U.S. Book Show Gives Pros Two Vital Days to Talk Shop
Some 700 agents and publishers will gather in New York City next month for conversation, collaboration, and to address various challenges facing the industry, including the decline in reading rates among young people. more

On the Scene

‘Claire’s Day’ Festival Celebrates Ohio’s Readers Every Day
Claire’s Day, a festival in northwest Ohio that promotes literacy, marked its 25th anniversary this year with two days of author events that drew a total of 7,000 people—all in honor of founder Julie Rubini's late daughter, Claire Lynsey Rubini, an avid reader who lived a short but vibrant life. more

First Person

For AANHPI Heritage Month, Representation Is Just the First Step
Kristina Wong, Theodore Chao, Jenessa Joffe, and Anna Michelle Wang are co-authors of Auntie Kristina’s Guide to Asian American Activism, a new nonfiction book for young readers featuring illustrations by Shehzil Malik. Here, the co-authors reflect on the necessity of showcasing activism to young people, as a tool to help them process racism and build community. more

In Conversation

David Elliott and E.M. Elliott
Author David Elliott (l.) has teamed up with his son—and debut novelist—E.M. Elliott for Bonebag, a new middle grade fantasy that explores the mystery of belonging. We invited the father-son duo to discuss their writing process and collaboration. more

Now Playing

To Watch or Not to Watch: May 2026
This month brings a veritable bounty of book-to-screen adaptations, including a new mini-series based on a classic survival story, and a modern-day Nancy Drew–style YA mystery. more

Reading Roundup

Noteworthy Picture Book and Novel Sequels: May 2026
Just in time for spring, this month’s offerings of sequels and series additions are the perfect refresh for young readers’ TBR. In the mix this month are a board book on appreciating friendship, a graphic novel on navigating crushes, a YA fantasy following teens across a looming rebellion, and more. more

Out Next Week

Hot Off the Press:
Week of May 25
Among the books hitting shelves next week are a picture book about the many ways to look at a jellyfish, a middle grade novel in verse about a tween grappling with religion, a historical YA novel about siblings seeking revenge in the 1920s, and more. more

In Brief

In Brief: May 21, 2026
Recently, a children’s author celebrated a win at the British Book Awards, a showrunner made his literary debut, students were the stars of a museum exhibit, Black children’s authors gathered at a historic farm, and more. more

For more about these and other great jobs, visit the new PW JobZone, now with resume hosting and more!

Marketing Design Manager - Image Comics.

Traffic Manager - Image Comics.

Client Solutions Manager - Edelweiss by Above the Treeline - Ann Arbor, MI.

Operational Solutions Engineer - Edelweiss by Above the Treeline - Ypsilanti, MI.

Production Editor, Union Square Kids - Hachette Book Group - New York, NY.

Rights Report

Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen has acquired world rights, in an exclusive submission, to Royal Person Fiction by Amanda DeWitt (l.) and Maria Ingrande Mora, an academic rivals-to-queerplatonic besties YA fantasy-comedy, following the daughter of the legendary heroes who united a kingdom and the son of the notorious villain who opposed them, as they hatch a fake dating scheme to separate themselves from their parents' legacies. Publication is set for summer 2028; Cate Hart at Harvey Klinger represented DeWitt, and Erica Bauman at Aevitas Creative Management represented Ingrande Mora.

Lucas Wetzel at Andrews McMeel has bought world rights to author-illustrator Chelsea Carr's Curses, a middle grade graphic novel about a cranky 500-year-old witch trapped in a 10-year-old's body, who moves to a town where negativity is banned. Publication is scheduled for 2028; Janna Morishima at Janna Co. negotiated the two-book deal.

Grace Kendall at FSG has acquired world rights to the first four books in a new chapter book series by Kristen Mai Giang (l.), illustrated by Xuân Lan, featuring a charismatic protagonist with an epic imagination, her working-class first-generation Chinese-American family, and the real-life adventures they experience. Lian Song Unlocks Real-Life Secret Powers and Lian Song Leads an Epic Quest will publish in winter 2027 with the third and fourth books to follow in spring and fall 2027. Erin Murphy at Aevitas Creative Management represented the author while at Erin Murphy Literary Agency, and Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.

Juan Botero at Candlewick Press has bought Witches of Duckfoot House by Shaenon K. Garrity (l.), illustrated by Megan Kearney, an early reader graphic novel series about a fixer witch and a plant witch who journey across a chain of islands in a duck-footed house, helping repair broken things alongside a cast of fellow witches with unique magical specialties. Publication will begin in spring 2030; Brent Taylor at Triada US sold world rights in the two-book deal.

Taylor Norman at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has acquired, in an exclusive submission, We're Late! by author-illustrator Steve Teare (Sixteen Games of Hide and Seek). In this humorous picture book, a disorganized family wakes up late and must rush to catch their flight at the airport. Publication is slated for summer 2027; Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for world rights.

Michael Yuen-Killick at Red Comet Press has bought world rights to the picture book Gimme a Beat!, a rhythm-filled celebration of self-expression and belonging by Derrick Jakolby Washington (l.), illustrated by Octavia Ink (The Glam World Tour). Publication is planned for 2028; Lary Rosenblatt at 22 MediaWorks represented the author, and James McGowan at BookEnds Literary represented the illustrator.

Reka Simonsen at Atheneum has acquired Storytime for Pierce by Kristen Remenar (l.) (Owl's Fall Feast Fiasco), illustrated by Matt Faulkner (My Nest of Silence), a picture book about a young hedgehog who works up the courage to go to storytime despite his difficulties speaking in front of others. Publication is set for spring 2028; Abigail Samoun at Red Fox Literary sold world rights for the author and illustrator.

Laura Demoreuille while at Scholastic bought, in an exclusive submission, author-illustrator Maya P. Lim's Bear Hugs, featuring cozy, sweet bears, and Ghost Giggles, featuring spooky and silly ghosts, both holiday board books filled with tiny rhymes. Cindy Kim will edit for Cartwheel. Publication for the first book is scheduled for winter 2027, with the second following in summer 2027; Andrea Morrison at Writers House sold world rights.

To see all of this week's deals, click here.

IN THE MEDIA

From Book Riot: "I Cannot Let These Doctrines Be the Face of My Education": Students in Elizabethtown, Pa., Protest Book Bans. CLICK HERE
From Fodor's: America's 10 Best Children's Bookstores. CLICK HERE
From JSTOR Daily: Did the First Robot Come from Oz? CLICK HERE
From Southern Living: 40 Beloved Childhood Books People Wish They Still Owned. CLICK HERE
From 100 Scope Notes: The 2026 Children's Lit Animal Rankings. CLICK HERE
From the New York Times: John Patrick Green Recommends Animal Comics and Graphic Novels for Kids. CLICK HERE
From Berkeleyside: Toddler who inspired bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep is graduating from high school, and her father's new book is called Go the F**k to College. CLICK HERE
From School Library Journal: 9 Nonfiction Titles to Share with Young Readers for Pride Month. CLICK HERE

VIEW ALL

FEATURED REVIEWS

The Brunch Shift
Adrienne Thurman, illus. by Mags DeRoma. Random House Studio, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-80817-7

This sweetly empathetic story from Thurman and DeRoma sees an ordinary workday become an imaginative adventure. Each Saturday, a young narrator accompanies Mama to the diner for the “egg-crackin’, pancake-flippin’, orange-juicin’ brunch shift. A shift Mama can’t afford to miss.” Though this constraint shapes their routine, the pair reframe the day through inventive play, becoming knights and detectives, and turning bus rides and back halls into spaces of possibility. more

Freedom to Read: The Story of Teacher
Mary Peake and One Mighty Oak Tree
Lesa Cline-Ransome, illus. by James E. Ransome. Beach Lane/Wiseman, $19.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-5344-6350-9

A child and a tree mature to reveal an interconnected legacy in married collaborators Cline-Ransome and Ransome’s nuanced biography of teacher Mary Peake. After an 1831 rebellion by enslaved men prompts Virginia lawmakers to outlaw education “for colored,/ enslaved and free,” young Peake uses her family’s parlor to teach illegally. When war breaks out, Peake is named as educator for the camp’s newly established school, where she soon begins teaching under the oak tree, which later becomes the site of a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and shares land with HBCU Hampton University. more

A Gray Cat Wanders: New Poems About Our Animal Friends
Karla Kuskin, edited by Leonard Marcus, illus. by Marcellus Hall. Wordsong, $19.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-66266-018-4

The collection takes its title from its opener, which presents the solitary, brief, and wondrous observations of a cat “filled with gray cat thoughts/ pleased to be alive.” Hazy, mottle-colored illustrations help make this feline a focal point throughout, placing the slinking, observant figure as an onlooker in most of the moody spreads that accompany the ensuing animal-centric verse. Across poems that work in both rhyme and open forms, and employ alliteration and other sonorous devices, the speaker frequently takes the perspective of someone marveling at the world’s unexpected joys and simple pleasures. more

The Path
Pamela Paul, illus. by Qin Leng. Putnam, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-53219-5

With forthright narration proceeding via thought- and speech-bubbles, panels track a chain of disgruntlement as people find themselves repeatedly irritated by disruptions on a shared path. “I just love biking here. So smooth. So straight,” thinks a cyclist before a skater causes them to wobble. The pattern continues until a wordless full-bleed spread sees everyone stop in their tracks, absorbed by a magnificent skyward sight. The moment represents a turn in the tale, which rewinds into encounters newly centered in kindness. more

Ghost in the Night
Tiffany D. Jackson. Scholastic Press, $18.99 (288p) ISBN 979-8-225-01747-7

Raised by her late grandmother while her blues musician father toured the country, 12-year-old amateur photographer Harmony persuades her dad to bring her along on his upcoming tour. When she and her father arrive in Savannah, she’s excited to explore “one of the most haunted cities in America.” More pressing for Harmony’s father, though, is supporting a family friend and her 10-year-old son Robby, both reeling from the murder of a Savannah community member whose nephew has been missing since the killing. After noticing an apparent spirit in her photograph of Calhoun Square, Harmony enlists Robby and no-nonsense new friend Myah’s help investigating the location further. more

May 21, 2026

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To Our Readers

Because of the holiday next Monday, we won't have an issue of Children's Bookshelf next Tuesday. Look for us in your inboxes again on Thursday, May 28.

People

At HarperCollins Children's Books, Rich Thomas has been promoted to SVP and group publisher, from SVP and executive director of publishing. Heidi Richter has been named VP of marketing and publicity; previously she was VP, publicity for the Morrow Group.