Archives de catégorie : Bologna 2023 Children’s & YA

SUPER BOBA CAFÉ de Nidhi Chanani

From award-winning author Nidhi Chanani comes a sweet and magical new middle-grade graphic novel about a boba café, an earthquake-causing monster, and an unforgettable summer!

SUPER BOBA CAFÉ
by Nidhi Chanani
Abrams, October 2023
(via Writers House)

In the fog laden hills of San Francisco sits a sleepy independent boba café. Run by Jing Li and guarded by her kitty Bao, it comfortably fades into the background. But inside the boba café, there’s a secret. Jing is the keeper of the monster of San Francisco. Each day she prepares one giant boba for nine hours to feed it.
When Jing’s granddaughter, Aria, comes to stay with her for the summer she makes it her mission to turn the café around. Aria is quickly aided by Bao, who gives birth to eight perfect kittens. Aria spreads the news of the boba cat café on social media and overnight it is overrun with excited customers. Each day Nainai Li (Grandma Li) finds reasons to close the cafe but the demand only increases.
When she opens, the hill monster is left hungry and small earthquakes begin to plague the city. When Aria secretly follows her Nainai to the hill monster cave she isn’t sure what awaits. Will Aria be able to reason with the monster or become its new favorite meal? Or will she disturb its underground existence and cause the Big One?

Indian American illustrator and writer Nidhi Chanani has published several books for young readers, including YA graphic novel Pashmina, which was a Junior Library Guild selection, Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year, Texas Maverick Graphic Novel, Northern California Indie Bookseller Association Long-List Title and a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Born in Kolkata, India and raised in California, she holds a degree in literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and in 2012 she was honored by the Obama Administration as a Champion of Change.

SHOCK CITY d’Aaron Alexovich

From debut author Aaron Alexovich comes a middle-grade graphic-novel series following Sunny von Shock—a cheerful monster kid, and her new (well, only) friend Milo, as they try to save their town over the course of one epic night!

SHOCK CITY
by Aaron Alexovich
Viking, Fall 2024
(via Writers House)

When shy, introverted Milo rings the doorbell of the forbidden Shock City castle on a dare, he gets more than he bargained for when Sunny, a peppy young monster, answers the door. He would never have returned a second time—except he feels he owes it to Sunny to tell her that he’s moving away. Not just him, either. The entire Shock City population. But Sunny isn’t about to let her best (only) friend leave her side. In fact, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep Milo in Shock City. So she convinces him to join her on a nighttime romp in an attempt to fix the crumbling metropolis and give everyone a reason to stay. But then Milo unleashes the harsh truth on Sunny—her late grandfather, the great Darkness von Shock, is the very reason the town is on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, their friendship is put to the test, and it’s up to Milo to be brave if he has any shot of saving his beloved Shock City.

Comic artist, writer, and character designer Aaron Alexovich’s first professional art job was working on Nickelodeon’s Invader Zim. Since then, he’s worked on various animation and comic projects, including Avatar: The Last Airbender, Disney’s Haunted Mansion, DC’s Fables, and three volumes of his original comic Serenity Rose. SHOCK CITY is his middle grade debut.

THE MISFIT MYSTERIES #1: THE ROYAL HEIST de Lisa Yee, illustré par Dan Santat

With illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, The Misfit Mysteries is a whip-smart, hilarious new middle-grade series in which a former castle turned prison is now a boarding school for an elite band of crime-fighting underdogs.

THE MISFIT MYSTERIES #1: THE ROYAL HEIST
by Lisa Yee
illustrated by Dan Santat
Random House, January 2024
(via Writers House)

Olive Cobin-Zang has . . . issues. And they mostly aren’t her fault (no, really!). Though she tends to slip under the radar, problems still have a knack for finding her. So you can imagine her doubts when she’s abruptly dropped off at the strangest boarding school ever: a former castle, turned prison, now “reforming arts school” or RASCH (not “rash”).
But nothing could have prepared Olive for RASCH. There, she is lumped with a team of misfits and soon discovers the academy isn’t what it appears to be—and neither is she. In fact, RASCH is a cover for an elite group of underdogs who fight crime . . . and Olive arrived just in time.
Turns out RASCH is in danger of closing, unless this new class can stop the heist of a lifetime. And as Olive falls in love with this wacky school of crime-fighting do-gooders, she realizes it’s up to her and her new squad to save the only home that’s ever welcomed them.

Volume #2 will follow in Spring 2025.

Lisa Yee has published over twenty titles for young people, and has almost 2 million copies of her books in print. Her most recent work, Maizy Chen’s Last Chance, was awarded the Newbery Honor, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal–winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle, and his artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta series. He is the creator of the Disney animated series, The Replacements.

A VERY CRANKY BOOK d’Angela & Tony DiTerlizzi

The first picture book collaboration from bestselling husband-and-wife team Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi is the charmingly irreverent tale of a very cranky book . . . who might not be so cranky after all.

A VERY CRANKY BOOK
by Angela & Tony DiTerlizzi
HarperCollins, September 2023
(via Writers House)

Are you ready to meet the world’s crankiest book?
Cranky doesn’t want to be read. He just wants you to leave him alone. After all, there are so many other things you can do—ride a bike, play a game, or draw a picture. There’s no reason for you to be bothering him! But when other books show up for story time, will Cranky change his mind?
Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi, two creative forces, have crafted a story as silly as it is clever. In the vein of Grumpy Monkey and The Day the Crayons Quit, this tale humorously explores the big emotions of one very cranky book.

Angela DiTerlizzi is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author.
Tony DiTerlizzi is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and artist whose work includes the Caldecott Honor book The Spider and the Fly, and The Spiderwick Chronicles with Holly Black, which has sold over 20 million copies and been licensed in over thirty territories.

NO BOY SUMMER d’Amy Spalding

Lydia and her younger sister Penny make a pact to avoid boy drama for the summer—but Lydia can’t help looking for a loophole when she falls for a cute girl.

NO BOY SUMMER
by Amy Spalding
Amulet Books/Abrams, April 2023
(via KT Literary)

Lydia Jones and her younger sister Penny have had it with boy drama. Last year was marred by relationship disasters for both of them, threatening Lydia’s standing with her school’s theater tech club and Penny’s perfect GPA. Penny has, naturally, diagnosed the problem and prescribed a drastic solution: a summer off from boys.
Lydia and Penny decide to stay with their Aunt Grace and her boyfriend Oscar in Los Angeles while their parents are off on a European cruise. Penny follows her future-business-school dreams with an internship at Oscar’s office, and Lydia gets a part-time job at Grace’s neighborhood coffeeshop, Grounds Control.
Even when they spent hours, days, weeks dissecting their various boy drama, Lydia’s never felt this connected to her sister before, and it makes her wonder what else in her life could be different. She finds herself drawn to a group of friends she meets through her Grounds Control coworker, Margaret, as well as an intriguing customer, Fran, an aspiring filmmaker and—while not the first girl Lydia finds herself attracted to—the first girl who has mutual feelings for her. But she’s not breaking her pledge to Penny, right? That was just about boys. Even though in her heart Lydia knows she’s bending the rules, she hasn’t had a connection with anyone as strong as her connection with Fran, so she thinks it can’t be wrong. And Penny won’t mind as long as she’s happy . . . Right?

“Buoyant and genuinely funny. A love letter to summer friends, summer girls, and the city of Los Angeles.”―Rainbow Rowell, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Scattered Showers

“Lydia’s relationship validates the bisexual experience through an enjoyable romance. This body- and sex-positive story will hold readers’ interest until it eventually reaches its satisfying conclusion. A cute, queer romance plus a sweet exploration of the special bond between sisters.”―Kirkus Reviews

Amy Spalding is the author of several novels, including Kissing Ted Callahan (and Other Guys), The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), and We Used to Be Friends, which Becky Albertalli called “complex, earnest, and unflinching.” She lives in Los Angeles.