Archives de catégorie : Frankfurt 2024 Children’s Books

AGENT UNICORN de Jenny Alvarado

An ambitious Unicorn learns that it takes more to be a detective than flashy moves, sneaky disguises, and cool gadgets in this zany, action-packed comic adventure about following your dreams.

AGENT UNICORN
by Jenny Alvarado
Page Street/St. Martin’s Press, September 2024

While unicorns usually shimmer and sparkle in the spotlight, Unicorn longs for fame of another kind: he wants to be a cool, case-crackin’ undercover agent, just like his hero, Agent Sparrow. And he’s finally gotten his big break—a job at Agent Goat’s Detective Agency! True, he might be sweeping the floors for now, but it’s one step closer to his dream.

When Unicorn intercepts the case of a missing pet bird, he leaps into action! This is his moment to shine—or, erm, sneak. He’s sure he’s ready to be a detective even though he has no actual experience. With the best disguises and coolest gadgets, how hard can it be?

But before long, he’ll discover that there’s more to being an agent than sneaky moves and looking cool. He’ll have to track down the humility and heart of a true detective and avoid getting distracted by the annoying bunny that keeps following him—a bunny that might just bear some resemblance to the missing pet—if he ever hopes to officially become Agent Unicorn.

Comic fans, unicorn fans, and anyone who’s ever had an improbable dream will love getting wrapped up in this humorous comic adventure about pursuing your dreams with passion and patience.

“An accidental training day where doing the right thing beats flashy appearances.” —Kirkus

“[T]his picture book grappling-hooks across the gap for younger readers who are setting their junior spyglasses on comic formatting but are not quite ready for a full-length graphic novel—an exciting literacy skills mission, should readers choose to accept it.” —BCCB

Jenny Alvarado is an author-illustrator who was born and raised in Miami, Florida. When she’s not searching for her next book idea, she can be found drawing, singing, or hanging out with her family in the Space Coast of Florida where she currently lives.

THE DANDELION RIOTS de Kim Smejkal

A darkly compelling fantasy romance in which a young woman is cursed to end the world if she ever falls in love. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout, Brigid Kemmerer and Stephanie Garber.

THE DANDELION RIOTS
by Kim Smejkal
Pushkin Press, March 2025
(via Writers House)

Sixteen-year-old Drinn has been kept isolated her entire life by Aunt Melusine, and she’s determined to find out why. But when Drinn confronts Melusine, things go spectacularly wrong—leaving one person dead, and Drinn on the run. Heartbroken, terrified, and alone, Drinn learns she is one of the damned: girls cursed at birth to cause everything from drought to disease to rat infestations. The damned are the dregs of society, and Drinn is the most infamous of them all—if she ever falls in love, the world ends.

Drinn may not understand much, but she recognizes injustice when she sees it. Shielding her heart against a handsome, charismatic boy (is he a test, put in her path?) Drinn tracks down another cursed girl named Story—a grumpy mechanic who kills anyone she touches—and together they rally others to their cause. By transforming their curses into assets, Drinn and Story fight back: against the Aunts who cursed them, and a world that shuns them.

Unfortunately, the powerful—and now furious—Aunts may be the least of their worries. It turns out the threat to Drinn’s heart was not the handsome, charismatic boy; in fact, it was never a boy at all. By the time Drinn learns deeper truths about herself and all the ways that love can surprise you, will she have already summoned the apocalypse?

Kim Smejkal lives with her family on Vancouver Island in Canada, which means she’s often lost in the woods or wandering a beach. She writes dark fantasy for young adults and not-so-young adults, always with a touch of magic. She is the author of Ink in the Blood (Clarion Books, 2020) and Curse of the Divine (Clarion Books, 2021).

AMONG GHOSTS de Rachel Hartman

Set in the world of New York Times bestseller Seraphina, a boy on the run from a dragon—among other dangers—seeks refuge in a haunted abbey in this wholly original ghost story about what haunts us, and what connects us.

AMONG GHOSTS
by Rachel Hartman
Penguin Random House, June 2025
(via Writers House)

A few things to know about the town of St. Muckle’s: It’s too out-of-the-way to interest greedy lords, and too damp and muddy for marauding dragons to burn. And anyone, from a humble serf to a runaway nun, may earn their freedom by living for a year and a day within the town walls. Seven years ago, Charl and his mother fled to St. Muckle’s and made it their safe-haven, building a new life in this so called Peasant’s Paradise. But when Charl sees something impossible—a ghost—soon the embers of his past are threatening to engulf his world in flame. A tragic accident is quickly followed by murder, a deadly plague, and a mercenary dragon.

Charl manages to escape to an abandoned abbey outside of town, but finds no safety within those ruined walls. A treacherous nun, a chorus of murdered girls, and the fearsome Battle Bishop await, ready to ensnare him in a complex web of history, magic and fate. For some things should never be forgotten, however much they haunt us, and Charl will need all his wisdom and resiliency if he is to fight for the world he knows…and the people he calls home.

Rachel Hartman is the author of five young adult fantasy novels set in the world of Goredd: Seraphina, Shadow Scale, Tess Of The Road, In the Serpent’s Wake and the upcoming AMONG GHOSTS. Her novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list and have received many awards, including the Morris Award, the Sunburst Prize, and the Monica Hughes Award. Rachel lives in Vancouver, BC, with her husband and whippet.

THE FACTORY de Catherine Egan

Step inside the Factory in this suspenseful, page-turning exploration of power, exploitation, and the nature of time by Catherine Egan – perfect for fans of Margaret Peterson Haddix and Gordon Korman!

THE FACTORY (Book 1)
by Catherine Egan
Scholastic, January 2025
(via Writers House)

How far will you go to protect your future?

Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle is no stranger to misfortune. Bullied at school and struggling with problems at home, he dreams of the day he can leave it all behind him. That’s when he receives an unexpected opportunity: an invitation to join the Factory – a top-secret research facility that’s supposedly developing renewable energy – and Asher will be paid handsomely for his participation. It seems like the answer to all his problems.

But not everything is as it seems at the Factory. The other kids in the program are tired and sullen, almost as if they’ve had the life sucked out of them, and the staff members are clearly hiding something. What’s more, Asher discovers he wasn’t chosen at random; someone in the program desperately wants him to participate. Asher can’t help but feel that whatever the Factory is doing, it’s not what he or any of the other kids signed up for.

To Asher’s horror, it turns out that the Factory isn’t developing renewable energy at all. So what is the Factory up to, more important, why? As conditions in the Factory worsen, Asher must team up with the other kids to uncover the sinister truth behind the experiment – and his personal connection to it – before someone gets seriously hurt.

Catherine Egan grew up in Vancouver, Canada. Since then, she has lived on a volcanic island in Japan (which erupted while she was there and sent her hurtling straight into the arms of her now husband), in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Beijing, on an oil rig in the middle of Bohai Bay, in New Jersey, and now in New Haven, Connecticut. She’s written several books for teens, including the Witch’s Child YA trilogy and the middle-grade novel, Sneaks.

THE UNINVITED de Nancy Banks

Set in the sumptuous city of lights, THE UNINVITED is a new YA novel about a young woman, a vampire, and the callous ways our vampire stories deal with consent.

THE UNINVITED
by Nancy Banks
Delcaorte, Fall 2025
(via Writers House)

When 17-year-old Tosh Reeves moves from Portland, Oregon to Paris, it’s a dream come to life. The city embraces her with its street-life, iconic architecture, and infinite gustatory delights. There’s even a charming expat boy, Nick, who introduces her to sights tourists never see. From medieval catacombs to the viciously competitive street art scene, Tosh’s immersion in Paris makes her feel wholly alive in a way she’s never before experienced. She belongs; she never wants to leave!

But when a series of brutal vampiric attacks creeps closer to her new circle of bohemian friends, Tosh will confront the darker side of her beloved Paris, and learn how deeply monsters can strike at a young woman’s power and heart.

Nancy Banks has washed buses, worked as a graphic designer and art director, and co-owned a bookstore. She lived in France for several years and still regrets that she never finished her Epic Pastry Quest. Currently, she lives in Denver with her husband and dog.