Archives par étiquette : Penguin Books for Young Readers

THE BEST FLOWER EVER de Neesha Hudson

A spare and laugh-out-loud funny picture book about appreciating what you have and learning to grow with the help of friends.

THE BEST FLOWER EVER
by Neesha Hudson
Dial/ Penguin Young Readers, June 2023

An Australian shepherd thinks he has the most special flower in the world. He loves the way it smells and how soft it is and how the petals tickle his nose. But one by one, more dogs show up with flowers that seem to be even more special than his! A humongous sunflower with a bejeweled pot? A plant that can survive in the desert? How could his little flower compete against those? But when he accidentally destroys his flower, this pup learns that just because other flowers are special doesn’t mean his can’t be too. 

Neesha Hudson is a freelance author-illustrator living on the coast of Maine. She is delighted to spend most of her days drawing funny little characters and sipping black tea. She is the author-illustrator of Turtle in a Tree, and when not illustrating, Neesha enjoys spending time with her husband, their two children, two dogs, and four chickens.

HELLAWEEN de Moss Lawton

The first in a new middle-grade graphic novel series, featuring over-the-top action and excitement—and a superpower all kids dream of having.

HELLAWEEN
by Moss Lawton
Razorbill/ Penguin Young Readers, August 2023

Learning to become a witch can be difficult. Luckily, Gwen has Sloane (a werewolf) and Miles (a vampire). Except they’re not from this world… they’re from the Hallowlands, a realm with monsters. With the help of a new wand and a grimoire, Gwen’s hoping her friends will see that she’s ready to return with them to the Hallowlands. But Gwen hadn’t counted on running into Hiro, a local kid who’s just a little too obsessed with monster-hunting, and his mission to rid his town of evil.

Moss Lawton is a combination Dracula/Storyboard and Comic artist from the Bay Area, based in Los Angeles. Since graduating from San Jose State they have worked at major studios such as Netflix, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Warner Animation Group, Disney TV and Dreamworks TV. Moss has also worked on projects such as Monsters at Work, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans and LEGO Movie 2.

THE YEAR LIFE WENT DOWN THE TOILET de Jake Maia Arlow

A hilariously honest book about surviving middle school while navigating a chronic illness from the Stonewall Honor-winning author of Almost Flying. When Al is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, she thinks her life is over, but then she joins a support group for other middle schoolers with IBD. Her new friends help her navigate life in seventh grade.

THE YEAR LIFE WENT DOWN THE TOILET
by Jake Maia Arlow
Dial/ Penguin Young Readers, August 2023

Twelve-year-old Al Schneider is too scared to talk about the two biggest things in her life:
1. Her stomach hurts all the time and she has no idea why.
2. She’s almost definitely 100% sure she likes girls.
So she holds it in…until she can’t. After nearly having an accident of the lavatorial variety in gym class, Al finds herself getting a colonoscopy and an answer—she has Crohn’s disease.
But rather than solving all her problems, Al’s diagnosis just makes everything worse. It’s scary and embarrassing. And worst of all, everyone wants her to talk about it—her overprotective mom, her best friend, and most annoyingly her gastroenterologist, who keeps trying to get her to go to a support group for kids with similar chronic illnesses. But, who wants to talk about what you do in the bathroom?
The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet is a wildly funny and honest story about finding community, telling the truth even when it’s hard, and the many indignities of middle school life.  

Jake Maia Arlow is a podcast producer, writer, and bagel connoisseur. She studied evolutionary biology and creative writing (not as different as you might think) at Barnard College. They live with their girlfriend and their loud cat in the Pacific Northwest.

FLORA LA FRESCA de Veronica Chambers & Sujean Rim

When fearless and fun-loving Flora Bayano’s best friend Clara breaks the news that she’s moving, the girls set out to find Flora a new BFF, only to discover that replacing one friend with another is more complicated than it seems.

FLORA LA FRESCA
by Veronica Chambers
illustrated by Sujean Rim
‎ Dial/ Penguin Young Readers, July 2023

From New York Times bestselling author Veronica Chambers comes the first in a young middle-grade series about larger-than-life Flora Violeta LeFevre, who uses humor and a little mischief to navigate her best friend moving away, her sister’s overbearing and all-consuming quince preparations, and a surprising new friendship. In the end, Flora realizes that replacing one friend with another isn’t quite as simple as it seems.

Veronica Chambers is best known for her critically acclaimed memoir, Mama’s Girl. Most recently, she was the editor of The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own, which Time magazine named one of the Top Ten Nonfiction Books of 2017. She has written more than a dozen books for young readers and cowritten New York Times bestselling memoirs with Robin Roberts, Eric Ripert, Senator Cory Booker, and many others. She has also been a senior editor at the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Glamour.

THE MEADOWS de Stephanie Oakes

A queer, YA Handmaid’s Tale meets Never Let Me Go about a dystopian society bent on relentless conformity, and the struggle of one girl to save herself and those she loves from a life of lies.

THE MEADOWS
by Stephanie Oakes
Dial/ Penguin Young Readers, September 2023

Everyone hopes for a letter—to attend the Estuary, the Pines, the Glades, the Meadows. These are the special places where only the best and brightest go to burn even brighter.
When Eleanor gets her letter, she knows she’s freed from her hardscrabble life by the sea, in a country ravaged by climate disaster. But despite the Meadows’ luminous facilities, endless fields, and pretty things, it keeps dark secrets.
Four years later, Eleanor and her friends seem free of the Meadows, changed but not in the ways they expected. Eleanor is an adjudicator, ensuring her former classmates don’t stray from the lives they’ve been conditioned to live.
But Eleanor can’t escape her past, or thoughts of the girl she once loved. Because Rose isn’t here anymore. And as secrets emerge that force Eleanor to grapple with her history, she must wage a dangerous battle for her own identity and for the full truth of what happened to the girl she lost, knowing if she’s not careful, Rose’s fate could be her own.

Stephanie Oakes is the author of The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, which was a Morris Award finalist and a Golden Kite Honor book, and The Arsonist, which won the Washington State Book Award and was an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. An elementary school librarian, Stephanie lives in Spokane, Washington with her wife and family.