Can you believe that the year is almost over? If you’re already thinking about all the wonderful books you’ll read next year, you’re not alone! In today’s blog post we’re giving you a sneak peek at our spring titles. Read all of these fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels on the Lerner NetGalley shelf!
Picture Books
Stars of the Night by Caren Stelson and illustrated by Selina Alko
Coming February 2023!
“When we were seven or eight or nine or ten, our home was the old city of Prague.”
So begins this powerful story of the children who were rescued from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, as Hitler’s campaign of hatred toward Jews and political dissidents took hold. Told from the collective perspective of the children, the narrative starts in 1938 and follows them as they journey to foster families in England for the duration of the war, return to Prague afterward in an unsuccessful search for their parents, and eventually connect with Nicholas Winton, a British former stockbroker who was instrumental in bringing them to safety.
Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis
Coming March 2023!
Discover the true story of an orphaned mallard duckling being raised by a pair of loons. On a lake in northern Wisconsin in 2019, loon researchers were surprised to discover a mother and father loon caring for a mallard duckling. Normally loons and mallards live very different lives and do not get along. Follow along as the duckling grows and displays a mix of both loon behaviors and mallard behaviors. Intriguing verse and striking illustrations combine in this heartwarming tale of unexpected animal cooperation.
Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the Race for the Future of Vaccines by Debbie Dadey and illustrated by Juliana Oakley
Coming March 2023!
Meet Hungarian American biochemist Katalin “Kati” Kariko. She became fascinated by science as a child and grew up determined to find a way to use messenger RNA—a copy of a part of DNA that provides cells with instructions to make proteins—to help fight illness. An mRNA vaccine had never been made before, and she faced frequent criticism and was told by other scientists she would never succeed. Kariko refused to give up her research, and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she played a critical role in developing the successful Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine faster than any other vaccine in history.
Middle Grade
Enly and the Buskin’ Blues by Jennie Liu
Coming February 2023!
Twelve-year-old Enly Wu Lewis is determined to go to band camp and follow in the footsteps of his musician father, who died years ago. But his mom, a single parent working two jobs, is saving every penny for his older brother’s college tuition. So Enly sets out to earn the money for camp on his own, by busking with an obscure instrument he can only kind of play. When someone drops a winning scratch-off lottery ticket into his tip box, Enly thinks it’s the answer to his problems—but he’ll have to overcome teenage thieves and his own family if he wants to achieve his dreams.
Indigo and Ida by Heather Murphy Capps
Coming April 2023!
When eighth grader and aspiring journalist Indigo breaks an important story, exposing an unfair school policy, she’s suddenly popular for the first time. The friends who’ve recently drifted away from her want to hang out again. Then Indigo notices that the school’s disciplinary policies seem to be enforced especially harshly with students of color, like her. She wants to keep investigating, but her friends insist she’s imagining things.
Meanwhile, Indigo stumbles upon a book by Black journalist and activist Ida B. Wells—with private letters written by Ida tucked inside. As she reads about Ida’s lifelong battle against racism, Indigo realizes she must choose between keeping quiet and fighting for justice.
The Green Girls by Loïc Nicoloff and illustrated by Antoine Losty, Alberto Zanon, and Roberta Pierpaoli
Coming March 2023!
Emma, Lily, and Fadila want to save the planet . . . but no one around them seems to care. Frustrated, they name themselves the Green Girls, take to social media, and launch a series of bold protests. Alongside their classmate and aspiring Green Girl Silas, the crew risks getting in trouble (and stirs some up) to raise awareness about container ship pollution, palm oil overproduction, and more environmental hazards. With a mix of livestreams, spray paint, and bungee cords, they’re out to make a difference—and get their followers to do the same.
Young Adult
Another Band’s Treasure: A Story of Recycled Instruments by Hua Lin Xie
Coming April 2023!
In Asunción, Paraguay, Diego dreams of giving music lessons to local children. The only problem: there aren’t enough instruments to go around. But when he and Nicolas, a carpenter, look to a nearby landfill, they see instruments in the making. Soon, they’re building what they need to give kids in town a new way to express themselves—and even find recognition they never expected. A lightly fictionalized tale inspired by La Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura.
The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent by Ann Jacobus
Coming March 2023!
Eighteen-year-old Del is in a healthier place than she was a year and a half ago: She’s sober, getting treatment for her depression and anxiety, and volunteering at a suicide-prevention hotline. Her own suicide attempt is in the past, and living in San Francisco with her beloved aunt has helped her see a future for herself. But when Aunt Fran is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Del’s equilibrium is shattered. As she struggles to care for her aunt and prepare herself for the inevitable, Del must confront her own demons and rethink everything she thought she knew about life and death.
Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself by Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge
Coming March 2023!
Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is perhaps the most well known of the autobiographies that exist. Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano’s life story in “found verse,” supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context. This poetic approach provides interesting analysis and synthesis, helping readers to better understand the original text. Follow Equiano from his life in Africa as a child to his enslavement at a young age, his travels across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, his liberation, and his life as a free man.
Find more announcements on the Lerner blog!