It’s our final release week of March. Here are some of the books out this week!
Books for Kids
Baby Lit Storybooks: Little Women AND The Wizard of Oz (Board books) – Classic literature for babies.
Little Poet – William Shakespeare: I Love You AND Emily Dickinson: In Emily’s Garden (Board books) – Snippets of classic poems set to lovely illustrations.
The Book Hog – A book loving pig who can’t read is invited to story time. This is at the top of my list for this week.
Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesdays – Two monsters argue about a dragon story they are making up while a real dragon lingers close behind, listening. Yep, this is on my list, too.
Felipe and Claudette – Felipe, a grumpy cat, and Claudette, a wild dog, have been waiting a long time to be adopted from the pet shop. (Felipe is certain it is Claudette’s fault.) But when one is adopted and the other is left behind it impacts both of them more than they expected. I’m eager to read this one, too.
Raise Your Hand – The daughter of CNN’s Jake Tapper noticed in her classroom that girls were less likely to participate in class than the boys. So she put together this book to encourage girls to be more confident in school. Sounds terrific!
Sweety – A quirky naked mole rat comes to appreciate how special she is. I can’t wait to read the whole story on this one!
Monkey and Cake: What Is Inside THIS Box? AND This Is MY Fort – This unusual pair star in a set of friendship stories that address issues that will feel familiar to kids everywhere. From the author of The Day the Crayons Quit.
Peg+Cat: Math in the Bath – A leveled reader starring Peg and Cat.
BAT and the End of Everything – The third book in this sweet series about a boy on the autism spectrum and his friend Thor, a young skunk. When the end of the school year approaches, Bixby/”Bat” feels anxious about all the changes coming. This would be a great read-aloud for lower elementary classrooms (1st/2nd through 4th grade).
Into the Game – First in a new series based on Minecraft where five players are transported into the game.
Mermaids to the Rescue: Nixie Makes Waves AND Lana Swims North – The first books in a new series about a rescue crew of mermaids.
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
Apocalypse Taco – A new graphic novel from the author of the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series. Three teens on a food run for the high school theater group cross into an alien parallel dimension.
The Astonishing Maybe – A sheltered boy with a relatively safe life sees things from a different perspective when his family moves and he meets the neighbor girl who takes him on great adventures, but who also is in need of help. This sounds great.
Because of the Rabbit – A girl starting public school for the first time is eager to make the right best friend. But while she and her partner on a project bond over a bunny she found, she’s afraid this impulsive boy could keep her from the friend she thinks she needs.
Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen – A tough, sassy girl who’s something of a bully decides to change her ways when she is stuck living with her aunt (who’s a real live nun) in a new town. Bernice sounds like an intriguing character!
Catwad – A collection of comics starring Catwad, a grumpy cat, and his optimistic friend, Blurmp.
Cilla Lee-Jenkins: The Epic Story – Book 3 in the series. I love the whole idea of this series starring a young author in training. This time, Cilla is writing an “epic” story.
Dragonfell – A new tale about a misfit boy, a brilliant scientist, and dragons. Sign me up!
Fallen Empires – Book 5 in the graphic novel series Cleopatra in Space. This volume includes a hunt for a spy, a mysterious death, and a big reveal about Cleo and the villainous dictator. I am all caught up on this fantastic series and I am ready to see what happens next!
Focused – A girl notices how often she gets distracted and how she has trouble staying focused. In fact, everyone is starting to notice, which leads to a diagnosis of ADHD. I’m curious to read this one. ADHD seems like such a common diagnosis these days, I’d like to see what the author does with this story.
Friendroid – Two boys bond over an online role play game and in each other find the friend they were both looking for. Neither of them knows, though, that one of them is an android. Sounds fascinating!
Jake the Fake Goes for Laughs – Book 2 in this series about a class clown who lets his success as a budding comedian go to his head.
Maybe a Mermaid – The author’s debut novel about a girl looking to make her first “true blue” friend in a new town where there are rumors of a mermaid. This sounds fun!
Over the Moon – In a town where boys get to toil in the mines and girls get to work as servants and everyone’s families count on those jobs to stay afloat, one girl gets the chance to change things by training flying horses. But in the process she stumbles across a mystery in her town that powerful people want to keep hidden. This is on my list for this week.
Revenge of the Sis – Star Wars Jedi Academy, book 7. This kicks off a new story arc starring Christina Starspeeder who has graduated from the Academy and now goes into advanced training. I have loved this series since the beginning, and I’m excited to see where it goes with this new story line.
Ruff vs Fluff – Queenie the cat and Arthur the dog love their lives at the Blackberry Hill Inn with their people, twins Harmony and Bro. But they can’t stand eachother. But when the twins’ cousin is framed for murder, the animals will team up to clear his name. This sounds adorable!
The Size of the Truth – When Sam was little, he spent 3 days trapped in the bottom of a well. Now as a bright eleven-year-old in eighth grade, Sam wants to leave his PTSD and his parents’ plans for his life behind and start working toward his own dream of being a chef. I am fascinated by the whole host of threads coming together in this story!
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny: May the Force Be With Us Cinestory Comic – The ladies of Star Wars star in three stories in this graphic novel.
Star Wars: Solo Graphic Novel Adaptation – Alessandro Ferrari is back with another graphic novel adaptation of a Star Wars movie. I love – and own – all of the previous books. The art work is spectacular. If you loved the Solo story, be sure to check this out.
Through the Untamed Sky – Book 2 in the Riders of the Realm series about pegasi and a people who have endeavored to tame the wild animals into war horses. I enjoyed the author’s previous Guardian Herd series, but I haven’t tried these yet.
The Tragical Tale of Birdie Bloom – In this new fractured fairy tale, a “Tragical” – a doomed orphan – and a Witch meet in what should be a disaster. But with the right opportunities they could become friends and write a new story for themselves. Yes, this is definitely on my list for this week.
The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins – Lyndie’s grandmother is determined to shape Lyndie into a proper Southern girl and that starts with learning to keep family secrets secret, like the struggles Lyndie’s dad has had since returning from Vietnam. I’m curious to read this one.
In Another Life – A new YA thriller about an adopted girl who moves to a new town for her senior year and meets a boy who says she reminds him of the daughter of his foster parents who was kidnapped. This was a must read for me! I’ll be reviewing this one later this week.
Killing November – A girl in an elite hidden school for training assassins and spies must figure out where she fits before she is either accused of murder, or the next victim. Teen thrillers have been really popular in the last few years. I’ll be reviewing this one later this spring, but I can already tell you it was amazing!
The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe – From the author of the Matched trilogy comes a new story about the teen captain of a mining ship who is out for revenge against the raiders who took everything from her.
Sky Without Stars – First in a new series re-imagining the the story of Les Misérables set in space. Sounds amazing!
Unleaving – The survivor of an off-campus assault leaves town to heal and to avoid those who side with the athletes she accused. But when another victim contacts her, and Maggie pushes through her own struggles to respond, the other girl goes silent. This will be an emotional one, but an important and timely subject for teens to consider. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Dear Ally: How Do You Write a Book? – Practical tips and helpful advice for aspiring writers from the author of The Gallagher Girls series, The Embassy Row series, and Not If I Save You First. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy.
Books for Adults
Canyons, Caravans and Cadavers (ebook, March 25) – Book 6 in the Camper and Criminals series. Mae is invited to teach at the local high school which puts her in a perfect spot to do some sleuthing when a fellow teacher is murdered.
Decades: Marvel in the 60s – Spider-Man Meets the Marvel Universe (Paperback Graphic Novel) – This tour through Marvel history focuses on Spider-Man in his early interactions with other Marvel heroes such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and Doctor Strange.
Half Finished (Trade Paperback) – A group of crafters gathers with the purpose of encouraging one another to finish the projects they start. That theme carries over into life outside of their craft projects. This one is on my library list.
The Hidden Corpse (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Food Blogger Mystery series. When Hope’s neighbor dies in a fire, she feels a little guilty because her neighbor probably needed more help at home and shouldn’t have been living alone. But when another body is found in the house, things take a darker turn.
Leave No Scone Unturned (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Chef-to-Go Mystery series. As Dani hopes the return of the college students will boost her business, a string of incidents on campus, including a murder, shake up the whole town.
The Library of Lost and Found (Hardcover) – When a librarian receives a gift of a book of fairy tales from her dead grandmother, it sets her on a course to uncover family secrets and maybe even get to the truth of what happened to her grandmother. I already have this one on hold from the library.
Murder in Tranquility Park (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Ferrera Family Mystery series. Grandmother and granddaughter are sleuthing again when the Ferrera ladies find a hidden tree house – and a dead body. This sounds like a fun series. I have book one on my TBR shelves.
Murder Lo Mein (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. A local food critic dies with his face in a bowl of noodles so everyone in the local noodle competition is a suspect. I have this series on my shelves, too.
Reading to Make a Difference (Professional – Paperback) – The latest instructional book for teachers from Lester Laminack (Professor Emeritus of Education, speaker, writer) on using books in the classroom as windows, mirrors and doors.