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In the Spotlight
 The Secret, Sacred Door: PW Talks with Mac Barnett National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett is the author of more than 60 children’s books and a champion of the picture book as a vital literary and artistic form. In honor of Children’s Book Week, which runs through May 8, we spoke with Barnett about his new essay collection for adults, Make Believe, and why young people are the best interpreters of art. more  In the News
 Texans Express Trust in Libraries in TLA Survey A Mellon-funded survey, conducted on behalf of the Texas Library Association, has found that a majority of Texans view public librarians “as multifaceted professionals,” consider libraries “community assets,” and think “public libraries should remain neutral spaces.” While state laws have stifled the freedom to read across the state, the research showed a distaste for censorship. more  Banned Books Week Enlists Trio of Artists Taking place October 4–10, Banned Books Week will feature three contemporary and diverse artistic takes on the theme “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” The week will culminate with Let Freedom Read Day on October 10, a day of direct action against censorship. more  Student Reading App Sora Reports on Digital Literacy TrendsThe OverDrive app released its third annual report on K–12 digital reading engagement, touting educational technologies and delivering findings based on nearly 60 million checkouts from more than four million student users. more  National Little Free Library Day’ to Debut May 17Little Free Library has declared May 17 its national Little Free Library Day, kicking off Little Free Library Week from May 17–23. The organization boasts more than 200,000 registered book-sharing locations across the 50 states, 128 countries, and all seven continents. more  Edgars Mark 80 Years of MysteryThe past and the future were both honored at the 80th Edgar Awards, held by the Mystery Writers of America on April 29 in Manhattan. In the Young Adult category, Libba Bray won for her novel Under the Same Stars. more
On the Scene
 Society of Illustrators Participates in Foster Care InitiativeOn May 2, the Society of Illustrators, along with national retailer Unclaimed Baggage, hosted a live painting party, at which nearly 20 artists transformed hard-sided luggage into creative designs. Each piece will be donated to foster children in the New York City area, accompanying them as they are transported to their new homes. more In Conversation
 Lisa Greenwald and Goldy Moldavsky In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, we asked friends and fellow authors Lisa Greenwald (l.) and Goldy Moldavsky to discuss their new middle grade novels—Friend Group and On the Road to Happy, respectively—and highlighting the joy in Jewish coming-of-age stories. more Reading Roundup
 Picture Books for Helping Kids Cope with GriefAs part of Mental Health Awareness Month, we've gathered a list of age-appropriate narratives that present different ways children may experience loss and help guide them through the healing process. more   Q & A
 Soman ChainaniAfter wrapping up his bestselling School for Good and Evil series, Chainani departs from fairy tales in the illustrated YA thriller Young World. In the near future, a teenager posts a video declaring that young people should have “the right to be young.” Seeing this as a campaign promise, a majority of American voters submit write-in votes for him in a presidential election, inspiring a worldwide movement of young adult leaders. Q: What do you hope readers take away from this wild ride? A: When I give out the galley, kids come up to me and say, this book sounds like chaos—teenagers in charge. And I’m like, you’d be fine. Because at some point, you are the future leadership. That shift in power, I think, is coming sooner than we expect, and it might end up happening in this revolutionary way the book foretells. more Four Questions
 Christian RobinsonWinner of a Caldecott Honor and three Coretta Scott King Honors, Christian Robinson investigates fatherhood in all its complexity in Dad, his first solo picture book in six years. We spoke with Robinson about animal dads, complicated caregiver relationships, and helping kids realize that parents are human, too. Q: Are there scenes that resonate more personally than others? A: For me, the porcupine dad [with the text “makes mistakes”] hits close to home. In that image, I wanted to show that we don’t know if it’s intentional that the spikes are hurting the kid. I feel like that’s so much of human behavior—hurting people and not being aware of how impactful your words or actions are. So, that resonates with me for sure, and I imagine it resonates with a lot of people, too. more
Rights Report
 Kristie Choi at Atheneum has acquired Where Time Ends, a YA debut by Megan Fletcher, pitched as The Last of Us meets The Last Bookstore on Earth, for fans of Neal Shusterman. This post-apocalyptic sapphic romance follows a teen, one of the oldest survivors in the world, holding out at a former summer camp where she and her friends seek to stop a mysterious countdown that decimates the population in descending order of age every New Year. Publication is set for summer 2028; Juliana McBride at Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency sold world rights.  Jennifer Ung at Quill Tree Books has bought Carolina Ixta's When We Lived There, about a teen who tries to get expelled from her wealthy private school in hopes of returning to her home in East Oakland following her family's eviction. Publication is scheduled for winter 2028; Andrea Morrison at Writers House brokered the deal for North American rights.  Sara Goodman at Wednesday Books has acquired, in a two-book deal, Down Came a Blackbird by Dana Schwartz (Anatomy: A Love Story), a gothic historical-fantasy novel about the teenage Elizabeth Tudor—future Queen Elizabeth I—fighting for her place in the succession with the help of the ghosts of the dead wives of Henry VIII. Publication is slated for 2028; Dan Mandel at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates sold North American rights.  Jody Corbett at Scholastic has bought, in an exclusive submission, Lamar Giles's YA thriller Say Less, in which, after the grisly death of her boss, a small-town grocery clerk gets promoted only to realize she's now running a mob front. Publication is planned for spring 2027; Jamie Weiss Chilton at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.  Alex Borbolla at Bloomsbury has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Hello, Whoever You Are by Leah Stecher (The Things We Miss; A Field Guide to Broken Promises). The middle grade novel follows Beth, whose seventh-grade year is off to a bad start until a letter from her deceased mother transports her to 1999, where she meets her mom as a seventh grader. Using her mom's advice, Beth sets out to be the perfect student just like her—only to realize her mom may not be the perfect person she thought she was. Publication is scheduled for spring 2027; Sam Farkas at Jill Grinberg Literary Management did the two-book deal for world rights.  Olivia Swomley and Hilary Van Dusen at Candlewick/MIT Kids Press have bought world rights to Our Built World: An Architectural Journey Along the Silk Road by debut author and architect Fiyel Levent (l.), illustrated by architect Daby Zainab Faidhi. Combining travel poems with nonfiction text, this middle grade book chronicles the construction of 10 massive structures built during the glory days of the Silk Road, and current efforts to preserve them. Publication is planned for summer 2027; the author and illustrator represented themselves.  Janine O'Malley at FSG has acquired world rights to Counting the Stars Home, a middle-grade novel by Maggie Rudd. It's a modern survival story about finding where you belong, who you can count on, and new beginnings that heal the deepest wounds. Publication is set for winter 2027; Mary Cummings at Great River Literary sold world rights.  Adam Wallenta at Papercutz has bought world rights to author-illustrator Joshua Smeaton's Woodland Hills, a middle grade graphic novel about a prickly skunk content to be an outsider—until a big, friendly bear moves to town. Publication is scheduled for 2028; Janna Morishima at Janna Co. negotiated the deal.  Maria Russo at Union Square & Co. has acquired world rights to Like a Bird, the first U.S.-original picture book written and illustrated by Reza Dalvand (I Have the Right; Persian Mythology), and a second book, both concept books that explore opposites and the unexpected ways they can work together to create surprise and delight. Publication is planned for summer 2027; Lilly Ghahremani brokered the deal for world rights.  Joy Bean at Arctis Books USA has bought That's Not Scary!, a picture book written and illustrated by Nikolaus Heidelbach (l.) and Ole Könnecke, translated from the German by Nanette McGuinness. Sibling relationships take a humorous turn when a brother and sister are home alone for the evening. All the sister wants from her brother is a scary bedtime story, and he can't seem to deliver something to her standards. Publication is set for spring 2027; Anne Brans at Hanser Verlag negotiated the deal for world English rights. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
  Fritz: A Mushroom StoryKelsey Garrity-Riley. Tundra, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-7352-6433-5 Garrity-Riley turns a classic introvert-extrovert dynamic into a fungal fable that’s sweet on the surface and umami underneath. Fritz, a kid chanterelle who sports a snappy red cardigan, enjoys companionship but savors his own company—which makes him all the more curious about his best friend, Pip, a fly agaric whose nonstop sociability is as vivid as his spotted red cap. Resolving to spend a day saying yes to everything Pip offers, Fritz is swept from one crowd-filled activity to another until he wonders why “having fun is so tiring.” more  Together for MamaPooja Makhijani, illus. by Nadia Alam. Rocky Pond, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 979-8-2170-0356-3 With frank sensitivity, PW contributor Makhijani and Alam explore a mother’s postpartum depression through the eyes of a new big sister. When her parents return from the hospital with Baby Maya in tow, older sister Asha calls out excitedly, and subsequent pictures show the child sitting solo with the infant. But a page turn contrasts Asha’s feelings of happiness with her mother’s seeming sadness. When Mama confesses to Papa “I can’t do this,” Papa calls extended family—grandmothers Dadi and Nani—for help. more  FlickerstateF.A. Davidson. Sourcebooks Fire, $18.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-4642-6619-5 In this fresh debut, after hyper-independent, Norah Sullivan, 17, learns that she’s a navigator—someone capable of influencing probability by accessing a realm of the future called the flickerstate—she and her father are attacked by flickerbeasts, creatures from the flickerstate that feed on futures. She applies and is accepted into the Academy of Navigation, hoping that a navigator education can help her find a cure for the flickerbeasts’ deadly bites. more  Whenever You AreMartine Leavitt. Groundwood, $19.99 (192p) ISBN 978-1-77946-109-4 Leavitt incorporates light speculative elements into a fresh contemporary tale about an incarcerated teen finding hope after a traumatic event. Fifteen-year-old Clemence Todd, who longs to do “Something Fine” upon his eventual release from juvenile detention, wonders about becoming a poet. When he confronts a security officer depriving fellow detainees of medical care, Clem and his only friend, physics-loving Finnegan Kelly, are each punished with separate solitary confinement. more  Black PointJacqueline West. Atheneum, $19.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-6659-8185-9 Rising high school senior Lucia Sorenson’s summer plans involve helping her grandfather run the Viking History Museum of Black Point as well as looking after him and the other Oldies, descendants of the town’s first residents. Lucia’s hometown attracts tourists curious about its Viking roots, but the denizens are suspicious of outsiders whom they perceive as overstaying their welcome. More concerning than newcomers, though, is the annual rising of the Mississippi River, which portends record flood heights—and threatens to unearth long-buried secrets from the town’s past. more |
May 5, 2026
 
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People  Alice Jonaitis, executive editor, Dr. Seuss Publishing, will be retiring May 29. Jonaitis began her career at Random House in 1987 as a receptionist for the adult art and production departments. After six months, she made the jump to Random House Children’s Books, where she’s remained ever since. She entered the world of Dr. Seuss in 1998, when she edited the first Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library book. She went on to edit every book in the series. Random House Children's Books has two promotions. Cat Reynolds has been promoted to executive editor, Dr. Seuss and Beginner Books Publishing, from senior editor. She will now lead the editorial team, effective immediately, reporting to Judith Haut, EVP and deputy publisher at RHCB. Renee Cantor has been promoted to associate editor, Dr. Seuss and Beginner Books Publishing, from assistant editor. In the Winners' Circle  Hollins University has announced the winner and honoree for the 2026 Margaret Wise Brown Prize in Children's Literature. First founded in 2016, the annual prize goes to the author of a distinguished picture book text originally written in English. This year’s winner is Kate Hoefler for The Couch in the Yard, illustrated by Dena Seiferling (Holiday House/Porter). The Honor Book is Ada and the Goat by Heidi Aubrey (Holiday House/Porte | ||||
