This month’s picks are full of multicultural children’s books, from an early chapter book about a multi-generational Indian family (Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister?) to an exciting middle grade fantasy steeped in Islamic folklore (Amira & Hamza: The War to Save the Worlds). A common theme I noticed this month is books about borders. The picture books Bright Star and My Two Border Towns both have characters crossing borders, as does the middle grade graphic novel Borders. The picture book biography Playing at the Border explores both literal border crossings and the transcendent power of music as a means of crossing borders. I was also thrilled to see Amanda Gorman’s debut picture book publishing this month as well. These September children’s book releases have a lot of must-reads, and it’s probably going to break some people’s book-buying budget!
September Board Book Releases
September Picture Book Releases
September Early Reader Releases
September Middle Grade Releases
Here are some more middle grade novels publishing in September I highly recommend checking out as well!
Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman (September 7, Nancy Paulsen Books) Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis (September 7, Katherine Tegen Books) Lotería by Karla Arenas Valenti (September 7, Knopf Books for Young Readers) Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs (September 14, Sourcebooks Young Readers) Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas (September 21, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities edited by Rick Riordan (September 28, Rick Riordan Presents)
And if you want to check out my previous lists, here’s July’s children’s book releases and August’s list, too.