2022 Featured Fall Books List for Young Readers

The Illustrated Emily Dickinson
edited by Ryan G. Van Cleave
Bushel & Peck Books
August 2022, Hardcover $18.99

In this gorgeous collection, twenty-five of Emily Dickinson’s most beloved poems are illustrated with stunning, full-color collage artwork.

Age range: 7–10

Counting in Dog Years and Other Sassy Math Poems
by Betsy Franco, 
illustrated by Priscilla Tey
Candlewick Press
October 2022, Hardcover $18.99

Award-winning author Betsy Franco is back with another pitch-perfect performance that explores a range of math topics—from fractions and time measurements, to geometry and graphs—in a way that relates math to the daily lives of children. 

Age range: 8–12
Themes: math concepts, humor, STEAM

Ready for Spaghetti: Funny Poems for Funny Kids
by Michael Rosen,
illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Candlewick Press
November 2022, Hardcover $18.99 

Fizzing with rhythm, energy, and laughter, this perfect gift-book introduction to poetry celebrates the day-to-day routines of early childhood. From the rise-and-shine exuberance of “Up, up, uppity-up!,” to the sweet lull of “Hush and a hush/soft and low,” colorful pages abound with observations of ordinary moments, from brushing your teeth to digging in a sandbox, mirror a childlike day-in-the-life.

Age range: 3–7
Themes: humor, rhyming, everyday scenes

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening 
by Robert Frost,
illustrated by P.J. Lynch 
Candlewick Press
November 2022, Hardcover $18.99 

Whether memorized by schoolchildren or used to eulogize a president, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” written in 1922 and published in 1923, has found a place as one of the best-loved and best-known American poems of the last hundred years. Now, six decades after the passing of its author, Robert Frost, celebrated artist P.J. Lynch brings this classic to new life with exquisitely detailed illustrations, evoking its iconic moments and wintry setting on the outskirts of a small village.

Age range: 4–8
Themes: classics, seasons, stories in verse

The Hope of Elephants 
by Amanda Rawson Hill
Charlesbridge
September 2022, Hardcover $17.99

Cass’s family hasn’t let her dad’s cancer stop them from having a good life—full of love, poems, and one annual World Series game. But faced with uncertainty, Cass struggles to hold onto hope.

Age range: 10+
Themes: coming-of-age, illness, family, hope


 

The Book of Questions 
by Pablo Neruda, 
illustrated by Paloma Valdivia 
Enchanted Lion Books
April 2022, Hardcover $22.95

Where is the center of the sea? Why do the waves never break there? With gorgeous, cosmic, full-page illustrations, Pablo Neruda’s unanswerable questions invite us to wonder at nature and the myriad mysteries it contains.

Age range: 7+
Themes: nature, questions, Pablo Neruda, poetry from Chile, poetry in translation, illustrated poetry

Colors Wash Over Me
edited by Marcus Amaker
Free Verse Press
May 2022, Paperback $17.99

Colors Wash Over Me is a compilation of poetry by students in the Charleston, SC area. It is the culmination of a year of poetry workshops led by seven local poets in Charleston.

Age range: 3rd–12th grade
Themes: self-care, music, alliteration, home

Odder 
by Katherine Applegate
Macmillan Children’s
September 2022, Hardcover $16.99

A touching and lyrical friendship story told in free verse from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate. Inspired by true events, this poignant and humorous tale examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature’s most beloved and charming animals.

Age range: 8–12
Themes: friendship, kindness, animals, nature

My Zoo: a Book of Feelings
by David Griswold,
illustrated by Eliza Reisfeld
Magination Press
November 2022, Hardcover $16.99

In rhyming verse, kids explore a zoo of feelings—angry lion, happy puppy, calm sloth, and more, sometimes feeling like one and other days more. This book helps readers identify and accept different emotions.

Age range: 4–8
Themes: emotions, feelings, calm

Abuela, Don’t Forget Me 
by Rex Ogle 
Norton Young Readers 
September 2022, Hardcover $18.95

Abuela, Don’t Forget Me is a lyrical portrait of the transformative and towering woman who believed in Rex even when he didn’t yet know how to believe in himself.

Age range: 8th grade – college freshman
Themes: family/multigenerational, 
poverty, domestic abuse, hunger

Like a Hurricane
by Jonathan Bécotte,
translated by Jonathan Kaplansky
Orca Books 
February 2023, Paperback $12.95

A lyrical story for middle readers about a young teen torn up about revealing to his friends and family that he is gay.

Age rage: 9–12
Themes: LGBTQ+, coming out, self-esteem, acceptance, fear of rejection, novel in verse.

Union
by Sara Cassidy
Orca Books
September 2022, Paperback $12.95

In this novel in verse for teen readers, fifteen-year-old Tuck navigates new love, past trauma, and standing up for what’s right.

Age range: 12+
Themes: mental health, first love, healing, dissociation, dysfunctional families, child sexual abuse.

They Call Her Fregona
by David Bowles
Penguin Young Readers
September 2022, Hardcover $17.99

Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Her Fregona is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to They Call Me Güero.

Age range: 10+ 
Themes: Hispanic Heritage Month, SEL curriculum

When Winter Robeson Came
by Brenda Woods
Penguin Young Readers
January 2022, Hardcover $16.99

The whole world seems to transform during the summer of 1965, when Eden’s cousin comes to visit, just as the Watts Riots erupt, in this stirring novel by CSK Honor winner Brenda Woods.

Age range: 10+
Themes: Black History Month, historical fiction, family stories

Black Boy, Black Boy
by Ali Kamanda and Jorge Redmond,
illustrated by Ken Daley
Sourcebooks
August 2022, Hardcover $16.19

An uplifting and gorgeously illustrated picture book, Black Boy, Black Boy highlights inspirational figures who have paved the way for Black boys today, including inventor Elijah McCoy and activist Colin Kaepernick. 

Age range: 3–7
Themes: Black Boy Joy, Black history, confidence, family, perseverance

Garvey in the Dark
by Nikki Grimes
Wordsong
October 2022, Hardcover $17.99 & e-Book $10.99

Capturing the shock and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of Garvey, a beloved character, Nikki Grimes’s newest novel in verse shows readers how to find hope in difficult times.

Age range: 8–12
Themes: COVID-19, family, friendships, obesity, poetry