15 Must-Read October Children’s Book Releases

Anne Wynter makes her picture book debut with this playful, rhythmic picture book filled with onomatopoeia. It’s late at night when city noises awaken several children and a cat from sleep, from the “Waaaah” of a baby to the “weehooweeehoo!” of a siren. But the city provides comforting sounds as well, and the children in the red brick apartment building find themselves being lulled back to sleep. Oge Mora’s always stunning collage illustrations are perfect accompaniments to Wynter’s lyrical text. This is such a delightful and vibrant read aloud.

David Ezra Stein returns to his clever, intertextual Interrupting Chicken series with this hilarious picture book. It’s bright and early when the little red chicken wakes her papa and demands cookies for breakfast. Papa, still sleepy, decides to tell her stories instead, but the little red chicken cleverly inserts her own cookie-centered storyline into each tale. Clearly, the old woman who lived in a shoe made the place smell yummy instead of stinky by making cookies for breakfast. I loved this one just as much as the previous two. These are the kind of picture books parents will find just as enjoyable as their children. 

This gorgeous picture book combines STEM themes with social/emotional learning. When a young girl learns that the light in the sky is from a star dying, her heart aches. She decides to keep the star company and talk to it every night. As the years pass, the girl learns more about science even as she continues to speak to the dying star. Then, as an adult, she realizes she can and should do more. Vashti Harrison’s always stunning illustrations accompany Lucianovic’s compassionate story. I can’t wait to read a print copy of this to my science-loving daughter.

This is another rhythmic, repetitive picture book that’s a delight to read aloud. Set in Zanzibar, a young boy on a crowded bus tries to convince the driver and his parents to stop picking up people on the side of the road. He argues that there’s no room, but with some “wiggles and giggles,” there’s room for everyone, from fruit sellers to goat herders (and their goats) and a bicyclist with sweaty feet. López’s gorgeous and vibrant artwork is the perfect accompaniment to Khan’s rhythmic prose.

Ten-year-old Anthony “Ant” Joplin loves to play spades, and now that he’s 10, he’s old enough to play in the spades tournament, a tournament his father and his older brother once competed in and won. Ant wants so much to be like his father and make him proud, but when he pairs up with Shirley for the tournament, he’s worried his father will be disappointed because she’s a girl. Shirley makes Ant question the toxic masculinity his father has taught him, and, meanwhile, his father is struggling with alcohol addiction. This is a character-driven middle grade that tackles a lot of big issues while also retaining that middle grade hopefulness that I love best in books targeting this age.

Louisa May Alcott comes to life in this beautiful middle grade biography of her life. From her struggles to write and make a name for herself in a time when women weren’t allowed to be independent to her advocacy of the women’s suffrage movement to abolition, this is a powerful biography of one of the most famous American women writers. The black and white illustrations by Diana Sudyka are lovely. I’ll be honest, I imagine adults will enjoy this just as much or more than their middle graders, but it’s also a great way to introduce Alcott to young readers

Set in 1987, popular YA author Gayle Forman (If I Stay) shows what it was like to be a trans boy and a biracial child during the ’80s. Frankie’s father does not understand why he doesn’t wear dresses and acts so much like a boy. His mother decides to send Frankie to live with his uncle in California, where Frankie is accepted as a boy. Bug is half Salvadoran, though everyone assumes she’s Mexican. Her single mother struggles to balance work with parenting her two children, and when Bug isn’t able to go to summer camp, she finds herself hanging out with Frankie, who she completely accepts as a boy. This brilliant novel depicts how important found family is for kids not deemed “normal” by their family and peers, as well as important historical topics from the ’80s, such as the AIDS crises and racial violence.

Supergirl star Melissa Benoist teams up with her writer sister Jessica Benoist-Young and popular author Mariko Tamaki (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me) in this action-packed middle grade fantasy with lots of girl power. Sisters Ellie and Parker McFadden both have magical powers, though they couldn’t otherwise be more different. Ellie has intuitive magic and can sense what others are feeling, and can even speak with animals. Parker has kinetic magic and can manipulate fire and cause shocks to the earth. They inherited these gifts from their mother, though they didn’t realize it until two unknown relatives take them to Haven, an isolated farm. Ellie loves the farm and their new lives, but Parker wants to go back to the city. As they slowly untangle the secrets behind their magic, they unearth an even more dangerous secret.

Mari feels like she doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. She’s a wealthy Black girl in a predominantly white school. Despite her wealth, she doesn’t fit in with the white kids, and despite being Black, her wealth sets her apart from the other Black kids her age she knows. But one thing she knows — she loves fashion. It should be the best summer ever when her parents let her intern at their hip hop fashion company Flexx Unlimited. But she feels out of place with the other interns, and one girl in particular seems to hate her. When Mari finds out why, everything changes. Chase combines fashion, music, and social justice themes in this super engaging read.

This beautiful and compassionate middle grade graphic novel depicts the aftermath of a school shooting. Manuel Soto saved his art teacher from a school shooter, and now he’s dealing with PTSD and anxiety following the attack. His mother and a therapist are helping him cope, and he finds photography to be his greatest aid during his panic attacks. Every day is a monotonous struggle for normalcy. Then he’s teamed up with Sebastian and Caysha for a group project, and he finds solace in Sebastian’s farm and the newborn calf Sebastian is raising. He decides to help Sebastian and Caysha with their plans for the 4-H fair and, as he does so, a romance begins to bloom between Manual and Sebastian. I loved how Smith uses color to depict Manuel’s PTSD and dissociative episodes.

It’s the beginning of 6th grade at a new school for Chinese Canadian Livy, and she’s brought along Viola to her first day of class. Viola is Livy’s anxiety. Viola prevents her from hearing her name called in class; she makes her feel embarrassed about every little thing that happens. No one else can see Viola, but she haunts everything Livy tries to do. When Livy makes friends at school, it seems like Viola might be fading away. However, the pressure from her traditional parents to be something other than an artist combined with racist microaggressions at school sends Livy into a spiral, and the spiral feeds Viola. Fung’s cute and colorful illustrations in this middle grade graphic novel bring this deeply personal mental health story to life.