10 Of The Best New Children’s Books Out April 2024

I’m not always super keen on celebrity-authored children’s books, but this sweet intergenerational picture book co-written by Hamilton star Phillipa Soo (Eliza) and her sister-in-law Maris Pasquale Doran is an exception. It’s a lovely and relatable story about a young singer finding confidence after speaking with her grandmother. Piper loves to sing and sings everywhere she goes. She’s initially thrilled when her school’s music teacher asks her to sing a solo at a school performance. However, suddenly signing doesn’t feel the same. It makes her tummy feel funny, and her voice comes out as a whisper. Singing isn’t fun anymore. At home, she sits with Nǎi Nai at the piano bench, and her grandmother tells her all the times she’s felt these butterflies, húdié, in her stomach—at her first piano recital, when she graduated from music school, when she left China to live in America, and more. She realized the húdié were telling her that something exciting was happening, and she learned to welcome them instead of dreading them. Young Piper does the same at her first solo performance. Leng’s illustrations are soft and gentle.

This hilarious picture book inspired by Chinese mythology depicts a dragon with a cold being ornery with a phoenix. After Dragon sneezes, sending out a dangerous pillar of flame, Phoenix tries to get Dragon to relax. Dragon, however, is determined to show off everything they can do, from diving to soaring and, of course, roaring. When Phoenix begins sneezing as well, Dragon calms down, and they both rest. An author’s note at the end describes how the dragon and phoenix are traditionally portrayed in Chinese Mythology. As always, Santat’s illustrations are phenomenal. Santat also has another picture book releasing this month, Built to Last by Minh Lê, which I haven’t read yet, but I’m so looking forward to it!

I adored James Catchpole’s first picture book, What Happened to You? and I love his newest—a follow-up featuring the same characters co-written by his wife, Lucy Catchpole—just as much. Joe and his friend Simone are having fun playing on the playground when someone shouts, “You’re amazing!” to Joe. Joe gets this a lot. Joe is disabled, and apparently, that means everything he does is amazing, whether it’s trying to play with friends, eating ice cream, or even scratching his bottom. Strangers just won’t stop commenting on how great he is. This makes Joe feel uncomfortable and confused. He wants his amazing friend Simone to be acknowledged, too, and really just wants to be left alone to play with his friends. Thankfully, he has friends who treat him like a normal human being. Back matter includes a note to adults about why disabled kids want to be treated like normal kids. The Catchpoles are well-known in the disabled community, and I love how their picture books push back against stereotypes. This is a must-read for kids and their adults!

Snyder and Cotterill are more of my favorite children’s book creators, and their latest is a stunning picture book about finding patterns. A child and pregnant parent go on a walk in their new town. Along the way, the child notices patterns everywhere: tall and short dogs being walked in a row, shapes at a farmer’s market stand, colorful flowers, and more. The child draws the patterns in a sketchbook. Noticing the patterns helps the child feel less overwhelmed. Snyder’s lyrical text is imaginative and engaging, while Cotterill’s constructed diorama illustrations are gorgeous and evocative. Kids can spend a long time noticing patterns when they read this! Back matter includes a discussion of pattern types and pattern activities.

This lyrical middle grade novel-in-verse tackles much-needed topics for middle school boys: toxic masculinity, puberty, consent, and first relationships. Eighth-grader Elio, who is Indigenous Mexican American, has his first crush on Camellia. All his friends are hooking up, too, and thankfully Camellia is interested in him as well, and the two begin dating. Elio’s body is going through a lot of changes, and he doesn’t know what to think of it all. Camellia’s is, too, and Elio struggles with how to react to her changes as well. When Camellia breaks up with him, Elio says some bad things he later regrets. Meanwhile, his dad is also working out how to confront his toxic masculinity. Salazar does a great job combining humor and realism. It also includes older queer characters, which is nice to see in a novel about puberty for boys.

This phenomenal middle grade nonfiction centering Asian Americans fills many gaps in history textbooks. It’s adapted from Erika Lee’s adult nonfiction book The Making of Asian America. Lee and Soontornvat use engaging individual narratives, accessible language, and many photographs to create this much-needed, personal look into Asian American history. It covers a broad swath of history, from the 13th-century problematic interest in the “Orient” to the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act and much, much more. The authors also explore broad topics like the model minority stereotype. It’s a fascinating and essential history.

This is a funny, whimsical ghost story about a young boy haunted by his abeulo’s ghost. When Benny’s grandfather dies of a heart attack, the family inherits his Miami home. So they move from Los Angeles to Miami, and all three siblings are enrolled in the South Miami Performing Arts School. But there’s only one problem—unlike the rest of his family, Benny has no musical skills. Well, there’s a second problem, too: Benny can see his grandfather’s ghost, though no one else can. To make his way to heaven, Benny’s abuelo decides he needs to teach Benny how to play the trumpet like a pro and become the most popular kid at his new school. Abuelo’s advice never goes as planned, however. This is such a sweet and heartwarming read.