Kids Can Press Publisher Preview (Spring 2026)

Unlike other small publishers, Kids Can Press had a heckuva December.

Cast your mind back a spell. The nation was in turmoil (or, put another way, par for the course these days) and in the midst of all sorts of awfulness our government has waged against innocent people, this included U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean. So in December the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used an unauthorized, AI-generated image of the children’s character Franklin the Turtle to create a fake book cover. It was titled Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists (seen here). The violent, political post, depicted Franklin in a helicopter with firearms. Naturally, it was immediately condemned by the Kids Can Press as a misuse of the character (to put it mildly). They wrote, “We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image, which directly contradicts these values.”

So yeah. Kids Can Press has been dealing with some stuff recently. And not just the usual book banning madness.

Today, we’ll be looking at a slew of titles they have coming out in 2026. None of them have to do with Franklin. All of them have to do with showing the world just how diverse and fantastic children’s literature is right now in the 21st century.

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I Will Not Walk to School by Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier

ISBN: 9781525314391

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

See, this is one of those cases where I can’t even improve upon the in-house description. As Kids Can Press says of this book, it’s, “An uproariously funny and relatable tale of a monster who loves school, but hates the commute!” I can’t beat that. And could I get a copy of this for my teenager? Aside from its great title, this book comes to us from the illustrator behind that infinitely charming Otis & Peanut series. Only Otis & Peanut is a Owl Kids publication. This book marks the first time KCP has done a book with Naseem before. As for Kelly, we know her from all sorts of things, like the Steve the Horse books. Did you know that Kelly was actually a slush pile find? True story!

But getting back to this picture book, in this story our monster protagonist loves school but hates the commute so he does everything he can to make the trip more fun. Hopping. Skipping. Smelling roses. His friend, a bird, encourages him not to be late for his favorite day (it’s pineapple pizza pancake day, I think?). I was informed that when reading this aloud, it is a good idea to give the monster a Tom Waites voice (and if you video record yourself doing so, be sure to send me the link). This book is ideal for teachers who wish to encourage discussions with their classes about and how kids get to school. And the sequel (of course there will be one) will be I Will Not Clean My Room.

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Buttfish by Pauline Pinson, ill. Magali le Huche

ISBN: 9781525314124

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

I have some bad news for you. The buttfish? It’s not a real fish. I’m sorry to be the bearer of such news. Considering the sheer scope of strange fishies in the sea, it seemed conceivable to me that a buttfish might actually exist. Alas, he is but a figment of these creators’ imaginations. Now this book, previously published overseas, has already sold 50,000 copies in France. It is about, as you might expect, a fish whose face is shaped like a tuchis and he’s sick of dealing with it. He deals with the rude comments of others by making fart sounds, which amuses them. However, doing so bums him out (haha). So he goes lower in the sea and finds other interestingly shaped swimmers, like the swordfish and the lanternfish. They don’t care what they look like. Then he becomes best buddies with cheesefish (the only other fish in the book that doesn’t really exist). Reading this, I couldn’t help but think that it would pair particularly well with the Japanese Butt Detective series. Right?

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Worm on the Job by Maureen Fergus, ill. Paul G. Hammond

ISBN: 9781525313165

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

The premise lies entirely in the title. Worm loves being a librarian, but has decided he’s read all the books and must move on to a new job. That shouldn’t be too hard, right? In the course of this story he considers all sorts of occupations, but alas nothing quite fits his skill set. Then he sees a job that involves guarding the invention convention. Now the hiring manager thinks he’s too small, but he convinces the hiring fella that he’s got what it takes. This book exhibits just the right level of absurdity on its pages. It probably doesn’t hurt matters any that it stars a VERY self-confident worm.

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Philomena and the Big Bad Mimi by Geneviève Jannelle, ill. Jasmine Mirra Turcotte

ISBN: 9781525315183

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

At the start of our conversation about this title I was asked to look at the cover and say what I though the creature featured there was supposed to represent. Turns out it’s our ego. That overwhelming desire we sometimes feel to talk about me me me (hence the “Mimi”). This ego is portrayed as a butterfly in a storyline that’s all about learning to share the spotlight. This particular monster makes her talk about herself. How do you banish it? Well, Philomena discovers there’s a creature even bigger that can scare it off: The YouYou (my spelling may be a it off). And if you say, “And you?” then you can summon it. To be frank, I have never seen this particular topic in a book before. Seems to me like adults could probably learn one or two things from this title as well…

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The Book of Jupiter by Robin Stevenson

ISBN: 9781525313028

Publication Date: June 2, 2026

What’s the hot new trend in middle grade fiction for kids these days? Cults! Think about it. You’ve the Newbery Honor winner The Wrong Way Home, last year’s Jenni Holm title Outside, to say nothing of Candace Fleming’s multi-award winning Death in the Jungle. It just makes sense. Plus, I can’t help but think it’s a good thing to teach kids about how to avoid the darn things. It’s odd, but last year author Robin Stevenson was in courts fighting the banning of her board book Pride Puppy. Now she’s promoting her book about a kid in a doomsday cult. In this story, our heroine lives by the rules of Father Jupiter and and believes that someday everyone will become stardust and ascend to the stars. But when someone she knows disappears, she must decide if she’s willing to risk everything to find out the truth. Each chapter begins with a teaching from the “Book of Jupiter” but these stop chapter headings stop when our hero discovers that everything she knows has been a lie. I want to read this! It doesn’t hurt that this particular book is already a Junior Library Guild selection as well.

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Wanted: Your House by Monique Polak

ISBN: 9781525313769

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Housing insecurity and the current market is the focus of this interesting idea for a middle grade novel. In this story, a kid comes up with an unusual real estate plan. Cyril’s mom is in real estate and he has been dragged along with her to house openings for most of his life. When it becomes clear that they will never be able afford their own house in their city, the boy comes up with a cunning plan. He posts a wanted ad… for a house. The idea is that if the two of them move in with an older person who needs companionship, that person might leave them their house. It’s worth a shot, right? Miraculously, the two find a grouchy stubborn old man named Mr. Hartt. Will this plan work out or be a complete disaster?

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False Starts by Carl Brundtland, ill. Claudia Davila

ISBN: 9781525310058

Publication Date: June 2, 2026

Graphic novel alert! For those of you aware of the comic Way Off Track, this is the companion gn. In this second installment of the series it’s the summer before 8th grade. Our heroine in this series is Nansi, and when a friend of hers doesn’t show up at the pool, Nansi finds that her friendship may be hurt by the intercessions of a mean girl. Drama! Oh, and she also gets a bit part in the summer festival and play. This is the kind of book you should turn to if you’re looking for a ton of friendship drama. Fun Fact: Author Carl Brundtland used to serve as Kid Can Press’s legal council! Heckuva switch.

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Loch Ness Monster’s Unbelievable Science by Anne Appert

ISBN: 9781525312533

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

And finally, today we end with yet another graphic novel, though this one is better suited for grades 1-4. Fans of science comics may enjoy how this book helps readers discern fact from fiction, all thanks to a self-appointed expert. And who better to talk about fake news than the Loch Ness Monster itself? Ness has written a book and it’s filled with stories about why birds have the colors they do. The problem? The facts in the book aren’t true. Now it’s up to Puffin to explain how these are stories and not science. Loaded with lots of humor, this title has a timely message about science and misinformation. Consider pairing it alongside Killer Underwear Invasion.

Oh… and I was given a very quick peek at a fall release. If any of you out there are Akiko Miyakoshi fans (and really, why wouldn’t you be?) then you may be happy to see this:

Many thanks to Michaela Cornell and the team at Kids Can Press for showing me what they they have slated for this season.

Filed under: Publisher Previews