Publisher Preview: Red Comet Press (Spring & Fall 2026)

And another!

There’s really no wrong time to peer into the crystal ball and look at the children’s books of the near and distant future. Red Comet Press showed me a huge line-up of future titles. So much so that I couldn’t fit absolutely everything in. Here are some highlights, then, to whet your whistle for the months ahead (and restore your faith in humanity in general):

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Spring 2026

What Do You Do When Your Dog Grows Old a poem by Jackie Short, ill. Lucy Pickett

ISBN: 9781636551715

Publication Date: March 10, 2026

It’s like I always say: You can never have too many dead dog books in a single library. And by “dead dog books” I actually mean “books that help your children prepare for the upcoming death of a beloved pet”. Written by a breeder of German Shepherds, this book asks people to reflect on their companionship with the pals in their lives. It’s a small trim size (much like The Tenth Good Thing About Barney) so it’ll be nice and gift-y when the time is right and you know someone needs it. Consider it akin to a sympathy card with a little more heft.

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Time for Haiku: Four Seasons of Poems by Josep Santaeulàlia, ill. Luciano Lozano, translated by Lawrence Schimel

ISBN: 9781636551739

Publication Date: March 3, 2026

Oh, the poetry of 2026 is coming in HOT! This book just acquired a nice review in PW too. With its distinct Japanese-influenced style of art alongside the haiku, this is a wonderful introduction to kids about that particular kind of poetry. Red Comet Press utterly fell for this book in Bologna and had to have it. Once you read it for yourself, you’ll understand why.

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An Invisible River to Cross by Taraneh Matloob, ill. Kristen Balouch

ISBN: 9781636551449

Publication Date: March 10, 2026

If Taraneh’s name is familiar, that might be because she was the author of another book from Red Comet (Dear New Friend about a Persian kid inviting a friend to visit their home). Taraneh is a professor of children’s literature and lives in Cedar Falls, IA . Her path to publication is also one that almost never happens. By all accounts, she came to the Red Comet booth at ALA and asked if they were accepting unsolicited manuscripts. In her latest book, we follow a girl named Afsi, newly arrived in America. Her name means “folktale” and she’s accompanied by an imaginary dragon that gives her some courage when she needs it. The river she needs to cross? The English language. It doesn’t come easily to her and she gets very dispirited about it. Fortunately, there are new friends to help along the way. And isn’t that art fantastic? It reminded me of When Sophie Gets Angry… Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang.

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Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, ill. Violeta Encarnación

ISBN: 9781636551920

Publication Date: March 31, 2026

Isn’t that cover just jaw-dropping? This is a complex idea. We begin in the past when a girl is interned in a Japanese internment camp. Then the book at the middle goes backwards and it’s the present day with a Latino girl now in the same facility. Aside from being VERY topical, the book is a reverso title of sorts (making it the third I’ve seen in 2026 so far). And while it might strike you at first as a picture book, they’re going to market this title to the 8-12 age group because it’s pretty intense. Mia, the author, is Japanese and Chinese-American, while Violeta Encarnación is Cuban-American.

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The Shy Book by Howard Pearlstein, ill. James Monro

ISBN: 9781636551883

Publication Date: April 14, 2026

The Worried Book by Howard Pearlstein, ill. James Munro

ISBN: 9781636551982

Publication Date: April 14, 2026

The first two of four books. I hope you’re into meta titles because this series leans HARD into busting down that fourth wall. Which is to say, it enjoys talking directly to the reader. Each book in the series is about an emotion that the book itself exhibits. In the end, these books are meant to help young readers to break down the anxiety of dealing with their own emotions, with some advice on handling your own feelings. For school counselors this will be a brilliant book to use (and teachers too!). It’s like it was tailor-made for those children who have intense feelings.

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Tova’s Sweet Solution by Melissa Taylor, ill. Aurelie Lise-Anne

ISBN: 9781636551906

Publication Date: April 21, 2026

This is the Imagination Soup blogger’s first book and the focus is squarely on having a food allergy. Now Melissa could have included a whole host of food-related allergies into the text, but she’s opted to make the book a little more universal by inventing the allergy found here. Since the story is about a family of bear bakers, young Tova is allergic to the ingredient “honeygrain”. It’s Tova’s little friend the squirrel who comes up with a substitution that can be used in baked goods instead. A book about solving problems through creativity.

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The White Raven by Kathryn Otoshi

ISBN: 9781636551944

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Interestingly, this book was originally named “The White Crow”. Quintessentially Otoshi, this story is all about emotional literacy and developing empathy for other people and creatures in the world. It’s plot focuses on a bird born with leucism, a condition that is similar to, but not the same as, albinism. Now if you look at some of the sample pages of art here, you’ll notice the book’s use of negative space in its images, allowing you to seek and find as you go through.

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What Do We Do In Preschool by Kathryn Wanless

ISBN: 9781636551630

Publication Date: June 9, 2026

As I’ve been quick to learn over the years, we’re always in need of very simple books for the youngest of children. In this particular title, there are three sections about what happens when you go to preschool, told in rhyme. We wash our hands, say hello, “and all too soon… it’s time to go.” The whole idea is to set up expectations while lowering anxiety. It is also written by a preschool art teacher who really wished that she had this book to use in her classroom since it fills a need. Interestingly, it’s already gotten a starred review from SLJ VERY early!

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In This Classroom by Andrew Hacket, ill. Arthur Lin

ISBN: 9781636551814

Publication Date: June 9, 2026

Speaking of teachers writing books to fill gaps, Andrew is a 3rd grade teacher in Massachusetts. For his book, he wanted to discuss how, at the beginning of the year, you can create a manifesto of common values that your class can embrace. This title does precisely that, even allowing the option to stop periodically and revisit this book throughout the year to see where you are. At the beginning there’s a note to students and at the end a note to teachers on how to use this book.

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Fall 2026

One Little Fishing Boat by Brooke Hartman, ill. John Joseph

ISBN: 9781636552040

Publication Date: August 18, 2026

Since this author/illustrator duo did the book All Aboard the Alaska Train (which has done well) it only made sense to pair them together again with this fun readaloud. While their previous book looked at all the animals you can see on land, this one is very watery in comparison. In it, a family goes on a boating trip to catch some fish, and the pages show all the animals that you would see in the ocean. With a bubbly, lilting, rhyming text, you meet puffins, otters, beluga whales, and orca whales. It’s cumulative and involves some light peril with the weather. Not to spoil anything, but the family survives and gets some salmon in the end (yum!). Backmatter includes info on fishing traditions, marine life, and sustainable practices.

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I Am a Leaf by Angelo Mozzillo, ill. Marianna Balducci, translated by Denise Muir

ISBN: 9781636552026

Publication Date: September 1, 2026

This particular book is about how emotions change like a leaf in the wind. In the art, though, you’ll just find this BEAUTIFUL photography of leaves mixed with drawings. As you can see, the book incorporates the leaves into the art. In my favorite sequence, I love watching the kid moving like the leaves on the page. I particularly enjoy it when photography gets used in this way too. The creators live in Milan and this is their first book in English.

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The Voice of the Snow! by Yuko Ohnari, ill. Koshiro Hata, translated by Emily Balistrieri

ISBN: 9781636552033

Publication Date: September 22, 2026

Who out there was a big fan of 2025’s surprise runaway picture book hit Downpour? Well, the creators are back and this time the story is about that white flaky stuff that falls from the sky. Less onomatopoeic than its predecessor (snow’s just not quite as loud), when a boy wakes up and finds a snowy morning outside he can’t wait to get wrapped up in it. Wearing a red coat (like Peter from The Snowy Day), the story is a multi-sensory journey. It also explores a child’s connection through nature through sound. What’s magical about this one is that the snow listens back. It’s a moment for mindfulness and wonder and stillness. And fun! It’ll be perfect for storytimes and slowing down to notice the world.

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Run. Sing. Dream. by Linda Sue Park, ill. Nik Henderson

ISBN: 9781636551760

Publication Date: October 6, 2026

The art in this book is pretty genius, and I think you’ll agree. Coming to us from one of our favorite Newbery winners, this is a book that honors acts of bravery. It’s not all showy public resistance, though. I think what makes it so unique is that it turns the conversation around and shows us that this is ALL the things that you can do to protest, from singing to speaking to marching. It’s a book about activism but there are many ways to be an activist. They only use first names in the text (as you can see) so they have a nice amount of backmatter to explain who everyone is. Short bios of each of the people featured are in there as well. This is a good year for it.

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Fried Rice Surprise by Patricia Tanumihardja, ill. Shiho Pate

ISBN: 9781636551838

Publication Date: October 20, 2026

Ramen for Everyone was this author/illustrator’s previous book, and this is sort of its sequel. It’s about a girl who loves her mom’s fried rice. When her mom tells her and her friends that you can put anything in fried rice, her friends are given the opportunity to contribute to a communal dish. Everyone gives something small and personal. The art just explodes off the page, as you can clearly see. They all share the dish they made together at the end. A flavorable creation in multiple ways.

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And that’s it for the day!

Huge thanks to Angus Yuen-Killick for taking the time to show all of these to me. There are too many beauties here to count. It’s clearly going to be a VERY good 2026!

Filed under: Publisher Previews