Publisher Preview: Levine Querido (Fall/Winter 2026)

By gum, it’s not fall until I SAY it’s fall! And it ain’t fall. Yet. We’re close, though. So close that I think that it would behoove us to take a dip into Levine Querido’s upcoming autumnal options. It was Travis Jonker who pointed out just a day or so ago that this company’s fall release of Chooch Helped has been the only fall released Caldecott Award winner in the 2020s. For that reason alone, you probably want to see what they’ve got on the roster this coming season. Don’t want to be the last one to know, after all…

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Death in the Tallgrass
Andrea L. Rogers
Sep 15, 2026 | 9781646146345 | Hardcover | $18.99 USD
Ages 12+

Speaking of Chooch Helped, Andrea was the author of that book! Don’t expect anything cute or particularly hearwarming with this novel, though. They’re selling it as “Holes meets Killers of the Flower Moon”, and I have to say that isn’t too far off. This is one of those titles on the distinct upper end of the MG spectrum. Quite frankly, I consider a middle school book in its purest form (kind of like The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller, but for distinctly different reasons). Imbued with Cherokee history this is a family mystery. It’s a little like historical fiction and it’s a slick 192 pages, so a quick read. Hand this one to the kids that want to feel a little challenged.

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Dog Circus Block Party (The Barking Puppy #2)
Lori Lobenstine, illustrated by Il Sung Na
Oct 6, 2026 | 9781646146338 | Hardcover | $18.99 USD
Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

The first in this series actually came out last year, but the general consensus was that there simply were not enough dogs on the original covers. And dog lovers, after all, are the audience that is going to dig these books the most. The stories follow a girl in Boston who, in order raise money for a pug in her neighborhood who needs surgery, creates a newspaper. It’s for dogs, by dogs. The books are great little tie-ins for journalism classes in school. Not that it’s all fun and games. Gentrification is a major theme in this second title. And don’t let the cover fool you. This isn’t an early chapter book or anything. It has a 216 page count, so keep an eye on that.

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The Accidental World-Slip of Astrid Verity: A Kingdoms and Empires Novel
Jaclyn Moriarty
Nov 3, 2026 | 9781646147625 | Hardcover | $19.99 USD
Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

At some point in my career as a children’s librarian I missed the Jaclyn Moriarty bus. I don’t quite know how it happened. I think the problem is that I missed a title in this “Kingdoms and Empires” series and just assumed that if I didn’t read them from the start all would be lost. Turns out, all the books in this series are all stand alones. Sure, they exist in the same universe, but you don’t have to read any of them in order. Described as lush, quirky fantasies, the people who love these books really love them. There are short chapters, making them absolutely great for read alouds, and this one (about a girl who, horrors, just got stuck in our world) just got a starred review (impressive for something late in the series). And for those of you already familiar with Moriarty (and living in the States) you’ll be pleased as punch to learn that Levine Querido just got a grant to send her from Australia to the U.S. so you’ll see her here on tour soon!

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Vampire Girl Conquers the Night
Betina González, illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson, translated by Antonio Gonzalez Cerna
Aug 4, 2026 | 9781646147267 | Hardcover | $18.99 USD
Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

We’re jumping back now into picture books with these next few titles. And hey hey! Do you see who’s the translator of this title? That’s Antonio (who was helping present the books to me). He’s making his debut as a translator and probably couldn’t have picked a more enjoyable title. In this story we meet a little vampire who is afraid of the dark. How do you conquer your fear? Well, I think it probably helps if the night itself is a character in the story. Crafted in a beautiful supernatural style, this book slots into a trend I’ve seen this year of picture books that are Halloween-adjacent but not specifically about Halloween. Reading through this, I realized that this would pair absolutely beautifully with that old Ana Juan picture book The Night Eater. That could be incredible.

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Shibu’s New Friend
Tess Thomas, illustrated by Kamwei Fong
Sep 1, 2026 | 9781646147212 | Hardcover | $19.99 USD
Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

When the good folks at Levin Querido published the picture book Shibu’s Tail, the knew not what they hath wrought. Next thing they know it’s the title they’ve sold internationally out of their entire list. Who knew? They learned a couple things along the way (like the fact that Argentinians get really upset if you depict a cat drinking milk) and really it just seemed inevitable that they’d come up with a sequel. In Shibu’s New Friend, Shibu the cat has to learn how to make peace with having someone in your immediate circle who is very different from you. And what better foil for such a lesson than a dog? Where Shibu’s tale has always been an expressive feature, Dottie the dog’s tail serves the same purpose. Cute? You don’t know the half of it.

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Paul’s Bunion: A Tall Tale Resized
Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Chief Lady Bird
Oct 6, 2026 | 9781646143672 | Hardcover | $18.99 USD
Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

I’ve been very interested in all the different looks at the Paul Bunyon tall tale lately. On the one hand you have take downs like the TOON Books like Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend, and on the other you’ve this year’s incredible reimagining of the myth iin Bing’s Cherries, which gives a Chinese immigrant Paul’s height and strength. Yet neither of those two books are doing what Paul’s Bunion is doing here. Thanks to Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, North Dakota) and Chief Lady Bird (Chippewa and Potawatomi from Rama First Nation and Moosedeer Point First Nation) we’re getting just how ridiculous Paul’s claims of creating stuff like the Mississippi River really were. I don’t know if you can see her very well in the third image below here, but that expression on one woman’s face as Paul acts like a big old baby with his axe is priceless. Pointed and kind of searing as well.

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Endless Afternoons
Gaël Faye, illustrated by Hippolyte Petitjean, translated by Irene Vázquez
Nov 3, 2026 | 9781646147328 | Hardcover | $18.99 USD
Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

An ode to boredom. You know, we’re seeing a lot of picture books stressing how important it is to unplug, touch grass, not look at a screen all the time, etc. A lot of these book, while well-intentioned, don’t have strong enough stories to back up their messaging. I prefer my books to be a little more beautiful and a little more subtle. Like this book about slow, syrupy summer day. And boredom is, in and of itself, quite the trend these days! This particular book was written by a French rapper wrote this, allowing for the text to get rather poetic Meanwhile, the illustrations are so pretty that you can see why people would talk about the virtues of being bored after looking at them.

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Mixed-Up Challahs
Rinat Hadad Siegel, illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Nov 3, 2026 | 9781646147120 | Hardcover | $18.99 USD
Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

And speaking of gorgeous art, is that a new Stacy Innerst book I see? Tis! It’s impossible not to appreciate the beauty of his illustrated work. This particular story focuses on a village called Tripoli (we’re in folktale territory here, people) where everyone bakes their challah breads in the communal oven every day. The problem with that? It’s all too easy for folks to then also mix up their challah bread. Why does it matter if one person or another gets someone else’s challah? Well, in this story family’s wishes and hopes are baked into their very specific breads. The solution to this problem comes with the idea that each family will have their own signature braid. Problem solved! Arthur has always been interested in showcasing Jewish identities that might be unfamiliar to some American kids. In this particular case, we’re getting an interesting perspective from Libya.

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Ruth Muskrat and the So-Called Indian Problem
Jen Loren, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz
Oct 6, 2026 | 9781646146994 | Hardcover | $21.99 USD

Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

We began this preview with a book written by Chooch Helped’s author, so it seems only fair that we end the preview with a book illustrated by Chooch’s Caldecott winning illustrator. So as it turns out, artist Rebecca Lee Kunz has a sister who is quite a bit deal in the documentary film deal. Together, the two of them have decided to create a book about their aunt. Ruth Muskrat was a leading voice in Native American civil rights and is one of the people responsible for Native Americans getting citizenship. With a Kirkus star already under its belt, this is the civil rights icon you never heard of. Amongst her other accomplishments, Ruth was responsible for coining the term “Trail of Tears”, and she famously went to the White House to bring awareness to the fact that the problems Indigenous people were having was that they didn’t have equal rights. Tons of research went into this story, so don’t worry about the backmatter. They have it well in hand.

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And that’s all she wrote, folks! Huge thanks to Kerry Taylor and Antonio Cerna for showing off these books to me. You’ll see them all fairly soon yourself, don’t you worry. In the meantime, enjoy this peek into the future.

Filed under: Publisher Previews