Category Archives: New Releases

News about new books coming soon.

Lee & Low Books 2021 Title Showcase (with a peek at our 2022 books!)

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for the Lee & Low Books 2021 Showcase. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or bookseller, this webinar will help you discover great new books to diversify your shelves (with an additional sneak peek of our 2022 titles):

Browse or download a printable PDF of our 2021 Titles. Find our Lee & Low catalogs here.

Have additional questions or comments? Please leave them below!

Free Upcoming Webinar: Lee & Low Books 2021 Showcase

Lee & Low Books 2021 Showcase with book covers against a mahogany background

Join Lee & Low Books editors for a showcase of our 2021 books! Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or bookseller, this webinar will help you discover great new books to diversify your shelves. Find newly released titles that you won’t want to miss, and get a sneak peek at our 2022 releases. This one-hour webinar will include picture books, middle grade, and young adult titles.

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Time: 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT
How to Join: You can register here.

Registration is free, but space is limited so register today! Even if you can’t attend live, you can still register and we will send a recording of the webinar to all registrants after the webinar takes place.

We hope to see you there! If you have any questions or particular topics you would like to see covered, feel free to leave them in the comments.

An Interview with A.M. Dassu, author of Boy, Everywhere

Today is the release day for Boy, Everywhere by debut author A. M. Dassu! In this powerful middle-grade debut, Sami and his family embark on a harrowing journey to save themselves from the Syrian civil war.

Watch author A. M. Dassu talk about why she wrote Boy, Everywhere. And read on to learn more about what moved Dassu to write this story, her experience and work with refugees, and the feedback she’s received from Syrian readers.

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Launching Our First Kickstarter Campaign: Clockwork Curandera Vol. 1: The Witch Owl Parliament

We’re excited to share our new graphic novel, Clockwork Curandera Vol. 1: The Witch Owl Parliament, coming out October 19, 2021 from Lee & Low Books! It’s a steampunk graphic novel reimagining of Frankenstein set in colonial Mexico, with simultaneous English and Spanish editions, created by an award-winning Latinx team.

Today, we’re launching a Kickstarter campaign to help bring this special book to even more readers, which will run for thirty days. And we’re excited that it’s already been designated one of Kickstarter’s Projects We Love!

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Cover Reveal: Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles

Today we’re so excited to reveal the cover for our upcoming young adult novel, Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles with illustrations by Justin Johnson, coming September 2021!

In Black Was the Ink, sixteen-year-old Malcolm is sent on a journey through Reconstruction-era America with the help of a ghostly ancestor. At the same time, he must work to save his family’s farm in present-day Mississippi from being claimed by the State.

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Encouraging Literacy in the Youngest Readers with I’ll Build You a Bookcase

Slider Image of all four bilingual editions of I'll Build You a Bookcase to the left of image of people of diverse backgrounds in a park surrounding two bookshelves

Last year, we were thrilled to announce our collaboration with William Penn Foundation and OpenIDEO on the Early Childhood Book Challenge. The winning story, I’ll Build You a Bookcase, releases today!

Written by early literacy specialist and parent educator, Jean Ciborowski Fahey, and illustrated by the award-winning Simone ShinI’ll Build You a Bookcase is for children birth to age 3. Told in simple, sweet rhyme, it celebrates the joy of reading and discovering new stories and is designed to inspire parents and caregivers to read to their child every day.

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New Release: If I Were a Tree

Today we’re excited to release If I Were a TreeTwo siblings journey into the woods in a tender story of branching out and new growth from acclaimed writer Andrea Zimmerman and New York Times bestselling illustrator Jing Jing Tsong.

If I Were a TreeAbout the Book:

If I were a tree, I know how I’d be.
My trunk strong and wide, my limbs side to side,
I’d stand towering tall, high above all,
My leaves growing big, and buds on each twig.
If I were a tree, that’s how I’d be.

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New Release: Kiyoshi’s Walk

Today we’re excited to release Kiyoshi’s Walk by poet Mark Karlins and illustrated by Nicole Wong!

Where do poems come from? This beautiful picture book about a young aspiring poet and his grandfather shows that the answer lies all around us—if we take the time to look.

Kiyoshi's WalkAbout the Book:

After Kiyoshi watches his grandfather, Eto, compose his delicate haiku, he wonders out loud: “Where do poems come from?” His grandfather answers by taking him on a walk through their city, where they see a cat perched on a hill of oranges; hear the fluttering of wings; imagine what’s behind a tall wall; and discuss their walk, with each incident inspiring a wonderful new haiku from Eto. As Kiyoshi discovers that poems come from the way the world outside of us meets the world within each of us, he also finds the courage to write a haiku of his own. Continue reading

New Release: The Electric Slide and Kai

Today we’re excited to release The Electric Slide and Kai by New Voices Award Honor Kelly J. Baptist and illustrated by Darnell Johnson! In this picture book, Kai is the only member of his family who can’t get the dance steps to the Electric Slide right. But Kai is determined to bust a move in this fun and sweet celebration of African American families.

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New Release: Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar

Today we’re excited to release Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by award-winning author Supriya Kelkar (Ahimsa, American as Paneer Pie)!

This moving and meticulously researched middle grade historical fiction novel takes a deep look at the impact of colonialism in India. When a rebellion against British colonizers spreads in 1857 India, 12-year-old Meera must choose between relative safety in a British household or standing up for herself and her people.

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