Our Most Anticipated Kids’ Books of August 2023

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the iconic duo behind Room on the Broom and The Gruffalo, return with a witty and spooky tale about a brave little girl and the ghost, witch and troll trying to scare her. A giggle-inducing read-aloud, pick up the B&N Exclusive Edition of The Baddies to add a full sheet of character stickers to your story time adventures.  

Peter Cheong makes his author-illustrator debut in this heartfelt story about a young, anxious werewolf trying to find friends. An adorable tale perfect for fans of Gustavo, the Shy Ghost and Bitsy Bat, School Star, our exclusive edition includes shiny orange foil on the cover and a large glow-in-the-dark sticker. 

A charming story about a little girl craving a mango, Julie and the Mango Tree is a delightful read filled with vibrant images. Get ready for laughter filled story times as Julie tries to convince the mango tree in her yard to give her a taste of her favorite snack.  

Rebecca Stead (The List of Things That Will Not Change) and Wendy Mass (A Mango-Shaped Space) team up for a mystery about the sudden appearance of a little free library. A story for book lovers, The Lost Library is a fast-paced tale with a ghost librarian, perfect for fans of The Bookwanderers. 

Heidi Heckelbeck returns in the sequel to Worst Broommate Ever, , and this time she’s trying to get her popular crush to notice her. As a witch-in-training, she’s sure she can find just the right spell to make him fall in love with her. Great for readers of the Dork Diaries series, Worst Love Spell Ever! is a bewitching and hilarious tale of magic gone wrong. 

Jason Reynolds (Ghost and Look Both Ways), once again teams up with Raúl the Third to create an action-packed graphic novel, this one about navigating divorce and change. Portico “Stuntboy” Reeves and his friends discover an empty apartment that becomes their hideout… and gets them into a bit of hot water with the grownups. A humorous and charming tale, Stuntboy, In-Between Time is a must-read for fans of New Kid.  

The YouTube stars LankyBox can now add authors to their credentials with their first-ever graphic novel — an action-packed adventure full of gaming and donuts. Any kid who has enjoyed the PopularMMOs and FGTeeV series will love this story about a hacker threatening to wipe the internet clean of anything more popular than his own content.