Stars? For Spring? How original. March ‘24–

Art © Henrique Coser Moreira

April 1 Is LQ’s Birthday

Spring 2024 is here in a big way, and I've got the bursting-at-the-seams inbox to prove it. Let's get into it. 

  • SHEINE LENDE is one of Reactor's (formerly Tor.com) most anticipated YA SFFH books for March/April!

  • Barbara Bietz over at Jewish Books for Kids interviewed the dream team behind JOYFUL SONG (linked here)

  • The illustratious E Train (IYKYK) interviewed Donna Barba Higuera for his podcast

  • There's a great interview with Mari Lowe, for her Sydney Taylor Blog Tour appearance following her win for THE DUBIOUS PRANKS OF SHAINDY GOODMAN.

Finally, April 1 st, is LQ’s 5th birthday. Help us celebrate by telling a friend about us!

—Team LQ

PHOTOS

In early February, Young Vo visited Houston, TX where he attended the bilingual Bookworm Festival For Emerging Readers. Full roundup is in PW — aren't we all so glad there's more Young Vo on Fall 2024? 

I just want someone to look at me the way that booksellers look at Darcie Little Badger (photo courtesy of Courtney and Antonio at the ABA Winter Institute dinner).

AWARD WORTHY

  • THE BOY FROM CLEARWATER: BOOK 1 wins the Freeman Book Award, given to the best East and Southeast Asian Titles for Children and Young Adults in the YA Graphic Novel Category. The award is administered by the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. 

  • NOCHE ANTIGUA and BLABLABLA were named to the Texas Library Association Tejas Star Reading List, which recognizes the best of the best Spanish language lit for children.

EVENTS & TOURS

March 23 -  Darcie Little Badger @ Teen Author Boot Camp

March 24 - Dale Walls @ Houston Teen Book Con

April 6 - Donna Barba Higueras Launch @ Bakersfield Barnes and Noble

April 6 - Cat Min’s Launch @ Books of Wonder

April 11 - Darcie Little Badger’s Launch @ Vroman's

April 13 - David Bowles + Darcie Little Badger @ San Antonio Book Festival

New Releases

THE FIRST DAY OF MAY

by Henrique Coser Moreira

★ “Pure joy.” — BookPage (starred)

★ “All the delights of spring.” — School Library Journal (starred)

★ “Ivan Brunetti by way of Rowboat Watkins.” — Booklist (starred)

★ “Playful and exceptionally funny.” — Horn Book (starred)

MANI SEMILLA FINDS HER QUETZAL VOICE

by Anna Lapera

Most Anticipated Middle Grade Reads of 2024—Teen Librarian Toolbox, SLJ

“Will make you laugh, cheer, and stand up on the nearest table to protest injustice.” — LitHub

★ “A powerful look at collective action that shows when we raise our voices together, we don’t just make noise—we sing.” — SLJ (starred)

★ “Readers will root for Mani as she develops the courage to advocate for herself and other girls, even when it's frightening.” — Booklist (starred)

49 DAYS

by Agnes Lee

★ “An unusual, profoundly moving graphic novel whose elegance belies its complexity and whose emotional impact only grows upon rereading.”   — BookPage (starred)

★ “A gorgeous, resonating, even mystical creation with little text, overflowing with unsaid feelings.” — Booklist (starred)

★ “A moving portrayal of mortality and its aftermath.”  — Kirkus (starred)

"An unforgettable story of death, grief, love, and how we keep moving forward."  — Graphic Policy

“Expressive, fluid…an exemplar of what it means to trust the audience.”— BCCB

MIGHTY INSIDE

by Sundee T. Frazier

Washington State Book Award Winner

CCBC Choices

Notable Social Studies Reading List

★ “Weaves strong characters into the tapestry of civil rights, treatment of people with disabilities, fallout fear from the war, and ever-changing cultural shifts that defined the 1950s.”
—SLJ (starred)

★ “A well-constructed and movingly told story of a thoughtful Black boy making his place in his family and in 1950s America.”
—PW (starred)



Team LQ