The start of every school year feels full—too full—of haircuts and back-to-school nights, last-minute trips to the store for sneakers that aren’t a size too small, and last-gasp-of-summer ice cream cones. My kids are meeting new teachers, trying new activities, reuniting with friends, and, at this point, pretty desperate to get their hands on their school-issued electronic devices. As for me, I’m trying my best to keep us all reading even when life gets busy. Sometimes this looks like ignoring the clock when the kids are up too late with a book; sometimes it looks like summoning the energy to turn off screens after school and march everyone to the library. Once we’re there, I always feel like we’ve suddenly got enough time to stay for a while.

And there are so many good books to read right now! It’s well worth making time for these ten new releases from long-time children’s book legends and newer favorite creators.

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Christopher Myers, Night Ride
Kokila, September 29
recommended for ages 4-8

The artistic scope of Christopher Myers’ new picture book is literally enormous. To create the stained-glass illustrations for each spread, Myers illuminated, and photographed stained-glass windows of his own design, each six feet wide by four feet tall. Like the windows in a cathedral, Myers’ pieces depict a sacred subject: children riding their bicycles on a nighttime pilgrimage through iconic spaces in New York City, from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge and home again by daybreak. Night Ride is wordless, allowing readers to imagine an accompanying narrative or to appreciate the artwork on its own.

For a mixed-media visual feast, pair Night Ride with Jillian Tamaki’s new picture book, Young Cat, Old Cat, which is illustrated in embroidery and appliqué.

Kate Beaton, Rebecca
illustrated by Sydney Smith
Roaring Brook Press, September 22
recommended for ages 4-8

This thoughtful picture book is the work of two acclaimed Canadian creators, cartoonist Kate Beaton and illustrator Sydney Smith. With a sensibility that reminds me of Barbara Cooney’s art and text, Rebecca tells a story inspired by the lives of Beaton’s ancestors. Rebecca lives with her husband and children on a small island where everyone in the family has to work hard to survive in the harsh, remote climate. When an accident on the ice claims Father’s life, Rebecca finds herself walking side by side with Sorrow—but there is still wood to chop, still a family to care for, still work to be done. Even in the presence of Sorrow, Rebecca finds contentment and joy in her loved ones and her work until the far-off day when Sorrow comes to sit by her side one last time.

Jack Wong, Goodbye, Koi
Orchard Books, September 15
recommended for ages 4-8

In author-illustrator Jack Wong’s new picture book, a young boy and his dad take their koi to a new home. The boy wonders how his beloved fish will adapt to living in a big pond with new kinds of food to eat, other fish to meet, and unpredictable weather. Meanwhile, the illustrations tell readers a parallel story: the boy and his dad are also preparing to move to a new home, and their hopes for their beloved koi echo their own hopes for the next chapter of their lives. The book ends with an afterword in which Wong remembers his own childhood move from Hong Kong to Canada. Goodbye, Koi is a wise, comforting read for kids who are anticipating a new beginning of any kind.

Mo Willems, What Will We Find in This Box? (Snake & Bat #1)
Union Square Kids, September 1
recommended for ages 4-8

You don’t need me to tell you about the genius of Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie books (although I could talk your ear off about how much fun they are to perform aloud with a new reader). What you might not know is that a spinoff series, Snake & Bat, launches this month, and it’s just as much fun as the original. Like Elephant Gerald and Piggie, Brian Bat and Snake are sweet and funny best friends with complementary personalities. In this first outing, Bat and Snake open a cardboard box! Bat is entranced by the instruction manual written in many languages, while Snake finds endless imaginative uses for the box itself. But what else does the box hold—and who is its actual owner? My kids are no longer new readers, but they both came running to read this book aloud with me, and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it.

Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko, I Am a Good Dog (Dogtown #3)
illustrated by Wallace West
Feiwel & Friends, September 22
recommended for ages 8-12

Elementary-aged readers who love real dogs, robot dogs, or even kittens will want to visit Dogtown, the fictional shelter for stray and surrendered pups invented by award-winning authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko. Their Dogtown series of middle grade novels is perfect for kids who appreciate short chapters and fun illustrations. I Am a Good Dog, the third Dogtown book, is narrated by Metal Head, a robot dog whose greatest wish is to find a home and be loved. As he assists the other animals and humans at the shelter on their own quests for love and happiness, Metal Head begins to discover his own doggy purpose as a helper and friend.

Adi Rule, Ghost Chickens: Omelet from the Other Side
illustrated by Joelle Dreidemy
Tundra Books, September 1
recommended for ages 8-12

If your young Dory Fantasmagory fan is ready to build their reading confidence with funny illustrated books that are a little more text-heavy, get them hooked on Ghost Chickens, the new early middle grade series from Adi Rule and Joelle Dreidemy. In Omelet from the Other Side, ten-year-old Florence Fortescue’s life is disastrously upended when her parents move the family from an exciting city apartment to a boring farmhouse in the country. Or maybe it’s not so boring? When Florence cooks and eats the weird glowing egg she finds in the house’s abandoned chicken coop, she develops the ability to see the ghostly chickens who haunt her new home. Short chapters, lots of artwork, and plenty of laughs will keep kids happily turning pages.

Lois Lowry, Building 903
Clarion, September 29
recommended for ages 8-12

A new book from beloved children’s author Lois Lowry is always something to celebrate. Like her award-winning 1993 novel The Giver, Lowry’s Building 903 explores how children in a dystopian future uncover uncomfortable truths about their society and dare to imagine a different way of living. In 14-year-old Tessa’s world, neighborhood playgrounds are ancient curiosities, books are illegal, and most daily activities are carried out on screens and observed through government cameras. Worst of all, Tessa’s brother, Theo, has recently gone missing. When Tessa finds a stash of outlawed books in the home that an elderly neighbor has been forced to leave, she realizes that the books may hold clues about Theo’s whereabouts.

James Ponti, Art Attack (The Sherlock Society #3)
Aladdin, September 8
recommended for ages 8-12

My daughter spent her summer vacation flying through James Ponti’s thrilling City Spies books, and I’m excited to introduce her to Ponti’s other ongoing middle grade series, The Sherlock Society, about four kids who start a detective agency and tackle high-stakes mysteries around their South Florida home. The third installment, Art Attack, publishes this month, taking siblings Alex and Zoe Sherlock and their friends Lina and Yadi into the world of graffiti art during Miami Art Week. A developer hires the Sherlock Society to locate a famous, elusive street artist and activist named Funky Munky, but the young detectives soon discover how tough it can be to track down someone who doesn’t want to be found.

Shaun Tan, Hometown
Levine Querido, September 15
recommended for ages 10-14

Award-winning author-illustrator Shaun Tan balances art and text to create humor, surprise, and otherworldly wonder in Hometown, a picture book that readers of all ages will find satisfying. The narrator, a girl who appears to be human, introduces readers to her family and neighbors, all of whom are perfectly lovely—and distinctly extraterrestrial. When a human boy arrives on their planet and is unsettled by its creatures and customs, he urges the girl to join him back on Earth, where he feels sure she must belong. I can’t wait to discuss the thought-provoking resolution with my own kids.

M.T. Anderson, Stealing Saint Nick: A Legendary Corpse, a Notorious Theft, and the Stories that Shape the World
Dutton, September 22
recommended for ages 14 and up

In this new nonfiction release, National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson encourages readers to get curious about history by inviting them along on an investigation of Nicholas of Myra, the historical figure who became known first as Saint Nicholas and later as the legendary Santa Claus. Yes, this is technically a book about Santa, but it isn’t really a Christmas book: Saint Nick himself is ultimately a jumping-off point for a broader examination of history, religion, empire-building, and myth-making. As Anderson shares tales from Nicholas’s life and recounts the 11th-century heist to steal the saint’s bones, he challenges readers to think critically about how humans piece together historical facts and fictions to construct the narratives that shape our understanding of the world.