With the holiday season in full swing, are you looking for a gift for the young readers in your life? Here are some of the most hotly-anticipated titles for young readers releasing in December.
Fort Solitude (B&N Edition), by Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen
The second installment in the DC Comics Secret Hero Society series has arrived! Everyone knows Batman, Superman, and Wonderwoman. You may even know them as Bruce, Clark, and Diana. But have you ever wondered what they were like as kids? Turns out they’re just like everybody else, excited to go to summer camp and meet up with friends (and enemies) that include such well-known characters as Aquaman, the Flash, Cyborg, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. It’s a good thing the gang’s all together because pretty soon kids start disappearing from camp. Throw in a lake monster, a boogeyman, a UFO, and bigfoot, and surviving this summer is going to take a feat of superhero proportions.
Junior Novel (The Lego Batman Movie), by Jeanette Lane
Joker has once again hatched a plan to take over Gotham City. It’s up to Batman to stop him, but first he’ll need to make new friends and learn to work as a team. If not, Gotham City is doomed to fall into the Joker’s clutches. Based on the animated film, this enjoyable romp includes 8 pages of vibrant color photos.
Word of Mouse, by James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein, and Joe Sutphin
Meet Isaiah the Mouse. The first thing you may notice about him is that he’s blue—bright blue. But beyond his unusual color, Isaiah can also read and write, and is extremely well-spoken. When he and his 96 siblings escape from the lab where they were born and raised, Isaiah is the only one who is not recaptured. Facing a world far larger and more dangerous than he’s ever imagined, Isaiah is fortunate to find Mikayla, a rather ordinary mouse with a big talent, and Hailey, a young girl in need of a friend of her own. As they hatch a plan to rescue Isaiah’s family, they learn a lesson or two about bravery, self-worth, and the power of individuality.
The End of Olympus, by Kate O’Hearn
Since the day a winged horse crashed on to a Manhattan roof, Emily’s life has been turned upside down. Along with a thief named Paelen, the goddess Diana, and another mortal named Joel, Emily has fought to save Olympus before the flame burns out. In this conclusion to the Pegasus series, Emily and her friends return to Earth again, battered and with diminished powers, to fulfill a promise: save Agent B from a secret government agency known as the CRU. But when Emily arrives, she discovers Agent B has already been captured, and the only way to save him is for Emily herself to surrender.
Jed and the Junkyard War, by Steven Bohls
Jed comes from a warm, loving family, even if his parents are a bit quirky and obsessive about their survival training. Like when they drop him off in Yellowstone with a can of soda and a few dollars and tell him to make his way back home to Denver. He does, but when he arrives, he discovers his parents missing, his only clues a key, a wristwatch, an emergency backpack, and instructions to travel through a tunnel behind the dishwasher on a search to find his grandfather. The world he encounters at the other end of the tunnel is unlike anything Jed has seen before, a dystopian junkyard in trouble. Suddenly, Yellowstone to Denver seems like a trip around the block.
Agatha Parrot and the Heart of Mud, by Kjartan Poskitt and Wes Hargis
10-year-old Agatha and her friends live on Odd Street, where all the house numbers are odd, and attend the Odd School. When Agatha’s friend Martha is banned from playing soccer until her spelling scores improve, Agatha and her friends know they have to find a way to get Martha back in the game. Then Agatha intercepts emails to her brother, James, from a mysterious girl named Bella, she thinks she may have just stumbled on the key to getting Martha on the playing field again. So Agnes pretends to be James, and for a little while, it looks like her plan might work. But then things start to fall apart, as the best laid (and interfering) plans often do.
Silo and the Rebel Raiders, by Veronica Peyton
10-year-old Silo Zycos is an orphan on Mud Island. His father was a stranger and the rest of his relatives were wiped out in a horrible accident years before. One of the few on the island who can read and write, Silo is the official historian. But he also has another unique gift. It’s with this gift—the ability to see the future—that Silo hopes to gain a position as a Seer in the big city. After impressing the government official, Silo leaves his village. But once in the city, Silo discovers that he doesn’t necessarily like what he sees, and that people aren’t always as they appear to be. As he struggles to learn who he can trust, Silo balances a knowledge of the past and the future, and tries to determine the correct way forward, both for himself and the world in which he lives.
Yo-Kai Watch: Komasan and Komajiro in the City, by Charlotte Fullerton
Based on the Yo-kai animated series, this book installment follows the beloved brothers Komasan and Komajiro as they foray into the city. Country boys at heart, their enthusiasm and excitement for big city living is contagious, and young readers will enjoy this new adventure with familiar characters.
Yo-Kai Watch Volume 6, by Noriyuki Konishi
There’s nothing special about Nate Adams. Not until a mysterious creature named Whisper gives him a watch that turns Nate from ordinary to extaordinary. With the watch, Nate can see what others can’t: Yo-kai in every shape, size and form. Along with his invisible friends, Nate has one adventure after another. Inspired by the yokai of Japanese folklore, it’s hard to pin down exactly what these invisible beings are, but they sure are a lot of fun!
Five Days of Famous, by Alyson Everybody has dreams. For brainiac 7th grader Nick Dashaway, it’s to go from being a “nobody” to a “somebody.” He’s sure that the talent show is his ticket, but when things don’t go as planned he gets desperate…and makes a wish. To his amazement, his wish comes true, complete with fame, fortune, a manager, and a book deal. But a life of adoring fans and ultimate luxury comes with its own drawbacks, as Nick discovers in this funny holiday story. When his 5 days of magic are up, will Nick be satisfied to return to his old, boring life as a nobody?
Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire Vol. 2, by Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto
Calling all Pokemon fans! Sapphire and Emerald return, continuing their training of Mega Evolution, preparing for the next great crisis under the watchful eye of Ultima. Meanwhile, Team Aqua and Team Magma have joined forces to find the powerful Blue and Red Orbs. As fast-paced as the Pokemon themselves, readers will love this newest graphic novel installment.
What books are your young readers devouring this December?
The post December’s Best Books for Young Readers appeared first on The B&N Kids Blog.