10 New Children’s Books To Get Wonderfully Lost In This March

If I have one reading regret, it’s that I almost never read books in the deeply focused way I did as a child. When I was a kid, I could open up a novel the size of my head and spend a solid few days in there, only emerging for required annoyances like dinnertime and school. These days, whatever I’m reading for fun too often gets shoved aside by the obligations of adulthood. I might squeeze in five pages of a book at my son’s soccer practice, or ten minutes of an audiobook before bed, but that kind of reading doesn’t hold a candle to the sheer immersive pleasure of spending hours lost in a good book, completely unbothered by the outside world.

My kids, on the other hand, still understand the best way to read. When they find their way into a book and stay there for days, I envy them. I try not to interrupt. And I pass them stories that I think they’ll love reading all in one long sitting, like some of my favorite new children’s books publishing this month. Here are ten books in which I hope you’ll get wonderfully lost, no matter your age.

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Esmé Shapiro, Ruthie
Tundra, March 17
Recommended for ages 3-7

Ruthie is the weirdest dog I have met in a while, but wow, do I adore him. In the surreal fantasy world of his own imagination, he is a prince—and he simply must leave his castle (a house) and his queen (his owner) in order to enjoy the delights that lie in the kingdom beyond. Perhaps his royal subjects have built a statue in his likeness! Perhaps they are throwing a parade in his honor! When Ruthie finally runs free, he learns that the land beyond his castle is a little less delightful and a lot muddier than he expected, but it’s also full of helpful friends. Esmé Shapiro’s wonderfully zany text and illustrations are sure to make kids laugh and fall in love with sweet, imaginative Ruthie. Readers might even decide to build a statue in his likeness.

Anne Wynter, While We’re Here
Illustrated by Micha Archer
Clarion, March 24
Recommended for ages 4-8

With smart, playful verse by Anne Wynter and stunning collages by Micha Archer, this picture book is a true work of art. The story follows a mother and daughter who have to “hurry, hurry” on their trip across the city to a birthday party at the park. When they reach the appointed spot, they realize too late that the party actually took place the day before. But in a well-executed shift reminiscent of Oge Mora’s Saturday, both mom and daughter are able to slow down, explore the park, and make some sweet memories together.

Laurel Snyder, Shrinking Violet
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Chronicle, March 31
Recommended for ages 5-8

In their castle near the forest by the sea, a girl named Violet and her dearest avian friend, Bird, are quite content, except for one tiny complication: Whenever Violet is frightened by the sight of spiders or the sound of owls in the night, she literally shrinks. She worries that someday, she will shrink all the way down to nothing. When Bird is attacked by an owl, however, Violet’s determination to save her friend helps her discover her own ability not only to shrink when she is afraid, but to grow. Author Laurel Snyder and illustrator LeUyen Pham are a kidlit dream team, and their warm and wise picture book fable will easily find its way into young readers’ hearts.

Victoria Tentler-Krylov, Our Cities Depend on Us: Rethinking Our Urban Areas to Fight Climate Change
Abrams, March 3
Recommended for ages 7-10

If you’ve seen author-illustrator Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s artwork on New Yorker covers or in recent picture books, you might have noticed her particular talent for capturing energetic images of buildings and cityscapes. Tentler-Krylov, a trained architect, turns her expert eye to sustainable urban design in Our Cities Depend on Us, an inspiring nonfiction picture book about the green innovations that cities around the world are deploying to fight climate change. Singapore’s green roofs, Rotterdam’s floating park made from recycled plastic, and London’s temporary dam in the Thames are just a few of the wonders shared here in clear text and vibrant illustrations. I think readers of all ages will be fascinated!

G. Neri, My Bicentennial Summer: True Adventures from the Most Epic Family Road Trip of All Time
Illustrated by Corban Wilkin
Candlewick, March 3
Recommended for ages 7-10

It’s the United States’ semiquincentennial year, and young American readers may have questions about their country’s history and what it means to be patriotic in complicated times. Hand them this book! In My Bicentennial Summer, author-illustrator G. Neri looks back at the epic road trip he took with his family across the United States in 1976, when he saw natural wonders and historic monuments, had wild adventures, and met other Americans from backgrounds very different from his own. Through friendly, funny text (including thoughtful endmatter) and a scrapbook-like design, Neri welcomes all readers, guiding them through some of the challenges that our country has faced over the past 250 years and encouraging them to imagine how we might come together despite our differences to build a future “with freedoms and fairness for all (and I mean ALL of us).”

Carole Lindstrom, Red River Rose
Bloomsbury, March 17
Recommended for ages 8-11

Author Carole Lindstrom makes her middle grade debut with a novel about Rose, a character readers may remember from Lindstrom’s recent picture book The Gift of the Great Buffalo. Rose is a young Métis girl living on the Saskatchewan prairie where her family has made their home for generations, but in 1885, Rose learns that the Métis may be forced from their homeland by the Canadian government. Lindstrom has called Red River Rose “my Little House on the Prairie from a Native perspective,” and I look forward to following Rose on her adventure to protect her family and the land she loves.

Sarah Jean Horwitz, Falling to Fairyland
Little, Brown, March 31
Recommended for ages 8-12

When I’m in charge of the world, we’ll all spend our days reading lighthearted middle grade fantasy novels, and Sarah Jean Horwitz’s clever, imaginative books for young readers will have pride of place on everyone’s shelves. I loved Horwitz’s The Dark Lord Clementine and The Demon Sword Asperides, so I’m excited to read Falling to Fairyland. It’s a fairy tale-tinged adventure about a changeling boy named Cricket who meets a cursed knight from the human world named Isaac. To prove his worth to his magical guardian—and himself—Cricket decides to travel with Isaac through Fairyland on a quest to break the curse.

Aaron Starmer, You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This
Penguin Workshop, March 24
Recommended for ages 10-12

Twelve-year-old Roman is the youngest in his large family, which means he’s always the last one to learn the family secrets. For instance, there’s the situation with the Toe Beast: the pinky toe that Grandpa Henry lost in a childhood accident and kept preserved in a jar afterward, until it turned into… well, Roman doesn’t quite know the whole story yet. When Grandpa Henry dies and Roman is tasked with cleaning out the house, Roman discovers even more secrets and becomes determined to piece them together. Told in breadcrumbs, hints, and stories within stories, You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This is a magic-tinged tale that’s uncanny, unafraid, and beautifully written.

Nadine Takvorian, Armaveni
Levine Querido, March 10
Recommended for ages 12-18

Based on the author’s own family history, Armaveni is a graphic novel about Nadine, a teenager who wishes she knew more about her Armenian heritage. First at home in the United States and then on a trip to Armenia and Turkey, she learns some of her family’s stories. They are stories of the Armenian genocide, the deportation and murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, and they help to connect Nadine to her ancestors and shape her understanding of what it means to be both Armenian and American. The narrative, which shifts from the summer of 2001 to devastating historical flashbacks and symbolic dream sequences, is powerful and eye-opening; I read the whole book in one day and couldn’t stop thinking about it afterward.

Sarah Beth Durst, The Faraway Inn
Delacorte, March 31
Recommended for ages 12 and up

Sarah Beth Durst might be best known these days for her wildly successful Spellshop novels for adult readers, but she’s had a long career writing brilliant stories for children and young adults, too. In The Faraway Inn, Durst returns to YA fiction, bringing the whimsy of her cozy fantasy work to a younger audience. A rural Vermont B&B full of secrets, a bevy of magical guests, a charming and funny teen protagonist, a worthy romantic interest, and Durst’s refreshingly great writing—what’s not to love? I’m already making plans to set aside my other responsibilities and spend a great afternoon or two in the world of this book.