March 2026 list by K. Pearson |
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Alice With a Why
by Anna James
Alice's granddaughter finds herself tumbling down the rabbit hole in this magical modern retelling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Journey back to Wonderland . . . England, 1919. Alyce--with a Y--is sent to live with her grandmother, the original Alice, after having lost her father in war. When a mysterious invitation to a tea party hits her square in the face, Alyce realizes that her grandmother's strange stories of a place called Wonderland might have some truth to them after all.
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Bad Sister
by K. R. Alexander
Twin sisters. One dead, one living. But which is which in the latest horror novel from master storyteller K.R. Alexander.Chelsea has now traded places with her evil twin... and finds herself trapped in a ghost space while Angelica takes over. Is it possible for her to get her life back?
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The Big Bad Wolf Murder
by P. G. Bell
A quick read fantasy novel by the author of the Train to Impossible Places series about a girl accused of killing a famous wolf and forced to solve his murder while on the run, inspired by the story of Little Red Riding Hood!
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The Claiming
by Jasmine Warga
For the first time, Teddy is actually excited for the school year to start. His new neighbors, Lila and Caleb, are transferring to his school, which means he'll finally have real friends! But Teddy has a secret he's desperate to protect -- one that explains why none of his classmates have spoken to him in years...And that's not all. Despite having sent the fire maiden back through the portal, strange things keep happening at the Castle Hill Inn. Teddy's nightmares are back in a big way, and after getting stuck in the portal herself, Lila seems to be... flickering?! Almost as if something, or someone, is trying to summon her from our world into the next.
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Destiny of the Diamond Princess
by Sherri Winston
The Princess Diaries meets From the Desk of Zoey Washington in this story about a girl who is reconnected with her birth family, only to discover that she is an African princess and the key to unlocking an ancient curse.
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Dr. Zeus
by James Patterson
Middle School meets Percy Jackson. Greek gods task an ordinary twelve-year-old with a big mission. Nick Andino isn't exactly hero material. He's perfectly happy working at his family's Greek diner, pining over his crush, and avoiding his bully. His life isn't very exciting...until destiny comes calling. Dr. Zeus, the over-the-top king of the gods, zooms into town with a quest that Nick must complete to save Andinos past and present from being erased from history. Accompanied by a fast-talking Hermes, Nick journeys back to ancient Greece, where his ancestors await--along with new friends and a whole host of Greek gods and monsters. Can Nick be the hero the Andinos need, or will his story be another Greek tragedy?
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Hypergifted
by Gordon Korman
School has never been a problem for twelve-year-old super-genius Noah Youkilis--at least not until he gets an admission letter to the prestigious Wilderton University. The last thing Noah wants is to go straight from eighth grade into college. Will his life ever just be normal?! Meanwhile, Noah's best friend, Donovan, has been looking forward all year to a summer of doing nothing. But when Wilderton allows Noah to bring a friend for the summer term, Donovan's parents jump at the chance. Suddenly, Donovan's summer of slack has turned into hanging with Noah and working as a summer camp counselor for professors' kids.
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The Lions' Run
by Sara Pennypacker
Petit éclair. That’s what the other boys at the orphanage call Lucas DuBois. Lucas is tired of his cowardly reputation, just as he’s tired of the war and the Nazi occupation of his French village. He longs to show how brave he can be. He gets the chance when he saves a litter of kittens from cruel boys and brings them to an abandoned stable to care for them. There he comes upon a stranger who is none too happy to see him: Alice, the daughter of a horse trainer, who is hiding her filly from German soldiers.
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Love Rolls In
by Erin Soderberg Downing
A story about a unique animal sanctuary, the full-time family who live there, and the rotating stable of animal guests who will learn what it really feels like to be loved and cared for. Siblings Ruby and Henry have an unusual kind of home life compared to their friends. Their family operates an animal sanctuary with a unique collection of full-time pet residents: a pig, a dog, the world's bossiest cat, two silly goats, and a llama who thinks he's a human. Not to mention, Ruby and Henry's mom is also a vet at the animal clinic in town. Let's just say, when it comes to animals, it's hard for Ruby and Henry's family to say no.
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The Mighty Macy
by Kwame Alexander
When Macy gets book one of The Mighty Zora series for her birthday, she stays up until 11:34pm finishing the book. But the next day, when Macy gets to her school library, eager to check out book two, she finds the door locked with a sign explaining that the library will now only be open a few days a week due to budget cuts. Even worse, she finds out her father won't be home to help her figure out what to do, as he will be traveling to a museum in Montgomery, Alabama to read a poem about civil rights. With help from her fellow third graders, support from her mom, and encouragement from poems written and hidden for her by her father, Macy must find her voice and learn the power of advocating for herself and her community. Can Macy learn to be Mighty?
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The Ordinary and Extraordinary Auden Greene
by Corey Ann Haydu
Auden “Denny” Greene loves inventing stories with her best friend Runa about Sorrowfeld, a world of princesses and cursed dragons. But as they turn twelve, Runa starts to drift away from their shared fantasy—right when Denny needs it most. In Sorrowfeld itself, Princess Auden is the last surviving princess, expected to defeat the dragons on her twelfth birthday. When a dragon swarm crashes her celebration, she can only flee. Then everything shifts: Auden suddenly lands in Denny’s world—and Denny finds herself in Auden’s.
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Revenants Return
by James Riley
Ciara’s tale was never meant to be read. The Dragon’s Apprentice warned of a village girl who found a forbidden spellbook and learned magic from a dragon named Scorch—dangerous ideas the Empire insists must stay buried. Luckily, her story didn’t end there. Prince Aiden, heir to the Draconic Empire and a powerful mage like his father, arrives in Ciara’s village to stop her before she can spread magic and risk summoning the Revenants that once defeated the Dragon Mage herself. To protect the realm, he must track down Ciara and end her “dangerous” teachings—before her newfound power changes everything.
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The Road From Nowhere
by Avi
Fourteen-year-old Ollie feels trapped in the tiny, silver‑starved town of Gatchett’s Gulch. When he, his brother Gus, and their friend Alys discover a cave rich with silver—and befriend a wandering geologist who knows how to claim it—they finally glimpse a way out. But Elijah Gatchett controls the Gulch with threats and bullets, and any attempt to stake silver could cost them everything. Their search for freedom becomes a tense, high‑desert adventure with an unexpected end.
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A Sea Monster Conundrum
by Lisa Yee
Olive and her team of misfit detectives investigate reports of ghosts near an abandoned lighthouse—sightings that quickly snowball into rumors of a sea monster in the bay. As crowds swarm their school and a corrupt mogul takes interest, the Misfits race to uncover what’s really happening and protect whatever mysterious creature may be out there.
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A Tale of Plagues and Perfumes
by Jake Halpern
The Inquisitor's Tale meets Impossible Creatures in this immersive middle grade fantasy adventure that follows a girl who must use her remarkable sense of smell to save the world from a terrifying plague.
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Unicornia: The Frozen Palace
by Ana Punset
The next sparkling adventure in the shimmering Unicornia series, featuring a school trip to an incredible frozen palace. Claudia is going on a school field trip to the wintriest and most incredible place ever: the Frozen Palace. The walls are made of sparkling ice, there are penguins everywhere and you can fly with unicorns, or with reindeer! Without a doubt, this is the most magical place EVER. But when Claudia and her friends get lost, can they find the way out of the palace? Find out in this snow-dusted festive adventure packed with magic, snowflakes, and unicorns.
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Vans & Villains
by Carolyn Keene
When George wins an exciting contest from her favorite van life influencers to transport their camper van from Chicago to Los Angeles, she naturally invites Nancy and Bess along to live out her van life fantasies for seven days. But things quickly go sideways for the girls, from bad weather to mechanical problems, leading to personality clashes in a small, closed space. Worse yet, Nancy feels like someone is following them. Could someone be trying to sabotage the trip? Or is Nancy so used to solving mysteries that she's starting to see villains where there are none? Nancy had better figure it out quickly if their road trip--and their friendship--is going to survive the chaos.
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A Wish for Lily
by Bea Jackson
Willow takes her fairy friends to see the ocean in this second chapter book in the Fairies Welcome series from New York Times bestselling illustrator Bea Jackson. When Willow tells her fairy friends Lily, Sky, and Jasmine all about the beach--the sunsets over the ocean, the stars, and the moonlight--the fairies want to see it for themselves. At first, Willow is super careful not to let her friends get too close to the powerful ocean, but the fairies complain they're not having fun Willow compromises by showing them how to build a sandcastle, and all goes well...until a giant wave sweeps Sky out to sea Can they save her or is she lost forever?
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The Wish Ring Cipher
by Alexandra Ott
Emma, newly diagnosed as autistic and starting over at a new school, finds comfort in the puzzles and codes she’s always loved. When she meets Nate and joins the Codebreakers—a group decoding mysterious messages from a nearby ghost town—she’s pulled into a hunt for magical objects. But a rival group is after a wish‑granting artifact, and the Codebreakers must solve the clues first before dark magic falls into the wrong hands.
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X Marks the Haunt
by Lindsay Currie
When a lost crypt key awakens a dark force at Graceland Cemetery, twelve-year-old Will, armed with his graveyard know-how, teams up with his friends to uncover the spirits identity and end the haunting for good.
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A Year Without Home
by V. T. Bidania
After U.S. troops pull out of Vietnam, eleven-year-old Gao Sheng and her family are forced to flee their home in Laos and make a new home in a refugee camp in Thailand.
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