Top Fives: Harper Collins Spring 2018 Preview #harperpreview

Last month Harper Collins hosted their Spring 2018 preview to talk about upcoming titles.

If you want to see all of the tweets from the preview, you can check out of the #HarperPreview tag on twitter. (You can also find all of my tweets from the preview too!)

Here are the top five titles I’m excited about from the preview:

Picture Books

1. I Am Enough by Grace Byers, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo: Grace Byers (of Empire fame) makes her picture book debut in this ode to self-confidence. While the text of the picture book is a little message-y, it’s a great message kids can always afford to hear more. Bobo’s illustrations are beautiful and fantastically inclusive. Publishing March 2018.
2. Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Qin Leng: I got an early galley of this one at the preview and I am obsessed. A charming story that offers a glimpse of the circumstances that led to Jane Austen becoming the author so many of us know and love. Leng’s illustrations are gorgeous too. Backmatter includes a timeline of Austen’s life and a cheat sheet with famous lines and short plot summaries for all of her novels. Publishing January 18.
3. Right Now by Jessica Olien: A picture book about being in the moment that both  acknowledges and honors kids’ feelings. Even the not so happy ones. Coming April 2018.
4. Bloom: A Story of Elsa Schiaparelli by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Denos: This story about influential fashion designer Schiaparelli is told in first person and accompanied with Denos’ lovely artwork. Coming February 2018.
5. Just Being Jackie by Margaret Cardillo, illustrated by Julia Denos: The duo behind Just Being Audrey is back with this biography of one of the country’s most influential first ladies. I got a galley of this one at the preview and it’s even better than I expected. Publishing May 2018.

Middle Grade

1. Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech: Sorry, I can’t actually tell you anything about this one. BUT new Sharon Creech seems like enough! Publishing September 2018.
2. TBH #1: TBH, This is SO Awkward by Lisa Greenwald: What happens when a text goes to the wrong person? Find out in this consumable book written in texts. It might just be the format but I got a lot of TTYL vibes from this one. Hits shelves January 2018.
3. You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly: Online friends get each other through the ups and downs of middle school through their online scrabble games. Publishing April 2018.
4. The Frame-Up by Wendy McLeod Macnight: An artsy middle grade mystery caper where paintings come to life. Publishing June 2018.
5. Midnight in the Piazza by Tiffany Parks: A Dan Brown style mystery set in Italy with artsy clues and all. But for the middle grade set. Publishing March 2018.

Young Adult

1. Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston: Anastasia meets Firefly! My jaw literally dropped at the preview as they were pitching this title. Out February 2018.
2. All of This is True by Lygia Day Penaflor: The editor pitched this book as The Bling Ring meets Atonement which is almost too strange to parse but I’m into it. Publishing May 2018.
3. Hooper by Geoff Herbach: Sports, first love, immigrant experience. Coming February 2018.
4. Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist: True Grit meets 28 Days Later in post-Civil War Texas. Publishing April 2018.
5. Everless by Sara Holland: Red Queen meets Downton Abbey in this story set in a fantasy world a lot like that Justin Timberlake movie In Time where time is currency and the poor never have enough. Coming January 2018.