I like July for many reasons—warm weather, ice cream, my birthday. Here at Lerner, this time of year is also notable because the freshly printed fall books start appearing on a funny little counter at the front of the editorial department. Here is a little preview of a few of the the Millbrook books that will be published this fall.

Tales from the Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest with Pete Athans is a fascinating look at Mount Everest through the experiences of a climber who has reached the summit an amazing seven times. The book’s author is Sandra K. Athans, who in addition to being an excellent researcher and an elementary school teacher, is also Pete’s sister. Kirkus says that the book is, “A smart, inclusive and evocative account of a mountain, its character and its past.”

Do You Know Dewey? Exploring the Dewey Decimal System is a new picture book from Brian P. Cleary. The illustrations, which showcase a most fantastic library, are by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. (You might recognize her fun, colorful style from The Punctuation Station.) This book uses rhyming verse to introduce readers to Melvil Dewey and give them an overview of what is found in each hundreds section.

And finally, if you’re looking for something a little creepy, Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead should do the trick! Rebecca L. Johnson will introduce you to things that can take over the bodies and brains of innocent creatures, turning them into senseless slaves. Johnson has seamlessly woven together truly entertaining profiles of many different zombie makers along with some truly enlightening scientific information. The zombie makers include a fly-enslaving fungus, a suicide worm, and a cockroach-taming wasp. Ewwwww!