Lerner Publisher Services Fall 2024 Roundup – Walker Books, Lorimer, Red Chair Press, Quarto

Enjoy this roundup of Fall 2024 releases from four of Lerner Publisher Services publishing partners. Walker Books Australia joined the Lerner family this fall, and their inaugural list includes charming picture books, a touching middle grade novel, and two hard-hitting YA novels. Lorimer released three new LGBTQIA+ high-low YA titles, their specialty. Red Chair Press’s F24 list is a curated variety of early reader nonfiction, middle-grade fiction series additions, and a poignant young adult novel. And last but not least, Quarto brings us two continuing graphic novel series and an adorable how-to-draw series. Read on for details on these wonderful books!

Color Makes the World Go Round
Interest level: Grades K-3
Imagine a rainbow without color, or flamingos, or red shoes. What about a zebra? Oh . . . hmmmm. This whimsical, layered exploration through color celebrates that variety, diversity, and difference create joy.

Jelly-Boy
Interest level: Grades K-3
What happens when a jellyfish falls in love with a plastic bag she mistakes for a jelly-boy? By the time Jelly-Girl discovers the dangerous truth about her new friend, it may already be too late.

The Big Flappy Ears
Book 1 in the Mini and Milo series
Interest level: Grades K-3
Mini’s ears are bigger than big and huger than huge . . . but she has a problem. They aren’t very good at listening. When Mini misses out on the excursion, she realizes that maybe her ears aren’t the problem after all.

The Mailbox Tree
Interest level: Grades 3-7
Faced with the likelihood of being forced to leave her beloved Tasmania, Nyx finds solace in the single surviving tree nearby. When she discovers a despairing note in the tree, she writes back and learns she’s not alone.

Saltwater Boy
Interest level: Grades 8-12
When Dad goes to jail, Matthew and his mom move to the coast for a fresh start. Matthew forms a friendship with Old Bill, a local Indigenous man, and things are looking up—until Dad gets out on parole.

Inkflower
Interest level: Grades 9-12
Lisa’s father has six months to live when he decides to tell a story he has kept hidden about a boy sent to Auschwitz—a boy who lost everything and started again. But Lisa doesn’t want to hear it because she has secrets too.

Dancehall Rebel
Reading level: Grade 5
Interest level: Grades 9-12
A teen shares her dad’s vibrant Caribbean musical legacy but is burdened by the homophobia that comes along with it. She searches to find a new path for the music and for herself.

Losing Hit Points
Part of the Lorimer Real Love series
Reading level: Grades 3-4
Interest level: Grades 8-12
After Rumour came out as trans, Journey—her best friend—dropped her. When a Dungeons & Dragons game brings them face to face, Journey must confront their shame and their suppressed romantic feelings.

Luscious Love
Part of the Lorimer Real Love series
Reading level: Grade 5
Interest level: Grades 8-12
Mina’s summer is shaping up well: she’s got her dream job and, with the way her new coworker is flirting, maybe a new girlfriend as well. The lingerie store where they both work might threaten to ruin it all though.

Gone to the Dogs
Book 3 in the Frankinschool series
Interest level: Grades 2-5
Fred’s emotions have gone to the dogs! Frankinschool treks through secret passageways and grand rooms of a mansion-turned-library. Along the way, he learns about managing expectations, anger, and friendships, and discovers that sometimes going-to-the-dogs is a very good thing.

Searching for Lucky #3002
Book 1 in the Ben and Blue series
Interest level: Grades 3-6
A nine-year-old boy named Ben, his three-eared dog Blue, and his tomboy best friend Cooper investigate the mystery of Ben’s absent father for a class writing project about one’s family tree.

One Year, One Night (2nd Edition)
Interest level: Grades 6-12
Annie returns to her home village after a long absence and rediscovers the diary she kept the year she turned 16, the year that changed her life. Based on a true event in England during World War II.

Beginner Biographies (LOOK! Books™)
8 New Titles, 16-Book Series
Interest level: Grades K-2
A role model can be someone who shows us how to overcome challenges, stand up for others, and never give up. Introduce young readers to some of history’s most inspiring, diverse role models in this biography series for young readers.

50 Things You Didn’t Know About
6 New Titles, 12-Book Series
Interest level: Grades 2-5
This fun series presents entertaining facts on high-interest topics in easy-to-digest summaries. Each book is filled with unexpected and amusing insights that go beyond the basics to engage readers.

Hammer
4 New Titles, 8-Book Series
Interest level: Grades 5-9
Stud is a 14-year-old boy with the unusual ability to turn his hands into hammers. In Volume 2, Detective Dan and Stud unite to save Ocean Kingdom from Steele and his shark gang.

Apple Black
4 New Titles, 8-Book Series
Interest: Grades 8-12
This series follows the young sorcerer Sano as he struggles to fulfill his prophesied destiny as the Trinity, the savior of the world. In Volume 2, the treachery, betrayal, and evil that have plagued nearly all of Eden emerge again to threaten the world.

Super Cute Things to Draw
3-Book Series
Interest level: Grades 3-7
Bursting with humor and imagination, this series will put a smile on your face with original mash-ups, doodles, and step-by-step drawing instructions to create your own simple kawaii-style illustrations.