Return to Deckawoo Drive for Kate DiCamillo’s latest installment in her companion series to the famous Mercy Watson tales. Fearless, famous, and fortified, animal control officer Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon (Candlewick, $12.99) and almost runs afoul in this hilarious new chapter book with whimsical illustrations by Chris Van Dusen. Join Francine, new friend Frank, the very persistent Mrs. Bissinger, and a far-from-ordinary raccoon in this laugh-out-loud tale of courage and friendship. You will not be disappointed. Ages 6-8
Thanks to the New York Review Children’s Collection, which re-publishes out-of-print books for today’s children, The Little Witch (New York Review of Books, $15.95) has returned. Originally published in Germany in 1957, Otfried Preussler’s delightfully old-fashioned tale tells of a young witch “who was only a hundred and twenty-seven years old” and breaks the rules to attend Walpurgis Night, even though she is officially too young to do so. Caught and punished, the little witch must spend an entire year proving herself worthy of witchhood. But does she succeed? Read the story, enjoy the charming pen-and-ink illustrations, and find out for yourself. Ages 7-10
Sierra Santiago has no way of anticipating what is to come for her or for her changing Brooklyn community. Something is happening to the Shadowshapers, but Sierra is only now learning about these mystical individuals and their critical role in the balance of life, as well as the fact that they exist within her own family. In Shadowshaper (Arthur A. Levine, $17.99), Daniel José Older has created a spiritual world full of supernatural elements, raw artistic talent, and tales with ancestral roots. He deftly includes commentary on many of contemporary society’s ills while entrancing readers with ethereal battles between good and evil; old and new; and age and youth. Ages 13 and up
