Holiday Spotlight: Disney 2023

Here at Penguin Random House Canada, we’re lucky to work with so many different publisher lists. This holiday season, we’ll be highlighting each one with a dedicated post to help you find the perfect gift (or your next read). Today’s post is all about Disney.

All Is Found: A Frozen Anthology
Edited by Heather Knowles and Mari Mancusi
400 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368092487 | Disney Press
Just in time to celebrate the first decade of the Frozen franchise, we join Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf as they embark on new adventures through the Frozen universe with friends new and old. This wide variety of original stories will share untold tales from Anna and Elsa’s childhood, memories with their parents, and mysterious creatures they encounter. These highly relatable, yet larger than life characters will appeal to young Frozen fans as well as the Frozen fan in all of us. In this exciting anthology, ten authors – for the ten years of Frozen – bring stories from this special kingdom to life.

Ellie Engle Saves Herself
By Leah Johnson
288 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368085557 | Disney Hyperion
Ellie Engle doesn’t stand out. Not at home, where she’s alone with her pet fish since her dad moved away and her mom has to work around the clock . Not at the bakery, where she helps out old Mr. Walker on the weekends. And definitely not at school, where her best friend Abby—the coolest, boldest, most talented girl in the world—drags Ellie along on her never-ending quest to “make her mark.” To someone else, a life in the shadows might seem boring, or lonely. But not to Ellie. As long as she has Abby by her side and a comic book in her hand, she’s quite content. Too bad life didn’t bother checking in with Ellie. Because when a freak earthquake hits her small town, Ellie wakes up with fantastical powers that allow her to bring anything back to life with just her touch. And when a video of her using her powers suddenly goes viral, Ellie’s life goes somewhere she never imagined—or wanted: straight into the spotlight. Surviving middle school is hard enough. Surviving middle school when paparazzi are camped out on your front lawn and an international pop singer wants you to use your powers on live tv and you might be in love with your best friend but she doesn’t know it? Absolutely impossible.

Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale Graphic Novel
Adapted by Stephanie Kate Strohm
Illustrated by Kelly Matthews and Nichole Matthews
150 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368064095 | Disney Hyperion
Five years ago, Ariel defied her father, King Triton, and traded her voice for the chance to meet Prince Eric. But when Ursula attacked and defeated Ariel, the sea witch took everything: the little mermaid’s voice, her prince, and her father’s life. Now, Ariel rules as the silent queen of Atlantica, while Ursula, disguised as a beautiful human woman, runs Prince Eric’s kingdom on land. But when Ariel discovers that her father might still be alive, she finds herself returning to a world – and a prince – she never imagined she would see again. On land, Ariel learns that Ursula has been making the most of her role as princess: plotting, scheming, and waging outright war with neighboring kingdoms. And after Ursula catches wind of Ariel’s resurfacing, she threatens to obliterate both land and sea. Will Ariel be able to overthrow the murderous villain bent on destroying her home – along with the world she once longed to be a part of?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of Gods
By Rick Riordan
288 Pages | Ages 8–12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368098175 | Disney Hyperion
After saving the world multiple times, Percy Jackson is hoping to have a normal senior year. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him. Percy will have to fulfill three quests in order to get the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus for college. The first quest is to help Zeus’s cup-bearer retrieve his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Can Percy, Grover, and Annabeth find it in time? Readers new to Percy Jackson and fans who have been awaiting this reunion for more than a decade will delight equally in this latest hilarious take on Greek mythology.

The Little Mermaid: Against the Tide
By J. Elle
320 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368077224 | Disney Press
After the death of Ariel’s mother, the queen of the sea, the seven daughters of King Triton have grown estranged at best. It’s been years since Ariel’s older sisters have visited home. But this year’s Coral Moon is fast approaching, and it’s a special one for Ariel. Finally fifteen, she will be dubbed the Protector of her very own ocean territory as is tradition, and her sisters have agreed to visit for the celebration. But the ceremony is halted when Mala, one of the most renowned daughters of Triton, is abducted. The only clue to where she might have been taken is a hastily scribbled seaweed note, which says, “What could have saved Mother could save me, too.” To rescue Mala, Ariel must work together with her siblings, traveling to various seas, outsmarting dangerous ocean creatures, and delving into forbidden waters to find the truth of what happened to their mother. But as Ariel and her sisters begin uncovering new secrets about their family and their kingdom, Ariel will have to face the loss of a mother she never had a chance to know and discover what it means to be both a good sister and a strong leader. And the clock is ticking, because on the day of the festival, when the moon turns a true shade of coral, her sister will be lost, like her mother, forever.

The Sun and the Star
By Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro
480 Pages | Ages 10–14 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368081153 | Disney Hyperion
As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life – literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that’s been the case so far . . . Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades’s realm. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?” 

The (Super Secret) Octagon Valley Society
By Melissa de la Cruz
320 Pages | Ages 8–12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368083744 | Disney Hyperion
After passing an intense exam, Edwin Edgefield becomes one of the lucky few to attend an exclusive weekend at the mysterious high-tech institute of the uber-famous-ultrabazillionaire-genius-recluse Onasander Octagon. Edwin hopes he’ll meet other kids like him – kids who will accept him even though he’s got a photographic memory, genius-level math skills, and some very specific personality quirks. But when he meets the other misfits (um, students), he starts to wonder if they’re all in the right place. There’s amateur rapper Li’l Kimmy, violin prodigy Julie, video game–obsessed Anton, teacher’s pet Ting-Ting, mean girl Maureen, and surfer dude Dilip. And we’re not even going to talk about Harold. Are you sitting down? Because this is when things get really weird. Octagon’s weekend events include an escape-room challenge, a zero-gravity chamber, a river full of piranhas, and . . . some ninjas? Surviving Octagon Valley may require these outcasts to embrace their inner weird and become greater together than they ever could separately. Those who rise to the wacky occasion will be treated to the biggest, most spectacular surprise of their lives – a chance to be truly EXTRAordinary!

The Wicked Ones
By Robin Benway
320 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368078627 | Disney Press
Drizella and Anastasia only know one thing for certain: they will never end up like their mother, Lady Tremaine. When their father left them as young girls, he took what was left of their family’s fortune and their mother’s dignity with him. A few years and one deceased stepfather later, the only version of Lady Tremaine that Drizella and Anastasia know is a bitter and cruel head of house. Anastasia and Drizella have promised themselves-and each other-that they’ll be different. They’ll find love, see the world, and never let their hearts go cold. But both sisters are all too aware of what it can mean when cast into disfavor with their mother, and fueled by Lady Tremaine’s tendencies to pit the daughters against one another, Drizella and Anastasia are locked into a complicated waltz of tenuous sisterhood. On the cusp of the royal debut party-their one chance to impress the Prince and live up to their mother’s expectations-the sisters at last get a glimpse of what life could be like outside of Lady Tremaine’s intentions: Drizella discovering a love of science and Anastasia sparking a secret romance. But never underestimate the power a mother whose greatest talents lie in manipulation, and the sisters may learn that even the cruelest of hearts can spill blood.

We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish
By Ryan T. Higgins
48 Pages | Ages 3–5 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368076982 | Disney Hyperion
Penelope Rex has one fear: Walter, the class goldfish. So when Mrs. Noodleman tells the kids that they’ll be taking turns bringing Walter home, Penelope gets carried away by her anxious imagination. The weekend has a rocky start – from Walter ominously licking his lips to a sleepless night where the fish’s bowl appears to move closer and closer to Penelope’s bed. But then Walter goes missing! Penelope must face her fear to find him and realizes along the way that there’s more to Walter than his chomping jaws. 

When You Wish Upon a Star
By Elizabeth Lim
480 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781368077545 | Disney Hyperion
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight . . . ” So begins the wish that changes everything – for Geppetto, for the Blue Fairy, and for a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isn’t supposed to grant wishes in the small village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps it’s the hope she senses beneath the old man’s loneliness. Or maybe it’s the fact that long ago, before she was the Blue Fairy, she was a young woman named Chiara from this very village, one with a simple wish: to help others find happiness. Her sister, Ilaria, always teased her for this, for Ilaria had big dreams to leave their sleepy village and become a world-renowned opera singer. The two were close, despite their differences. While Ilaria would have given anything to have a fairy grant her wish, Chiara didn’t believe in the lore for which their village was famous. Forty years later, Chiara, now the Blue Fairy, defies the rules of magic to help an old friend. But she’s discovered by the Scarlet Fairy, formerly Ilaria, who, amid a decades-long grudge, holds the transgression against her sister. They decide to settle things through a good old-fashioned bet, with Pinocchio and Geppetto’s fate hanging in the balance. Will the sisters find a way back to one another? Or is this, like many matters of the heart, a gamble that comes with strings?

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