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 Penguin Young Readers.
Check & Mate
By Ali Hazelwood
368 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback
ISBN 9780593619919 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist . . . As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent . . . and infuriating . . . )
Dragon’s First Taco
By Adam Rubin
Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
16 Pages | Ages 1-3 | Board Book
ISBN 9780593533178 | Dial Books
Let the New York Times bestselling team behind Dragons Love Tacos introduce the joy of dragons to the youngest of readers in this original board book shaped like a taco! What do you get when you take a tortilla, fold it in half, and fill it with all sorts of delicious things? A taco, of course! This little dragon’s first taco will surely not be their last in this lively, funny board book that introduces the magic of tacos and dragons.
House of Marionne
By J. Elle
432 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593527702 | Razorbill
BURY YOUR SECRET OR DIE FOR IT. 17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins. Until someone discovers her dark secret. To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever. If caught, she will be killed. But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and – assassin in training. When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love. Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.
Just Because
By Matthew McConaughey
Illustrated by Renée Kurilla
32 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593622032 | Viking BFYR
The debut picture book by Academy Award-winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey
Just because I’m in the race,
doesn’t mean I’m fully ready.
Just because I’m shaking,
doesn’t mean that I’m not steady.
Have you ever felt worried and excited at the same time? Have you ever had your feelings hurt but forgiven someone anyway? Have you ever thought there was more than one right answer to a question? That’s because contradictions are all around us. And they make us who we are. Filled with his trademark humor and wisdom, Academy Award–winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Matthew McConaughey has crafted a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility. Why? Just because.
Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen
By Geri Halliwell-Horner
464 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593623343 | Philomel Books
It’s time to find your power. Suddenly orphaned and alone, Rosie Frost is sent to the mysterious Bloodstone Island – home not only to a school for extraordinary teens, but also a sanctuary for endangered species. There, Rosie confronts a menacing deputy headmaster, a group of mean girls intent on destroying her, and shocking family secrets. She also discovers that history can come to life in ways she never could have imagined. When the island itself comes under threat, Rosie knows she must enter and win the Falcon Queen Games in a desperate bid to save it. But Rosie can’t do it alone. She finds that believing in herself – and her friends – is the first step to finding the power she never knew she had.
Something, Someday
By Amanda Gorman
Illustrated by Christian Robinson
40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593203255 | Viking BFYR
The stunning new picture book by presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Christian Robinson.
You’re told that
This won’t work,
But how will you know
If you never try?
Presidential inaugural poet and #1 New York Times bestselling author Amanda Gorman and Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Christian Robinson have created a timeless message of hope. Sometimes the world feels broken. And problems seem too big to fix. But somehow, we all have the power to make a difference. With a little faith, and maybe the help of a friend, together we can find beauty and create change. With intimate and inspiring text and powerfully stunning illustrations, Something, Someday reveals how even the smallest gesture can have a lasting impact.
The Davenports
By Krystal Marquis
384 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593463338 | Dial Books
The Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it’s 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love – even where they’re not supposed to. There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married . . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love – unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business – and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.
The Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension
By Max Brallier
Illustrated by Douglas Holgate
288 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593405253 | Viking BFYR
The highly-anticipated ninth book in the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling series, with over ten million copies in print! The last kids may have escaped the forbidden fortress by the skin of their teeth, but there isn’t much to celebrate. Thrull has what he needs to complete the Tower, Rezzoch will most certainly come to Earth, and the world as they know it will cease to exist. Except Jack’s Cosmic Hand is now even more powerful than he realized, and it might just be able to stop the inevitable from happening. To get the answers he seeks, he’ll need to travel farther than he’s ever been. He must go . . . to the monster dimension!
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
By Beth Lincoln
Illustrated by Claire Powell
352 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593533239 | Dutton BFYR
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s excited to finally meet her arriving relatives – until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs. So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.
Wonka
By Roald Dahl
Adapted by Sibéal Pounder
Created by Simon Farnaby and Paul King
304 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780593528686 | Viking BFYR
Based on the major motion picture – an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor – Wonka introduces readers to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time . . . proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.