Every January, I long for an early spring; I’m inevitably disappointed as late snowstorms or cold spells put my dreams of sunshine on hold. I’m not alone; author/illustrator Kevin Henkes clearly knows the frustrating elusiveness of warm weather. In his picture book Is It Spring? (Greenwillow Books, Feb. 24), the titular season announces its presence haltingly, even teasingly, as snow blankets the budding trees and winds turn icy. While countless tales have explored the shifting seasons, this one stands out for its focus on the feelings they engender—yearning, discouragement, and, finally, joy. The tale ends with an emphatic “And it was spring.” Sadly, we’ve still got a ways to go, but in the meantime, I’ve got plenty of kid lit to keep me busy.

With Rumpelstiltskin (Orchard/Scholastic, Feb. 3), Mac Barnett hews closely to his source material, but he infuses his work with his own brand of sly humor and genuine warmth; his characterization of the miller’s daughter—here a nature-loving wild child–turned–stately queen—is especially compelling. Evoking medieval tapestries, Carson Ellis’ illustrations radiate both majestic solemnity and a raw, earthier quality; this is fairy-tale retelling at its most enchanting.

Mia Wenjen’s picture book Barbed Wire Between Us (Red Comet Press, March 31), illustrated by Violeta Encarnación, intertwines the stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II and of young Latine immigrants imprisoned after attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years. This is the kind of book that turns young people into empathetic, informed adults, able to recognize—and call out—injustice wherever they see it.

There’s plenty on the horizon for middle graders, too—like the continuing adventures of Hattie Mae Jenkins, introduced in Sharon G. Flake’s Once in a Blue Moon (2023). Set in 1938, Hattie Mae Begins Again (Knopf, Jan. 13) finds the 12-year-old Black girl heading north to attend Miss Abigail’s School for Exceptional Young Ladies, where she feels like a “country bumpkin straight off the turnip truck” next to her wealthier classmates. Flake blends energetic writing with well-crafted historical details for a rich portrait of the Great Migration, seen through the eyes of a spirited tween.

Dan Santat’s Sashimi (Roaring Brook Press, April 14) follows a very different sort of outsider. Half-boy, half-fish, the title character of his latest graphic novel has an ulterior motive for enrolling in the local elementary school: finding the beast that supposedly swims in the nearby waters…and learning more about his own origins. Santat wrings humor from his endearingly naïve hero’s encounters with everything from ultra-sugary soda to the toilet, but there’s real pathos here as Sashimi yearns to belong.

What’s spring without a baseball story? Focused on the months before the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, Martin W. and Craig Sandler’s Baseball’s Shining Season: America’s Pastime on the Brink of War (Bloomsbury, April 7) is filled with enthralling accounts, from Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak to Red Sox left-fielder Ted Williams’ obsession with surpassing a .400 batting average. The authors balance detailed stats and the thrill of the game with crucial historical context: More than mere entertainment, baseball was joyful escape for Americans terrified by overseas news of war.

Want more spring book recommendations? You’ll find a list of exciting picture books and middle-grade releases here.

Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.