One great thing about the Book Expo is that you can find out what the “hot” titles are that are forthcoming. This year I stumbled into this session late (couldn’t find it) and they were just finishing talking about the first title. A young man from Scholastic was giving a heartfelt entreaty for folks to read and love and support their upcoming release of GEORGE. Here are the books that were cited as the ones to watch – they all release in August or September:

George by Alex Gino – about a young boy who knows he’s really a girl and wants to play Charlotte in the school play of “Charlotte’s Web”.

Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre – about a spunky young girl who seeks to save her Civil War era home.

The Doldrums  by Nicholas Gannon – about a young boy who goes on an adventure to save his grandparents who are stranded on an iceberg.

The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB by Adam Shaughnessy – first in a series about two friends having adventures in the world of Viking gods they discover under their town.

The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin – about a young girl dealing with the death of her best friend.

When I came out of the session I found myself right in front of a table with EACH of these books on it as a free gift for us! I was able to get a copy of each and look forward to reading them.