Welcome to the eleventh edition of Must Read Monday! On Mondays I will spotlight current and/or upcoming releases I am looking forward to. The lists will include all genres I like to read, everything from picture books to comics, children’s lit to adult fiction!

Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder, illus. Julie Morstad
Expected publication: August 18, 2015 by Chronicle Books
As soon as I read, see or hear about anything coming out from artist/illustrator Julie Morstad, it goes on my immediate must-buy list. Her work is just that incredible. In Swan, Morstad has teamed up with popular children’s author Laurel Snyder (Bigger than a Bread Box, Penny Dreadful) for what is sure to be a spectacular biographical picture book on the life of prima ballerina and choreographer Anna Pavlova. I cannot wait to read this one!

The world is big.
Anna is small.
The snow is
everywhere
and all around.
But one night . . .One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed. Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain. So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendentally gifted Anna Pavlova.

 

Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illus. Christian Robinson
Expected publication: August 25, 2015 by Chronicle Books
Oh boy, this looks like a terrific one! We have: Mac Barnett, who authored Extra Yarn and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole; and Christian Robinson, who illustrated the critically acclaimed Last Stop on Market Street and Josephine. 

You would like being friends with Leo. He likes to draw, he makes delicious snacks, and most people can’t even see him. Because Leo is also a ghost. When a new family moves into his home and Leo’s efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it is time to leave and see the world. That is how he meets Jane, a kid with a tremendous imagination and an open position for a worthy knight. That is how Leo and Jane become friends. And that is when their adventures begin.

 

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illus. Oliver Jeffers
Expected publication: August 18, 2015 by Philomel Books
If you adore the work of Oliver Jeffers and witty, laugh-out-loud funny picture books and haven’t yet read The Day the Crayons Quit…well, what are you waiting for?! The Day the Crayons Came Home is the long-anticipated companion to the best-selling Crayons debut.

…Having soothed the hurt feelings of one group who threatened to quit, Duncan now faces a whole new group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon, who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him; to poor Turquoise, whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan’s stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together; to Pea Green, who knows darn well that no kid likes peas and who ran away—each and every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box.

If you’d like to join Must Read Monday, please do! Link up or leave a comment about what you’re looking forward to reading- I love to hear what other readers have on their radar!