Ten New Books We’re Excited About in 2021

Of course we’re excited about reading lots of “new-to-us” books this year, but we’re also looking forward to the release of several brand new books that are scheduled to come out in 2021! Most of these books are part of series’ that we already love. (You can check out our family’s favorite series HERE!)

Organized by release date, here are ten new books we’re excited about in 2021 (and a link to pre-order!):

Newbery and Caldecott Award winners: January 25, 2021

We have a goal to read every Newbery winner, and we were able to finish all of the current Caldecott winners during 2020 (thank you, stay-at-home order!) This Newbery award winner will be particularly special as it will mark the 100th Newbery winner since the award’s founding in 1922. The ALA is live-streaming the award ceremony on January 25 at 8 AM CST, and we look forward to hearing the results this year! I’ve already put a few “favorites” to win on hold at the library since it took us more than 6 months to get copies of last years’ winners!

UPDATE: Congratulations to When You Trap a Tiger and We Are Water Protectors for their 2021 awards! If you’d like to see a list of all of the Newbery and Caldecott Medal winners through the years, visit my Newbery page and Caldecott page.

Camp Time in California (Magic Tree House #35): March 2, 2021

Even though we’ve listened to this whole series twice through now, Magic Tree House books never get old! They are the perfect audio books for young listeners (ages 4-5) and wonderful first chapter books for young readers (ages 6-7). This installment takes Jack and Annie to Yosemite National Park in 1903, where they meet up with Teddy Roosevelt and learn about conservation.

The Dangerous Gift (Wings of Fire #14): March 2, 2021

My 10-year-old, who loves all things fantasy and adventure, devoured this series last year and can’t wait for this next installment. While I haven’t personally read the books, everyone in our family knows all about IceWings, SandWings, NightWings, and the Dark Stalker because of how much she has raved about this series.

Merci Suarez Can’t Dance: April 6, 2021

The first book in this series, Merci Suarez Changes Gears, is one of our family’s top 25 read-alouds for ages 9-11. I’m so excited Merci’s story continues in this next volume.

The Gremlin’s Shoes (Big Foot and Little Foot #5): April 20, 2020

The Big Foot and Little Foot Series was one of our very favorite discoveries of 2020, and I am so glad Ellen Potter is continuing the saga of Hugo, Boone, and Widdershins Cavern! In this installment, Boone and Hugo embark on a treasure hunt through the woods to try and make enough money to buy a brand-new Marvelous Monster Magnet. I highly recommend this series for the early elementary age.

The Lady Bug Party (Sophie Mouse #17): April 20, 2021

My younger daughter started reading this series around age 6, and it quickly became one of her all-time favorites. Now at age 8.5 with the first 16 under her belt (!), she still has been counting down the days until this next book comes out. This is probably our favorite series for early elementary girls, but you can check out some other favorites here.

Travels In Cuba (Travels with My Family #5): May 1, 2021

I read the first book in this series to my 6-year-old a few months ago, and it was one of his favorite read-alouds of the year. This is the fifth installment, and just the fact that it is set in Cuba is endearing… have you read any other children’s books set in Cuba? We enjoyed reading the first book with a map nearby and finding each travel location on the map as we went along.

The Shape of Thunder (Jasmine Warga): May 11, 2021

We fell in love with Other Words For Home in 2020 and are now excited to read just about anything by Jasmine Warga. This one looks more intense as it deals with recovering from the trauma of a school shooting, so I may pre-read this one first to make sure it’s appropriate for my younger ones.

Franklin Endicott and the Third Key (Tales of Deckawoo Drive #6): June 8, 2021

Mercy Watson fans, rejoice! If you haven’t discovered this spinoff Tales from Deckawoo Drive series, you’re in for a treat. Many of the characters in the original Mercy Watson books have their own stories in this series, and these books are geared to a slightly older crowd than Mercy Watson.

The Vanderbeekers Make a Wish (The Vanderbeekers #5): September 21, 2021

Last but not least, we were thrilled to find out a fifth Vanderbeekers installment is coming out in early fall! The Vanderbeekers is one of our family’s favorite series’, and my kids who have read them have equally loved each installment. The series centers around a biracial family of seven living in New York City, and I particularly recommend this series as a family read-aloud.

Mark your calendars for the release of these ten wonderful new books in 2021! And if you have other new book recommendations, please share them in the comments!