When our Free Spirit authors aren’t writing for our blog, they’re busy writing books! Today we’re revealing our newest titles coming out in summer 2022. Which one(s) are you most anticipating? Tell us in the comments!

Children’s Books

First up is a new Learning About Me & You book, I’m Me, publishing June 28, 2022. Gentle and encouraging, this board book helps toddlers understand their value and know that they matter. With affirmations for children and warm illustrations, the book encourages children to grow their confidence through the quality of their relationships and from their own efforts and achievements. A section for adults offers tips on talking about the book together, along with activities for fostering confidence and a sense of self-worth in young children.

Asking questions is an important part of learning that helps children grow and understand the world. Inspired by and containing questions from real kids, You Wonder All the Time, the third book in the All the Time series, which publishes July 26, 2022, explores and affirms all the questions children ask. Throughout the book, the adult affirms that the child’s questions are welcomed and their wondering is loved. The message that adults and  children can discover answers together makes this book perfect for storytime.

And we get the fourth book in the We Say What’s Okay series, We Accept No, publishing August 16, 2022! Building on the themes of the previous books, the We Say What’s Okay series continues with a story that helps young children understand important consent concepts. Perfect for read-alouds, this story follows Jamin as he learns to accept his friend’s no and respect her boundaries while learning how to cope with the feelings of rejection.

If you loved Sometimes When I’m Sad and Sometimes When I’m Mad, you’ll want to get the forthcoming Sometimes When I’m Bored, publishing June 28, 2022, too. Along with the main character, children will learn how to recognize boredom and see the opportunities it might present. This book offers fun ways to relieve boredom and additional information for adults on how boredom can be spotted in children of varying ages—including infants—and how to help children experiencing boredom.

Jamie from the Jamie Is Jamie series returns August 16, 2022! In Jamie’s Class Has Something to Say, Jamie and classmates learn how to express themselves to important adults in their lives. Jamie is excited for Family Day and all the visitors that will be coming to the classroom. As the class prepares, they share how they feel when adults don’t listen closely enough to what the kids want, need, like, and don’t like or when adults place unfair, often gendered expectations on them. Together, they decide to use their Family Day celebration to help the adults in their lives understand them better.

Middle Grade and Teens

The beloved Laugh & Learn^® series gets a new addition with You Got a Phone! (Now Read This Book), publishing August 16, 2022. In this book, kids learn about the super awesome powers of their phones—and how to use them safely. Adults can give kids this book along with their new phone to teach them safe smartphone use without the lecture. With humor and approachable language, this book helps kids learn about digital misunderstandings and misinterpretations, cyberbullying, stress and anxiety, safely sharing photos, and screen-life balance.

Teens can make an impact near and far with dozens of easy and quick ideas in Simple Acts, publishing July 12, 2022. This book equips young people with the hands-on tools and know-how they need to make meaningful change on issues they care about. No matter how busy they are, all teens can find ideas in this book to make an impact, such as honoring happy occasions by giving back, raising money and awareness for the causes they care about, and harnessing the power of social media to spread positive messages.

The fifth edition of The Gifted Teen Survival Guide, publishing June 28, 2022, provides everything teens need to know to thrive as gifted students. Support the social, emotional, and educational needs of gifted teens with this one-of-a-kind book full of sage advice to help teens understand themselves, relate well with others, and reach their potential in life. New in this edition:

• Discussion of current topics, such as mindfulness, meditation, and online schooling
• Updated information on twice-exceptionalities, multiple intelligences, and autism spectrum disorder
• Additional exploration of underserved gifted students and equity in gifted programs
• A focus on LGBTQ+ issues, mental health, introversion, intensities, and life after school
• New stories from teens

Educator Resources

Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom helps early childhood educators build young children’s emotional skills through intentional and supportive teaching strategies. An emotion-rich classroom intentionally surrounds children with social emotional learning experiences and supportive interactions. It’s about teaching emotional literacy and vocabulary with explicit lessons, but it’s also about responding when a child is upset, modeling how to cope with frustration, discussing emotions in storybooks, and asking children to share examples of emotions from their own lives. This book provides frameworks for planning and implementing strategies to support emotional development in children. Coming August 30, 2022.

Check out these new releases and more recent titles on Free Spirit’s website.

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