“Race Against Time: Let’s Save the World”: Pablo Cartaya, Alan Gratz, Laura Krantz & S.A. Rodriguez

Alan Gratz is a New York Times bestselling author of books for young readers, including Ground Zero, Allies, Grenade, Refugee, Projekt 1065, Prisoner B-3087, and Code of Honor. In Two Degrees (Scholastic Press), Gratz introduces four kids fighting for their lives. Akira is riding her horse in the California woods when a wildfire sparks – and spreads scarily fast. How can she make it to safety when there are flames everywhere? Owen and his best friend, George, enjoy spotting polar bears on the snowy Canadian tundra. But when one bear gets way too close for comfort, do the boys have any chance of surviving? Natalie hunkers down at home as a massive hurricane barrel toward Miami. When the floodwaters crash into her house, she’s dragged out into the storm with nowhere to hide. Akira, Owen, George, and Natalie are all swept up in the devastating effects of climate change. They are also connected in ways that will shock them – and could alter their destinies forever.

Laura Krantz is a print and audio journalist whose critically acclaimed podcast Wild Thing explores the intersection between science and society. She spent 10 years as an editor and producer with NPR in Washington, D.C., and KPCC in Los Angeles, and her work has appeared in Smithsonian, Outside, and Popular Science. When Krantz discovered that her long-lost cousin, Grover Krantz, a distinguished anthropologist and professor at Washington State University, had devoted much of his career to the search for Bigfoot, she couldn’t quite believe it. A natural skeptic and a firm believer in facts, she decided to conduct her own quest. The Search for Sasquatch (Abrams Books for Young Readers) takes readers through the big guy’s fun, fascinating, and complex world. Could Bigfoot really be out there? Krantz explores a gray area between myth and science, taking readers on a strange, surreal, and surprising hunt, encouraging us to challenge our gut assumptions, open our minds to new possibilities, think critically, and use the scientific method along the way. Bigfoot might be important – even if we don’t find him – and Krantz asks that we evaluate the evidence she presents to make up our own minds.

Pablo Cartaya is an author, screenwriter, speaker, and occasional actor. He wrote The Epic Fail for Arturo Zamora; Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish; and Each Tiny Spark. In The Last Beekeeper (HarperCollins), Cartaya writes about a world facing destruction by climate change and those who profit from it. Bees are central to a rebuilding world, and Yolanda Cicerón, a girl who knows that nature is something to be feared, will fight to save the last known beehive from extinction. Life in the Valley is brutal and harsh, and Yoly dreams of leaving her farm to live in Silo, the most advanced town for miles around. But before she can do that, Yoly must prove she belongs in a place that only welcomes the smartest and most useful. She’s well on her way until she discovers that her family can no longer afford her schooling. Forced to take matters into her own hands, the closer she gets to securing her future, the more she uncovers the dangers inside Silo’s walls, dangers that threaten the entire Valley. As she cracks open long-guarded secrets, Yoly finds herself in grave peril, and the only chance of surviving may lie in rediscovering a long-extinct species – the honeybee.

S. A. Rodriguez is a writer, researcher, and former head of U.S. Hispanic marketing for Citibank, where she spent her career supporting diversity initiatives. She studied communications at Loyola University in New Orleans and holds an MBA from the University of Miami. Treasure Tracks (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR) is her first novel. In this middle grade adventure, 12-year-old Fernando “Fin” joins his grandfather on a secret quest to find a long-lost treasure swept to sea. But when their first mission takes a near-deadly turn, leaving his abuelo weak and unable to speak, Fin’s left to navigate the hunt alone. Well, not exactly alone – his dull, totally unadventurous dad agrees to help out. With danger lurking at every turn, Fin dives into the mission to save Abuelo’s life. But between Dad’s constant worrying, unwanted diving babysitters, and harrowing encounters in the deep sea, the boy finds himself in a race against time to locate the treasure. And if he can’t succeed? He fears he might lose Abuelo for good. Treasure Tracks is a fast-paced story about family bonds, the meaning of a legacy, and, most of all, the discovery of true treasure.