New Release Spotlight: February 24, 2026

It’s the last Tuesday of the month, so Canva presentation links are ready!

This week’s top picks:

• Paradise Coast by Suzanne Young (YA thriller)
• Korobá: The Case of the Missing Kolo by Àlàbá Ònájìn (MG graphic mystery)
• Is It Spring by Kevin Henkes (picture book)

Want to browse all the new books for February 2026 in one place? Check out my full list here.

This week’s titles are #5078 – #5085 on The Ginormous Booklist.

February Canva Presentations

My New Release Spotlight Canva presentations are a fast, visual way to explore the newest books. Perfect for scrolling in the library, classroom, or hallway!

Each month, I spotlight all the new books I’ve featured, sorted by audience grade level – usually around 15 books per presentation. New presentations drop on the last Tuesday of each month, so everyone can stay up to date, share, and find their next favorite read!

If you are already on my email list, check the email from today (Feb. 24, 2026) for the three links.

Here’s a sample from the New Release Spotlight Canva presentation for February 2026 middle grade titles. Like what you see? Get all three full presentations delivered FREE to your inbox – they are perfect for librarians, teachers, and students!

NRS-Feb-2026-MG-SAMPLE by Leigh Collazo

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Lydia Chen knows how good she is on the ice. Technically perfect, she’s been the one to beat since her debut years ago.

Except now, something is missing in her performances—a spark that’s been gone for a while. Between the constant training, appealing to sponsors to fund her, and the pressure to perform, Lydia’s passion for skating has disappeared.

When her rival Elaine Yee starts training at the same rink, Lydia’s struck by the emotion in Elaine’s routines and unwillingly finds herself getting closer to her as they compete for a spot in the Olympics.

As the tension between them comes to a head, Lydia’s about to find out how a competitor can become an ally and figure out how to feel alive on the ice again.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Haunted by a recurring dream, Alicia borrows a book about lucid dreaming, and soon learns to take control of her sleeping life. She welcomes the arrival of her best friend’s boyfriend in her dreamworld, and soon sparks start to fly. But then he admits, when they are both awake, that he remembers everything that happened while they were asleep. Suddenly, Alicia’s dream life has become as complicated as her waking one.
 
In this electrifying graphic novel, Glock whisks readers on a head‑spinning romantic dream odyssey, exploring the ways in which we hold ourselves back—and what it will take to let our wildest dreams come true. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Deep in the Everglades, there was once a luxurious and legendary hotel enjoyed by the wealthy elite. Until one mysterious night when a fire tore through the building, killing a young socialite and casting blame on a local dock worker. Soon after, the hotel vanished, swallowed up by the wetlands like it never existed at all.

Until now.

When a powerful hurricane unearths the ruins of the long-forgotten hotel, the past is dragged back to the surface as clues to the devasting truth about the night of the fire are revealed.

It’s the truth that die-hard local Noa and her friends have been chasing for years in the hopes of clearing their ancestor’s name and pushing back against the rich families trying to force them out. With the help of Jamie, the rebellious son of a wealthy businessman, Noa and her crew begin a desperate fight for the justice they deserve.

It won’t be easy. Because the wealthy control just about everything on Paradise Coast—including the truth. And they will do whatever it takes, even kill, to make sure the past stays buried.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Ten-year-old Korobá knows everyone in Makoko, the Nigerian fishing village where she lives.

She knows her way up and down the bright, colorful waterways, knows where to sell fried shrimp, and knows what to look for at the crowded daily market. Makoko is her playground, and she roams free with her best friends, Saidat and Joba, and her adorable dog, Popi.

The last thing Korobá would expect in Makoko is a thief. Yet Saidat’s wooden piggy bank—her Kolo—has been stolen. The children of Makoko save coins in their Kolo all year long, waiting to spend their money at the annual harvest festival. Saidat saved and saved, but now she will have nothing. It’s not fair!

Korobá knows what good detectives do…(sort of?). Should the primary suspect be Saidat’s grumpy cousin, visiting on vacation? Or could it be the village carpenter, who has been doing some work on Saidat’s house? It’s up to Detective Korobá to catch the thief and find the missing Kolo before Breaking Day!

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

Welcome to the library!

It’s a place just for you! There are activities, movies, games, and SO. MANY. STORIES. Best of all, it’s a place where you will always belong.

Take a tour of the library with the internet’s favorite librarian, Mychal Threets! This heartwarming debut picture book from Mychal extends an invitation to anyone who could use a little library joy and a reminder that libraries are for everyone.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

A flower in the garden down the street. Birds in the sky. Buds on the branches in the park. It must be spring.

But wait! What is this icy gust of wind? Why are snowflakes falling from heavy gray clouds? Will it ever be spring? Yes, says the sun. Just be patient.

Kevin Henkes, the #1 New York Times bestseller who has been awarded the Caldecott Medal, two Caldecott Honors, two Newbery Honors, two Geisel Honors, the Children’s Literature Lecture Award, and Children’s Literature Legacy Award, among numerous other honors, has created a masterful and classic picture book that combines an evocative call-and-response text with delicate and lovely illustrations. Readers will be left assured that the sun—and spring—will always come again. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY

The imagination of one housecat takes him to unexpected adventures as he dreams of spreading his wings as a “Rare Bird”.

A Rare Bird can do anything!
Fly fast through the forest,
or splash in the bird baths,
or meet animals from faraway lands…..

Readers will fall head over heels for this extraordinary tale of dreaming, the power of imagination, and the freedom of creativity.