Books Added to My Shelves in August 2026

This is my monthly roundup of books that I added to my shelves in August 2026. Some of the books came directly from authors or publishers; others were purchased or given to me as gifts. You’ll find books from all kinds of genres, including adult and children’s books. I’ll even share a few updates from our family’s life over the last month.

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Family and Life Update

Our niece married her high school sweetheart in a beautiful ceremony in August. It was a fun evening celebrating with family and friends.

Pat and I attended the ribbon-cutting and grand reopening of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch. My high school classmate and friend, Matt, the General Counsel for the National Archives, was one of the speakers.

We made two trips to the Iowa State Fair, and one included some time with Patrick and Bekah! Check out my Reel from our trip to the fair.

I’ve been trying to find the simple, enjoyable moments in my day. From a sunset to listening to an audiobook to taking an evening walk with Pat, these moments help me relax from a stressful day and put everything into perspective.

I finished 2 books in August: a mystery/romance and a work of historical fiction. I started a short-term, full-time job at school on August 3rd, so my free time has been really limited. I’ll be back to normal reading and reviewing in October. We have finally made it to Season 7 of Modern Family, but we haven’t even been home much to watch TV lately. Since my schedule has been so hectic, I’ve been choosing to puzzle right before bed rather than watch TV because it helps calm my brain a bit. My reading has been mostly limited to audiobooks, but I’m really missing my physical books and look forward to working that back into my schedule.

My current reads include CLEO DANG WOULD RATHER BE DEAD and HOLLOW BONES for review, and I’m listening to THE CALAMITY CLUB for book club.

This month’s new book stack includes some new and upcoming fiction, a fantasy, and some nonfiction. You’ll also find some new and upcoming children’s interactive books and picture books, including fiction and nonfiction.

If you have missed any of my recent book reviews, you can see them all by clicking HERE.  Or you can stay up to date with my monthly Quick Lit Roundup.

Clicking the photos of each book will take you to a purchase link. If you choose to purchase through any of the links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.

Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction

BLACK GOLD
By: Nicole Dennis-Benn
Published: January 12, 2027
Publisher: Random House
Fiction
Format: eBook for Review

I am intrigued by the Jamaica setting and the unexpected career of a simple farm girl alongside Jamaican folklore. Something unlike what I’ve read recently.

Nestled within Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, Cherry Village has belonged for generations to the Maroons—freed slaves descended from Faye’s ancestor, the legendary Grandy Henrietta. But Faye’s restless nature and independence have always marked her as different, and she dreams of a life beyond the rural coffee-farming community that follows the old ways. When Faye’s mother is forced to sell their ancestral land after falling ill, Faye worries she will be trapped forever.

A chance meeting with a modeling scout offers Faye the opportunity to save her family and pursue the freedom she craves. Her career will take her on a whirlwind journey of luxury and excess, love and adventure, as well as greed and deception. But her success will challenge everything she thought she knew about herself, forcing her to confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began generations before.

A story of land and river, myth and history, unbreakable hope and generational resilience, interwoven with Jamaican folklore and featuring an unforgettable heroine, Black Gold further establishes Nicole Dennis-Benn as one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary fiction.

BODIES OF MAGIC
By: Freya Marske
Published: September 15, 2027
Publisher: Tor Books
Fantasy
Format: eBook for Review

I rarely, if ever, choose fantasy, but this premise caught my attention. I’m anxious to give it a try.

Grey’s Anatomy meets A Deadly Education in this dark academia fantasy from USA Today bestselling author Freya Marske.

At the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healer’s gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam—a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.

The list of exam rules includes:
• You will perform five practical cases.
• Your exam group is chosen at random.
• You pass together, or fail together.

It does not include:
• On the first day, your exam group will find a classmate’s dead body in the exam hall.

And as they will soon discover, this particular group all have something to hide… and all have a connection with the dead girl, a brilliant scholar who would have been first in their class.

Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives, and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.

Are you ready?

Let’s begin.

THE PEARL FARMERS
By: Stacey Gordon
Published: November 3, 2026
Publisher: She Writes Press
Fiction
Format: Paperback for Review

You know I can’t resist a sister story, especially sisters on a farm.

Three estranged sisters—Helen, Anna, and Penn Lockshire—are bound by the shimmering but fragile legacy of their family’s freshwater pearl farm in rural Tennessee. When the business that once made them famous faces collapse, the sisters are pulled back into each other’s lives and forced to reckon with old betrayals, unspoken resentments, and the complicated truth of their inheritance. Soon, what began as a fight for survival becomes a reckoning with the myths that shaped them and the secrets buried in the family’s past.

From the discovery of a rare pearl in 1981 to the struggles of a failing farm in 2008, the Lockshire sisters must navigate love, loss, ambition, and forgiveness to decide whether their heritage is a blessing to preserve—or a burden to escape.

MADELINE MCKNIGHT SIGNS OFF
By: Evan Brooke
Published: November 3, 2026
Publisher: Atria Books
Fiction
Format: Paperback for Review

I’m a sucker for an unlikely friendship story, and this one sounds so great!

An unconventional relationship between women of two different generations becomes something transcendent in this vulnerable, heartbreaking, and life-affirming debut novel that proves it’s never too late to come of age.

Madeline McKnight is writing her final annual report. A former Wall Street power player, she uses a pie chart to rank her most hated rivals, a line graph to follow the trajectory of her net worth and reputation, and even a formula to predict when the metastasized cancer will kill her. But there’s no equation to predict the likelihood that Bri Davis, Madeline’s estranged best friend’s daughter, will agree to take care of her at the end of her life.

Bri is a nursing student fresh off a breakup, ambivalent about her future, and drowning in debt. She agrees to Madeline’s strange proposal, mostly for the obscene payday. Sharp as knives and intimidatingly smart, Bri finds herself face-to-face with a force of nature rather than an ailing patient. Madeline ropes Bri into the bigger plans she has afoot for her final act. Madeline McKnight has never gone away quietly and she doesn’t plan to start now.

As this unlikely pair teams up to tackle Madeline’s final days can they trade her badwill for goodwill before it’s too late?

SOLACE IN WINTER
By: Mary Lawson
Published: November 10, 2026
Publisher: Knopf
Fiction
Format: Paperback for Review

Mary Lawson writes books perfect for reading during cool fall and winter evenings. I read and enjoyed CROW LAKE ten years ago.

It is deep winter, 1969. As the Vietnam War drives young men north across the Canadian border, widower Jack’s quiet life is overturned by two accidents that happen on the bend in the road into town. First comes a dog in a bad way. Next a draft-dodger, seriously injured, lying in the snow. Suddenly, Jack’s cabin is busy with a growing cast of characters – and all the baggage, dreams and desires they’re carrying.

The atmosphere chills when Jack’s daughter Sally drops by one day and doesn’t like what she sees. What Sally does next changes everything, for everyone but herself.

TIGHTROPE
Balancing Duty with Courage and Conviction
By: Jennifer Hyland, Deputy Chief Constable, Retired
Published: November 19, 2025
Publisher: Friesen Press
Memoir
Format: Paperback for Review

I don’t know anything about the Canadian police system, but reading about this female Deputy Chief Constable and how the job affected her is something I’m curious about.

How do you stay upright when the very system you swore to uphold begins to shake beneath your feet?

In Tightrope, retired Deputy Chief Constable Jennifer Hyland offers a rare and unflinching look behind the badge. Through raw honesty and hard-won wisdom, she charts her twenty-six-year journey through Canadian policing—rising from a young recruit to one of the highest-ranking women in the profession—all while walking the fragile line between duty and despair, strength and vulnerability, silence and truth.

But this is more than a story about crime scenes and crisis calls. It’s about the invisible the quiet corrosion of identity from institutional politics, power struggles, and a culture that too often punishes authenticity. Diagnosed with PTSD and multiple sclerosis, Hyland came face-to-face with her breaking point—and chose not to shatter. Instead, she found a way forward that honoured both the work and her humanity.

Tightrope is a reckoning and a rallying cry. It’s for everyone who has walked a difficult path, for those wearing a uniform, those just entering policing, and those who’ve left—wondering if they were the only ones who struggled. It’s a mirror, a lifeline, and an invitation to heal. Because the truth is, you’re not alone—and there is strength, and even hope, on the other side of the storm.

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR LONGEVITY
Simple Workouts for a Lifetime of Health and Mobility
By: Matt Schifferle
Published: July 7, 2026
Publisher: Zeitgeist
Non-Fiction
Format: eBook for Review

I’m not a fan of working out, so the “simple” in the title made me interested in this one.

Strength Training for Longevity is a practical guide to building strength that supports you now—and for decades to come. Designed for adults who want to stay active, capable, and independent through every stage of life, this book offers clear, straightforward strength training routines with photos for every exercise, making it easy to train safely. Using simple, accessible equipment like dumbbells and resistance bands, the exercises are designed to fit comfortably into real life without requiring long or exhausting workouts.

Rather than focusing on aesthetics or demanding workout plans, fitness coach Matt Schifferle emphasizes functional the kind that helps you carry groceries, climb stairs, maintain balance, and move confidently in daily life. Whether you’re new to strength training or getting back into it after time away, the routines are approachable, adaptable, and easy to follow.

Children’s Fiction and Non-Fiction

LOST IN SPACE!
By: Ben Newman
Published: September 8, 2026
Publisher: Twirl
Fiction
Format: Interactive Board Book for Review

This interactive board book reminds me of PLANT PANDEMONIUM from the same publisher.

Let’s journey to outer space, where five mysterious missions await. Your task is to find the right groups of objects―stars, planets, rocket parts, and even space beings!―using the die-cut card included in the book. Flipping and turning the card will reveal the objects and solve the puzzles. An interactive book that helps children develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills while improving hand-eye coordination.

MY FIRST CAMERA: ON THE FARM
By: Laurence Jammes and Marc Clamens
Published: September 8, 2026
Publisher: Twirl
Fiction
Format: Interactive Board Book for Review

What a cute board book, and as you turn the pages, it even sounds like you are taking a Polaroid.

his innovative and interactive book invites curious little explorers to use the cheerful pretend camera on a playful photo adventure around the farm. As children turn each page, a “photo” magically slides out, revealing a friendly farm animal―or two! And what’s more, each appearance comes with the delightful sound of a picture sliding out from the camera! Charming illustrations and simple text encourage hands-on play and early word recognition.

MY BIG BOOK OF ANIMAL SOUNDS
By: Mélisande Luthringer
Published: August 25, 2026
Publisher: Twirl
Non-Fiction
Format: Interactive Board Book for Review

One of our great-nephews always grabs MY BIG BOOK OF NATURE SOUNDS first when he comes to our house. He will love this one too.

The animals are talking!
Woof woof! Meow! Moo . . . Who’s making that sound? Press the buttons to find out! This interactive book with adorable illustrations helps children develop important listening skills, while they learn to identify animals and the sounds that they make. Included in this collection of more than 100 sounds are birds, insects, forest animals, and even underwater creatures!

ULTIMATE CHALLENGE: THE MOON
By: Sandra Laboucarie
Illustrated by: Didier Balicevic
Published: September 15, 2026
Publisher: Twirl
Non-Fiction
Format: Interactive Book for Review

Perfect for kids who love outer space and the moon. This interactive book is packed with bite-sized facts and fun ways to engage the reader. I’ve also shared other books by Sandra HERE and Didier HERE.

Young readers can learn all about the moon in this information-packed and interactive book. With multiple flaps on every page, as well as quizzes and seek-and-find activities, this highly engaging book asks and answers questions about the moon’s orbit around earth, space travel, moon landings, exploration of the moon’s surface, and much more!

THE AGATHA CASE FILES: THE VAMPIRE OF MOUNT DRAKK
By: Paul Martin
Illustrated by: Camille Roy
Published: September 8, 2026
Publisher: Twirl
Fiction
Format: Paperback Book for Review

The first in the series, WELCOME TO KITTYVILLE, was a hit. Future Sherlocks or Agatha Christies will be excited for 8 new cases to solve.

Detective Agatha has been summoned to solve a series of spooky goings-on that have left many stumped and terrified. But nothing will stop Agatha from bravely trekking across a haunted island, entering a polluted mine, or even talking to werewolves to crack the cases. Young readers are invited to join Agatha in her missions: look for clues, identify suspects, and come up with solutions! This illustrated interactive mystery with gatefold flaps is perfect for budding sleuths.

AUTUMN’S ABUNDANCE
An Indigenous Celebration of Nature
By: Kaitlin B. Curtice
Illustrated by: Eduardo Marticorena
Published: Convergent Children’s
Publisher: September 1, 2026
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

I haven’t shared many Indigenous stories, especially for kids, so I’m anxious to read this one.

In this joyous celebration of autumn, a young Indigenous boy learns how to receive love from Creator and Mother Earth—and how to share that love with others.

Bo, a proud Potawatomi boy, loves the coming of autumn—the turning of the leaves, the cooling weather, the last harvests from his garden. All around him he can see the love and abundance that Creator and Mother Earth give to all living creatures. But Bo knows that not everyone feels abundance in their lives. What can Bo and his friends do to share love and abundance with those around them?

CHICHI AND DIDI FIND THEIR GIFTS
By: Peace Amadi and Ndidi Amadi
Illustrated by: Hayley Blackwood
Published: July 28, 2026
Publisher: WaterBrook Children’s
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

Not every sibling has the same talents, as I’ve learned from our own kids. I love that this one is written by sisters.

Summer is here and Chichi and Didi are off to piano class! But while Chichi plays beautifully, Didi has trouble finding her groove. Playing piano is boring—she wants to move!

With the help of her family, Didi goes on a quest to figure out which activity she’s perfectly designed and gifted to do. But what if she’s not good at anything?”

Inspired by the childhood experiences of real-life Nigerian American sisters Peace Amadi and Ndidi Amadi, Chichi and Didi Discover Their Gifts will teach how exploring different interests can help them understand their own likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknessesto be patient with themselves and to understand that it’s okay if they don’t find their perfect fit right awaythe joy and satisfaction that comes from discovering something you are passionate about

GOD IN MY DAY
A Guided Daily Examen Prayer for Children
By: Marla Stewart Konrad
Illustrated by: Linhan Huang
Published: August 25, 2026
Publisher: Convergent Children’s
Christian NonFiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

I love the idea of helping kids examine their day and pray about the everyday occurrences of their lives, no matter how big or small.

A beautiful bedtime prayer companion, inspired by the work of Henri Nouwen, that will inspire children to reflect on the events of the day—and help them notice the ways that God was present all along

Built on the ancient Christian tradition of Daily Examen, God in My Day infuses the tradition of bedtime prayer with fresh meaning as children learn to look over their days and literally “pray their lives.” The book captures the desire of children to talk about the everyday occurrences of their day and helps them understand the love and delight God has for them.

Children have strong and powerful emotions but don’t always have the vocabulary to express them. God in My Day gives them a chance to talk about their feelings and experiences—both negative and positive—and notice how God was present.

THE CHAIRS
A Story about the Power of Community
By: Britta Teckentrup
Published: September 8, 2026
Publisher: Prestel Junior
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

I’ve loved all of Britta’s books and the lessons she teaches through them.

One day, a yellow chair appears in a sunlit forest clearing — and nobody knows how it got there. Then another arrives, and another. As the clearing fills with creatures of every kind, a tender and joyful home takes shape, built on the simple pleasure of sharing a space with others.

But when exclusionary signs begin to appear overnight, that spirit is put to the test — and the animals must find the strength to reclaim what they have built together. With her characteristic layered textures, glowing forest light, and richly populated scenes that reward slow looking, Teckentrup transforms a deceptively simple setting into a fully realized world where each creature has a face, a feeling, and a place to call its own.

Funny, touching, and genuinely wise, with one particularly unforgettable scene involving a very large bear and a pair of woolly socks, The Chairs speaks directly to experiences children know from their own lives: the sting of being left out, the resolve it takes to stand up for others, and the joy of a community that welcomes all.

CONSIDER THE NIGHT SKY
Consider (CON) Book 3
By: Jennifer Grant
Illustrated by: Julianna Swaney
Published: September 1, 2026
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Fiction
Format: Hardcover Picture Book for Review

I’ve also shared the first two in the Consider (CON) series, CONSIDER THE BIRDS and CONSIDER THE LILIES.

Consider the sun, moon, stars, planets, and constellations—God calls each one by name. Guess what? God knows your name and sees how brightly you shine, too! 

Inspired by Isaiah 40:26, Psalm 147:4-5, and Matthew 6:26-34, the third book in the Consider series invites children to learn about outer space and the wonder of God’s love. Gentle text from author Jennifer Grant and endearing art from #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Julianna Swaney will encourage readers to stop and look up to the skies with awe. Set on a snowy evening, Consider the Night Sky is a cozy, inspiring read aloud for bedtime devotions and chilly winter days.

STILL WATER
The Wonders of Ponds, Pools, Wetlands, and More
Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers
By: Valentina Gottardi, Macie J Michno, and Danio Miserocchi
Published: August 18, 2026
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover Book for Review

We have a fen on the land where I grew up. These small ecosystems are so important to the creatures that live there. I can’t wait to share this one. I’ve previously shared — by these authors/illustrators.

The vital ecosystems of ponds, puddles, swamps, and more in come alive in this gorgeously illustrated exploration of wetlands.

Human beings love babbling brooks and rushing rivers―but when we see water that stands still, we’ve historically called it unsafe, unhealthy, and even useless. Yet still water ecosystems like wetlands are teeming with life―and they’re critical to our planet’s survival. How? And why? 

Still Water is a lushly illustrated journey through still water ecosystems, inviting readers to learn about their makeup, their inhabitants, their importance, and their future, including: 

• Why are still water ecosystems misunderstood?
• How do they actually contribute to the health of our world?
• What are the important differences between wetland environments?  
• Who lives in wetlands, and how do animals like frogs and birds adapt to them for survival?
• How do places like peat bogs fight climate change?
• How do invasive species affect the balance of an ecosystem?
• What do we need to know about the future of ponds and wetlands? 

Translated from Italian by Batchelder Award winner Sylvia Notini, Still Water includes helpful backmatter with a glossary of terms and a link to the creators’ bibliography. This browsable nonfiction book is ideal for field trips to natural history museums and local ponds, as well as celebrations of Earth Day, World Wetlands Day, and World Wildlife Day. Part of Eerdmans’ Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers series.

Which books are you adding to your reading list?

Click HERE to see all the posts featuring new books on my shelves.

So many books, so little time!