New Releases: Beatrice and the Nightingale, Footeprint
Plus upcoming releases and events
Out Now
Congratulations to our February releases!
Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman, illustrated by Isabelle Follath (February 10, 2026 | Margaret Quinlin Books/Peachtree): In 1924, an audience of more than one million listeners across the world listened in amazement to the first live radio broadcast of a nightingale accompanying the young cellist Beatrice Harrison.
On May 19, 1924, a duet between a young cellist and a male nightingale was broadcast across the British Commonwealth as far away as Canada, India, and Australia to over one million listeners. It was an unprecedented collective experience made possible by the invention of the radio and a new microphone that picked up sounds of nature.
Beatrice Harrison, considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century and a musical prodigy, was that cellist. This biography describes Beatrice’s singular dedication to music from a very early age.
At the age of eighteen months, Beatrice attended her first concert. Catching sight of a cello and hearing it for the first time, she was bewitched and immediately began asking to play it. She got her first cello when she was about eight years old. Later, her parents moved the family to Germany so Beatrice could study with one of the best cello teachers. There, at age seventeen, she was awarded a prestigious prize, the youngest artist and only cellist to win at that time.
Back in the UK, the family moved to Surrey, England and Beatrice’s career flourished.
One evening while Beatrice was practicing her cello in the garden, she heard a creature repeating the music she was playing. It turned out to be a nightingale. She played many nights with the bird and was completely enthralled. Wanting to share the experience, she convinced the head of the newly formed BBC to take a chance on a live broadcast from her garden. The resulting duet was a smashing success and Beatrice received more than 50,000 letters in response. Overnight, she became known as the Lady of the Nightingales and for twelve years thereafter the cellist and the bird were broadcast annually to BBC listeners from her garden in Surrey.
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FOOTEPRINT: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women’s Rights by Lindsay H. Metcalf (February 10, 2026 | Charlesbridge): A fascinating historical novel-in-verse for young adults capturing the discoveries of Eunice Foote, a remarkable woman in science WAY ahead of her time.
A fictionalized account of the first woman to identify carbon dioxide as a cause of climate change in 1856 when most people preferred that women be seen rather than heard.
Fictionalized only to weave together some unknown pieces of Eunice's life, this is a journey through time, triumph, trepidation, and trauma, revealing the extraordinary life and work of Eunice Newton Foote.
Eunice’s most important discovery was recognizing the effect of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: a warming planet. But in a society driven by coal, kerosene, and crude oil, Eunice’s warnings went unheeded. After all, who would listen to a woman—especially a woman known to consort with suffragists?
From the Seneca Falls Convention to the halls of the US Patent Office in Washington, DC, Eunice Newton Foote blazed a trail for independence and inquiry. Today Eunice’s discoveries feel ever more prescient. She knew that reliance on fossil fuels would have a devastating effect. Today she is finally receiving the credit she deserves.
Eunice Newton Foote's extraordinary tale is told in novel-in-verse format, perfect for teenagers interested in STEM.
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Releasing Soon
Touch a Truck Day: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Viola Wang (March 17, 2026 | Chronicle Books): Today’s the day to TOUCH A TRUCK! This rhyming, tabbed novelty book invites young vehicle fans to explore eight fascinating trucks, with a sweet and special surprise at the end.
Pre-order this book on our Bookshop (affiliate link)
Under the Rubble: The Hidden Letters of the Warsaw Ghetto by Eliza Boxer, illustrated by Oksana Drachovska (March 17, 2026 | Behrman House/Apples & Honey Press): On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland setting off WWII. The following year Nazis forced nearly 450,000 Polish Jews into a crowded ghetto in the capital city of Warsaw. By the end of the war, most of those imprisoned had been killed, either in concentration camps or on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. But miraculously, their stories survived. HOW? That’s a story in itself . . .
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Mark your calendars...
Connecticut
March 7 at 8:00am. Join Valerie Bolling for nErDcampCT, Brookside Elementary School, Norwalk, CT
March 12 at 4:00pm. Join Valerie Bolling for Storytime, Craft, and Signing at Darien Library, Darien, CT
March 14 at 3:00pm. Join Valerie Bolling for Storytme at Possible Futures, New Haven, CT
Kansas
March 14 at 11:30am. Join Lindsay H. Metcalf on her Footeprint Book Tour at Russell Specialty Books & Gifts in Russell, KS
Massachussetts
March 7 at 12pm. Join Carrie Finison for Plenty of Pancakes Story Time at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA
March 21 at 10am. Join Carrie Finison for Dozens of Doughnuts & Plenty of Pancakes Story Time at Reading Public Library in Reading, MA
March 21 at 2pm. Join Carrie Finison for Touch a Truck Day Launch Party! at Maxima Book Center in Lexington, MA
March 28 at 11am. Join Carrie Finison for Touch a Truck Day Story Time with
Special Guest: Acton Fire Department! at Silver Unicorn Books in Acton, MA
Fire Truck appearance 11am-12:30pm!
New York
March 4 at 11:30 a.m. Join Valerie Bolling for Bookstore Visit and Signing at Bedford Books, Bedford, NY
March 28 10am-3:00pm. Join Valerie Bolling for Poughkeepsie Children’s Book Festival.
Texas
March 29. Join Lindsay H. Metcalf on her Footeprint Book Tour at Texas Library Association in Houston, TX
About Soaring ‘20s
We are a diverse and award-winning group of authors and illustrators. We create books for all ages including board books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade, YA, and adult—with over 150+ books published collectively. Read more about us here.