Children of Owl by Little Badger, Darcie

From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Elatsoe and A Snake Falls to Earth comes a tale of three cousins brought together by the world of creatures, ghosts, and murderers that surround their trailer park. Illustrated throughout with full-color comic panels.

Maisie: hasn't gotten her life back on track since her best friend died. Then she meets Owl, a harbinger of ill tidings and doom, who warns her of an approaching tragedy.
Joel: A streaming prodigy with questionable decision-making who's been exiled to a summer of kitten fostering the world's weirdest cats.
Verona: will do anything to leave their trailer park behind, even watch a house she knows is haunted.
Owl: son of Big Owl, who can't help who he is, or how much he cares about these aforementioned humans.

Their four stories intertwine with a ghost bent on justice, an adorable feline Animal Person, and a vengeful monster headed straight for them in this singular YA fantasy novel from Newbery Honor-winning Darcie Little Badger. Perfect for readers seeking a haunting, heartfelt exploration of family, grief, and Indigenous identity.

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Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy / Mystery
Tone: Haunting, heartfelt, and eerily atmospheric
Tropes: Found family, supernatural mystery, coming-of-age, multi-generational healing

Author: Darcie Little Badger
Publisher: Levine Querido
Published: 10/06/2026
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.55lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781646145683
Age Range: 12-18

Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 07/01/2026 pg. 96
Publishers Weekly 07/20/2026
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2026
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Booklist 10/01/2026
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2026 pg. 72

About the Author
Darcie Little Badger is a Lipan Apache writer with a PhD in oceanography. Elatsoe, her critically acclaimed debut novel, was featured in Time as one of the best 100 fantasy books of all time. Elatsoe also won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and was a Nebula, Ignyte, and Lodestar finalist. Her second fantasy novel, A Snake Falls to Earth, received the Newbery Honor, was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Darcie is married to a veterinarian named Taran and splits her time between California and Texas.

Abigail Rajunov is an illustrator from Dallas, Texas, who studied Illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design. She loves to draw silly characters, whimsical scenes, and emotional moments, and her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Work from her debut picture book, If I Lived in the Sky, was chosen for the Illustrators 68th Annual. In her spare time, Abi loves to plein-air-paint in her sketchbook, play video games with friends, and strum on her guitar.