Leigh Bardugo will collaborate on a children’s picture book with artist John Picacio, People magazine reports.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will publish Bardugo and Picacio’s The Invisible Parade this summer. The press describes the book as a “stunningly original and lushly illustrated tour de force about family, love, and overcoming grief.”
Bardugo is best known for her hugely popular young adult Grishaverse novels, a series that debuted in 2012 with Shadow and Bone. Her most recent book, a standalone adult novel titled The Familiar, was published last year.
Picacio has created art for more than 150 book covers and is the winner of three Hugo Awards and three Locus Awards.
Their book, set on Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, follows Cala, a girl grieving her grandfather, as she encounters four riders at a cemetery. “Cala’s story is one of love, loss, and the courage that can be found in unexpected places,” Little, Brown says.
Bardugo announced the book on Instagram, writing, “I wanted to tell a story about grief that might help families talk about loss. John wanted to change the way we think about death by reframing it through his culture. We shared inspiration from Octavio Paz to Shaun Tan. We visited museums and markets together. We argued. We pushed the story new places. It’s the purest collaboration I’ve ever been a part of.”
The Invisible Parade is scheduled for publication on Sept. 2.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
