Even though it was hot and muggy on May 22 in New York City, it was crisp and autumnal inside the Julliard Room of the Omni Hotel Berkshire Place, where the HarperCollins Children’s Books fall 2013 preview event took place. Librarians and reviewers were treated to a delicious spread of breakfast and books that were laid out in tempting piles of frosting, nuts, and glittery covers.

In fact, it was hard to know what to partake of first: the flaky pastries or the slick, shiny piles of galleys! From new offerings by established authors to exciting debuts by fresh new voices, from brightly colored picture books to edgy YA, there was something for every age, type, and stripe of reader. As passionate lovers of picture books, the attendees at our table could not contain their oohing and aahing over the rainbow palettes of several beautiful full-color spreads. John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King are the subjects of two picture book biographies that are notable not just because of their topics, but because of their shared illustrator, AG Ford, and unusual authors. My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Amistad, August) is written by his son, Martin Luther King III, while JFK  (Katherine Tegen Books, October) is penned by Jonah Winter, who was present as a child at the tragic motorcade in Dallas. There is a new title forthcoming from both Jack Prelutsky—The Silver Moon: Lullabies and Cradle Songs (Greenwillow, September), illustrated by Jui Ishida—and Al Yankovic, whose My New Teacher and Me (Harper, June) is illustrated by Wes Hargis. Wendell and Florence Minor capture bears in all their fuzzy splendor in the new If You Were a Panda Bear (Katherine Tegen Books, June). And Dot (HarperCollins, November) a debut picture book by Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Mark, generated buzz because it praises limiting screen (and potentially, Facebook) time; Joe Berger is the illustrator. Tap the Magic Tree (Greenwillow, December) written and illustrated by Christie Matheson, was the most popular title by far, as librarians and reviewers clapped, shook, and patted the pages of the interactive seasonal picture book that is destined to be the next Press Here. The YA offerings were even more dense, featured new books from established authors, series sequels and much love and horror in equal measure among the numerous fabulous-sounding debuts. For quirky romance buffs, there is The Beginning of Everything (Katherine Tegan Books, September) by Robyn Schneider, about a boy who finds a girl after losing everything else; How to Love (Balzaer + Bray, October) by Katie Cotugno, about a girl who loses a boy, has a baby, and wonders if said lost boy is worth taking back; and The Paradox of Vertical Flight (Greenwillow, October), about a boy who kidnaps his own baby from his ex-girfriend and takes him on a road trip. For those who prefer their amour bloody rare, there is Eat, Brains, Love (HarperTeen, October), hands down the best title of the preview. Jeff Hart's book is about a boy and girl who have been infected with a zombie virus and have to go on the lam together. Nail-biting will be the order of the day for Asylum (Harper, September) by Madeleine Roux, a spooky YA debut about a boy who gets schooled in the dark arts when he discovers  his fancy summer program is being held in an old psychiatric hospital. Our preview was accompanied by reveals of frightening black-and-white doctored photos within the book,w which reminded us of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. And when Another Little Piece (HarperTeen, June) by Kate Karyus Quinn was described by editors as “Pretty Little Liars Meets Stephen King,” we’re not too proud to say we shivered a little. We also got up to get another glass of ice water after hearing about Not a Drop to Drink (Katherine Tegen Books, September) by Mindy McGinnis, a post-apocalyptic tale of a girl who must defend her freshwater pond from invaders if she wants to survive. Older readers are bound to be captivated by the August publication of author and illustrator Gris Grimley’s spooky cool version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (Balzar + Bray), which will pair nicely with Printz honoree Stephanie Hemphill’s Hideous Love (Balzar + Bray), a verse novel about Mary Shelley’s dramatic life, featuring loads of informative back matter; it debuts in October. As dedicated YA series readers, we swooned to hear about the concluding volume of Rae Carson’s "Fire & Thorns" trilogy, The Bitter Kingdom (Greenwillow), which pubs in August and wraps up the popular series that originated with the William C. Morris finalist The Girl of Fire and Thorns. We also wept a few bitter tears when we heard there was no ARC for the highly anticipated third volume of Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, Allegiant, which pubs in October—only a very pretty, glossy poster. Other sigh-worthy sequels for teens and tweens include Resist by Sarah Crossan (Greenwillow, October), the second book in the "Breathe"series; The Whatnot by Stefan Bachman (Greenwillow, September), a stand-alone companion to The Peculiar; The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book IV: The Interrupted Tale (Balzer + Bray, December) by Maryrose Wood; and Invisible Inkling: The Whoopie Pie War (Balzer + Bray, July), by Emily Jenkins. If all that YA sounds, well, too YA, then there’s the sweet-sounding debut, Confessions of a So-Called Middle Child (HarperCollins, September) by Maria T. Lennon, a middle-grade tale about a sixth grade girl who’s tired of not being taken seriously and does something about it—with disastrously funny results. And several beloved names will also be releasing new titles in September. Sharon Creech has penned a story of a mysterious mute boy who shows up on the doorstep of a bewildered young couple, The Boy on the Porch (HarperCollins), while Neil Gaiman tracks the fantastical wanderings of an errand-running dad in Fortunately, the Milk (HarperCollins), and Kevin Henkes chronicles the the school year of a thoughtful second grader in The Year of Billy Miller (Greenwillow). We left satiated by booktalks and bagels, no doubt trailing crumbs and ARCs. While there was no way to cover every book that was discussed, you can check the Twitter conversation about these titles and more by searching #harperfallpreview on Twitter.