For the sixth time, Scholastic is offering librarians—and the nation—a sneak peak of its upcoming titles via an online video. As promised, the publisher’s Spring Preview for 2014 presents “38 Books in 38 Minutes” through appearances by more than a dozen authors, illustrators, and editors.

In particular, the video includes several stellar performances to whet your appetite for next year’s selections; for example, the robot impersonation by artist Dan Santat, whose illustrations will grace the reissue of Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta series. Author Cynthia Lord also garners book-talking honors when she tells of her new title Half a Chance, a story that tackles the difficult topic of dementia. David Levithan, wearing his editor hat, and author Elizabeth Eulberg display enough chemistry to have their own TV talk show, as they kibitz about Eulberg’s upcoming Better Off Friends. The story asks the question, “Can a teen boy and girl just be friends?” Levithan also gives good pitches for Natalie Standiford’s Switched at Birthday, which he describes as a “friendship Freaky Friday” and David Baldacci’s new fantasy novel The Finisher.

Looking for stories that deal with family relationships? The preview opens with Sharon Robinson, the daughter of famed baseball player Jackie Robinson, speaking about her latest book, Under the Same Sun, which is illustrated by AG Ford. It is a story about a trip to see family in Africa by her mother, Rachel Robinson, who also appears in the segment.

Mighty Dads by Joan Holub and James Dean is set to be a good read for Father’s Day, while  relationships between brothers is the theme of Shaun Tan’s forthcoming Rules of Summer. Picture book biographies will also have a presence in 2014, with two new titles on the horizon. Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham have written a book about poet Ralph Waldo Emerson entitled A Home for Mr. Emerson. The video also introduces Clara and Davie, Patricia Polacco’s new book on Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, through a special appearance Polacco's editor, the author Andrea Davis Pinkney, who tells the story of Polacco’s unique family connection to Barton.

Authors Eliot Schrefer and Deborah Wiles also appear in the video to introduce their second novels, Threatened (due out in March), and Revolution, respectively.

Schrefer’s book, like his previous work Endangered, required travel and primate research, he notes. However, while the first book featured bonobos as a central theme, his new title has chimps as its central focus. Revolution is an infinitely more human tale; this continuation of Wiles’s 1960s-themed trilogy takes place in 1964 Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. Dramas from real life are also the basis for several other new works. Rodman Philbrick’s Zane and the Hurricane features Hurricane Katrina, while Marcel Prins and Peter Steenhuis document the reality of the holocaust in Hidden Like Anne Frank.  The book contains 14 first-person accounts of individuals who were in hiding during World War II.

Meanwhile, Trent Reedy’s Divided We Fall draws upon governmental conflict for his story based in the not too-distant future, while three featured summer reads span the spectrum of interests. Kim Culbertson’s Catch a Falling Star is the story of girl’s summer job: girlfriend to a teen heartthrob. Surrounded by Sharks is a thriller by Michael Northrop. And The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell is a nonfiction book that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the murders of three civil rights workers by the Ku Klux Klan.

Notably, the fun-to-watch preview is divided into four segments: Picture Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade/Graphic Novels, and Young Adult. Librarians and teachers may want to view the video along with their students and ask them to help choose what titles should be added to their school’s collections.