Eleven Kinds of Blue
A new novel for young readers about
making art—and making trouble
Jacket illustration © 2026 by Oriol Vidal
Jacket design by Chelsea Hunter/HH
​Twelve-year-old Margot Stafford is an observer and an artist, far different from her activist older brother and idol, Eli. She spends her time drawing and painting on her own and hanging out with her best friend, Suzanne. Her art class—taught by the eccentric Mr. Grunwald—is the one place where Margot can truly be herself. But even there, she holds on to worries about her depressed mother, whose boyfriend, JP, moves into their house and seems to change her mom in ways Margot can’t understand.
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​The story of Margot brings to light the rich imagination of a child who finds herself adjacent to mental illness. With equal parts heartache and hope, this debut novel about one girl and her resilience is also a colorful picture of family love, even in the face of crisis.
208 pages; ages 8 to 12
July 7, 2026; Holiday House
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5970-4 (hardcover)
About me
Katherine Wolff lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over the years she has reviewed books for The New York Times, waitressed in Vermont, assisted art collectors in Seattle, deejayed in New Jersey, worked as a shopgirl in Vienna, edited encyclopedias in Pasadena, studied Great Books in Annapolis, and led walking tours in Boston. She has twin daughters. And a cat. Oh, and a husband, too. Eleven Kinds of Blue is her first book for young readers.
