A sneak peek at the cover of Kate DiCamillo's new novel

You all know Kate DiCamillo, right? Children's author, rare two-time winner of the Newbery Medal, the 2014 Star Tribune Artist of the Year, lives in Minneapolis, the first Library of Congress Ambassador for Children's Literature. I could go on and on.

Her latest novel will be published in October from Candlewick Press, and it's a bit of a departure for her--it's a companion book to "Raymie Nightingale," the first time she's revisited a character in one of her novels. (This does not, of course, include pigs.) (She has revisited Mercy Watkins many times.) We got a first peek at the cover, and it is arresting:

Here's a little about the book from the Candlewick press release:When Louisiana Elefante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana's life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana and Granny's heads. But that is a story for another time.)

Does that last line imply another book? We'll talk with Kate later this spring and let you know.