Military Families, Bats, And More!

This is the picture book that introduced me to Purple Up! Day. It follows a group of students at a school who decide to help their classmates who have military family members overseas serving. I was in elementary school when my dad served overseas in Desert Storm, and both he and I still remember how the school did a fundraiser and sent him and his entire unit care packages. This lyrical picture book reminded me of that.

I like how this one focuses on a different aspect of military life — being separated from beloved pets. When a young girl’s mother is sent to live overseas for a time, the family has to rehome their much-loved dog. This makes the young girl very sad. This poetic picture book celebrates love, pets, and family, while also grappling with the grief of saying goodbye and having things change.

This immensely relatable and charming middle grade graphic novel is about what happens after a parent is no longer in service. Charlie’s spent her entire life moving from school to school as her dad’s deployments changed. Now he’s retired, and they’re settling down in his hometown. She’s never been at one school for long and feels so much pressure to make friends and make a good impression. Thankfully, a group of Black girls helps her feel right at home, though it takes Charlie a bit to realize that she can just be herself. I’m hoping this is going to be a series!

This funny, illustrated middle grade is about a young Japanese American girl and her military family settling down in Hawaii. Airi Sano is in sixth grade, and she’s never loved school. Her new teacher, Ms. Ashton, is determined to change that. So, Airi decides she’ll prank Ms. Ashton so many times that she’ll be forced to give up on Airi. There are currently two books in this series.