Category: The Kids Are All Right

As we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11, anyone looking to explain the attack to kids may like this hopeful book about the tree that grew beneath the towers. After being replanted elsewhere to grow and heal, it was replanted at the memorial where it remains.

In this picture book, a family stays inside together to wait out a storm. In the meantime, they’re frustrated and bored, but come together when the storm becomes scary.

Shenice “Lightning” Lockwood is determined to lead her team to victory in the softball regional championship. But her intense focus is rocked by her great uncle’s admission that the crime that ruined his reputation (and his baseball career) was all a set up.

In this funny middle grade book, Hugo moves to a new school where he’s instantly miserable, with no friends and already being teased for being so small. His hidden talent for sifting through people’s garbage and uncovering people’s secrets makes him a hot commodity for the first time ever.

Enjoying peaceful days after saving their city, Hannah and Ever are thrust into another adventure in this sequel to City of Secrets. An abduction forces them to join together with a pair of thieving street magicians to save their city again.

When the first day of school approaches, Frederick Douglass Elementary starts getting worried. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? I love this book because it gives another perspective to first-day-of-school anxiety. And even though the first day is a bit bumpy, the school realizes he’s not the only one with the jitters.

When Grandparent’s Day comes around, Zura is hesitant to bring her grandmother to school. Even though Nana is her most favorite person in the whole world, Zura is worried that Nana Akua’s tribal markings on her face – following an old West African tradition – will scare her classmates. But she needn’t be worried, because Nana Akua shows them her quilt of traditional African symbols and is able to make each of Zura’s classmates feel special.

I know I’ve already talked about this book a lot, but I just couldn’t help myself – I had to share it again! It’s rainy season in the Mekong Delta, and a young boy sets out on his boat, battling waves and dark unknowns to get to his final destination: school!

When a young girl comes home from school frustrated by everyone mispronouncing her name, she tells her mom that she doesn’t want to go back to school. On their way home through the city, the girl’s mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names, and the girl is ready to go back to school the next day to share what she’s learned with her classmates and teacher.

I adore Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s vibrant illustration style which is perfectly on display in this sweet and empowering picture book. When the young girl in the book gets ready for the first day of school, she puts together the perfect outfit so she will be noticed when she arrives. And her classmates do notice her, but not in a good way. Her clothes are funny and her name is too long. With the help of her parents, Vanessa gets ready for a new school day, confident in herself and her name.

In this enchanting picture book, a king and queen unable to have children are gifted a son and daughter in the form of a wooden robot and a log princess. But the log princess turns back into a log each night, and when she’s accidentally taken away, the robot takes off to find her. Along the way, both robot and princess must rescue one another.

While this is far from lighthearted fare, this is a powerful and moving picture book about the anguish of war. For anyone looking for a way to start a conversation about it, especially considering the current crisis in Afghanistan, this may be a good starting point.

In this sweet picture book, a mother, daughter, and grandmother take a trip to the end of the earth, the southern tip of India, where three oceans meet. Along the way they reconnect with old friends, revisit memories, and experience new sights.

In this funny book, Lin is a cuddly, cute panda whose adorableness makes her a star at the zoo. But all she really wants is to return to the panda sanctuary where her brother is. Lin reasons that if being a good panda landed her in the zoo, being a bad one would ensure her return to her brother so she sets off a plan to be a bad panda but finds her cuteness may be insurmountable.

Elvis is a Calico kitten recently adopted by Georgina. Elvis misses his sister, Etta, left behind, and Georgina is still struggling after her parents have split. As Elvis looks for a way to reunite with Etta, he begins to admire Georgina and her intricate Lego builds, and they both begin to consider they may be able to build a world that they love even if its not what they’d have first chosen for themselves.

Wow wow wow. This is the perfect picture book for read alouds. Gorgeous poetry, gorgeous words, gorgeous illustrations. This anthem is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference. “I am just what the world needs,” proclaims the children, their beautiful smiles radiating from the page. “There is love where my change sings.”

At the southern tip of India, three oceans meet. But when Sejal travels there for a trip, the three oceans aren’t the only thing she’s excited about. With her are Sejal, Mommy, and Pati, each with their own style and food preferences and languages. This lovely book captures the love and wisdom that can only be passed down through generations.

I adore this book about Yo-Yo Ma, an incredible cellist who has personally inspired me and my family with his gorgeous music. Born in France to Chinese parents and raised in America, Yo-Yo picked up the cello at an early age (because double bass was too big). After a life of learning and performing around the world, he ended up at the Rio Grande on April 13, 2021, playing music at the US-Mexico border as part of his multi continent “Bach Project” tour.

This is such a fun and silly book, and I especially love Andrea Tsurumi’s illustrative style that reminds me of the illustrators I loved as a child. Mr. Watson starts out with three chickens, but pretty soon they multiply until chickens are everywhere! Mr. Nelson finally puts his foot down – the chickens are a problem! – but what should Mr. Watson do? My favorite page spread is a cross-section of the house – so fun!

You know when you read something and it takes your breath away? This book did that to me. Seen through the eye of two children as they settle down for the night, they say goodbye to everything around them in their grandparent’s house: the bowls of fresh marigolds, the droning planes, the gecko in the curtains. Each page spread is a feast for the eyes!

In this funny, spooky picture book, a chicken crosses the road and wakes up as a ghost on the other side. Surrounded by new ghost animal friends, the poultrygeist learns how to be scary.

This graphic memoir follows author Alyssa Bermudez through her own seventh grade diary entries. As Alyssa copes with the usual middle school concerns, from friends to her divorced parents to being mistreated by kids at school, the novel accelerates toward 9/11, where Alyssa’s dad works in the World Trade Center.

In this creepy novel, Noelle learns her family’s new home houses the terrifying Smashed Man. Alongside her new friends, Noelle must figure out a way to defeat the Smashed Man for good.

In this middle grade thriller, Tia witnesses a murder outside her window, and the killer sees her. Though she’s determined to stay quiet and her friends and grandmother comfort her, the killer’s threats mean Tia can’t ignore it.

This book serves as an educational introduction to the Black Lives Matter movement. It retells how the organization’s founders came together as well as the stories of victims of police brutality such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and George Floyd, discussing systemic racism and the civil rights movement.

This beautiful picture book examines a question that the author herself asked when she was a child: Do you love me? Do you love me from the inside out? Do you love me from the outside in? The book continues to ask questions that I believe all young people ask themselves. Does their country love them? Does their country love them even when they stand in, stand up, and stand out?

One of the qualifications to be an American citizen is to be born on American soil, but did you know that a Supreme Court Case decided that? When American-born Wong Kim Ark returns home to San Francisco after a visit to China, he’s stopped and told he cannot enter because he isn’t American. After being imprisoned on a ship for months, Wong Kim Ark takes his case to the Supreme Court and argues any person born in America is an American citizen.

I loved this picture book in verse by Ibi Zoboi that is gorgeously illustrated by Loveis Wise. The book tells the journey of African descendants in America by connecting their history to the seven principles of Kwanzaa. This book is perfect to read aloud so young readers can deepen their understanding of African American history in relation to their own lives and current social justice movements.

This middle grade book in verse tells the story of Reha. At school she is the only Indian American student but at home she is surrounded by family, Indian culture, and customs. Reha feels especially estranged from her mother, who has high expectations for her. But when Amma gets sick, Reha knows she has to do everything she can to make her mom better, even if it means doing everything she can to be the perfect Indian daughter.

This incredible picture book won the Caldecott Medal as well as the Newbery Honor, and it’s no surprise because it’s a fantastic book. A love letter to Black life in the United States, it highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes.