Familius

What we say to the very young can be life-changing, and the bonds we make, eternal. In Goodnight Whispers, a loving daddy whispers affirmations to his daughter as she falls asleep every night, reinforcing her best attributes. He tells her, “You are the most wonderful girl in the world.” The ritual cements her self-image and carries her through the challenges of her teenage years and beyond. The reader sees the girl become a woman, and the father, a man in later life. As an adult, the girl, now a mother, institutes this bedtime practice with her own child, and, yes, her aging father: “You are the most wonderful man in the world.” This sweet picture book is a treasure for anyone who would like to introduce positive images of aging to the very young.

Knopf

In this young adult novel, hard-to-impress teenagers Octavia and Tali take the road trip of a lifetime with their unconventional grandmother. The girls are as reluctant to go as Mare is to take them; the sisters don’t get along and they’re embarrassed by their grandmother. Yet as they head south to a family reunion, Mare’s stories slowly draw the teens off their phones. At their age, Mare was running from her Alabama home to join the African American Women’s Air Corps. It’s hard for the girls to picture their sassy, cigarette-wielding, stiletto-wearing grandmother as a fit, young recruit fighting in World War ll. Mare’s stories also illuminate other battles—against pervasive sexism and racism—that allow the girls to see their grandmother and their family history in a new light. This intergenerational tale could be a conversation starter for teens and their older relatives, particularly about how women and minorities have been portrayed throughout history and how far they have yet to go.

Clarion Books

This absorbing novel takes place during the infamous 1912 “Bread and Roses” strike in the textile mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts. When the authorities resort to violence, some of the mill workers’ children are sent to volunteer hosts in Vermont to protect them until the strike is over. The two protagonists, Rosa and Jake, stay with a memorable older Italian couple, Mr. and Mrs. Gerbati. Continue reading “Bread and Roses, Too”

Simon & Schuster

The Rose brothers, Morris and Alexander, are Jewish immigrants from Hungary who share a jewelry business and a house. They have also collaborated for forty-five years on building three towers of scrap steel in their backyard. Now taller than any of the surrounding houses, the towers are decorated with thousands of pendants—gears from old clocks, shards of colored glass, bits of porcelain—that sparkle in the light and sing softly in the wind. Continue reading “The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place”

American Girl/Puffin Books/Penguin Random House

Five preteen kids—Maggie, Sunita, Brenna, Zoe and David—tell their stories of volunteering at a veterinary clinic in Pennsylvania. The clinic is owned by Dr. J. J. MacKenzie, better known as Dr. Mac, the grandmother of first cousins Maggie and Zoe. The series offers a peek into what veterinary work is really like. Continue reading “Vet Volunteers series”

Scholastic

Young Darcy doesn’t like her new baby brother, especially the way he monopolizes her parents’ time and attention. She confides in several adults, but nobody takes her seriously—until Gran comes to visit and matter-of-factly tells Darcy that she has never liked babies either. Continue reading “Darcy and Gran Don’t Like Babies”