Four charmingly illustrated storybooks allow small children to come to terms with upsetting and bewildering situations that might be affecting them or people around them. Beautiful artwork and ultimately uplifting stories encourage young readers to talk about their own experiences.

Caldecott Honor Book Today Show Best Book for the Holidays ALA Notable Book for All Ages ALSC Notable Children's Book NCTE Notable Poetry Book Evanston Public Library's Top 100 Great Book for Kids Nerdy Award Winner for Single Poem Picture Book Bank Street Best Books of the Year In this powerful, affirming poem by award-winning author Zetta Elliott, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year. There is a place inside of me a space deep down inside of me where all my feelings hide. Summertime is filled with joy—skateboarding and playing basketball—until his community is deeply wounded by a police shooting. As fall turns to winter and then spring, fear grows into anger, then pride and peace. In her stunning debut, illustrator Noa Denmon articulates the depth and nuances of a child’s experiences following a police shooting—through grief and protests, healing and community—with washes of color as vibrant as his words. Here is a groundbreaking narrative that can help all readers—children and adults alike—talk about the feelings hiding deep inside each of us.

The experience of our pets dying is traumatic for us. We find ourselves feeling fear, confusion, and apprehension. We want to help, but don't know what to do. A Place In My Heart, When Our Pets Die is an explanation of the dying process, signs that often occur as death approaches, and ideas for what can be done during that time. "A Place In My Heart" also addresses burial, cremation, and grief. This booklet is written in the same thorough and direct yet gentle manner as Barbara's the other booklets on end of life. It is the Gone From My Sight for those who are facing the death of a beloved animal.A Place In My Heart can give direction and support during a difficult and seldom understood time.

Carolyn Jourdan, an attorney on Capitol Hill, thought she had it made. But when her mother has a heart attack, she returns home—to the Tennessee mountains, where her father is a country doctor and her mother works as his receptionist. Jourdan offers to fill in for her mother until she gets better. But days turn into weeks as she trades her suits for scrubs and finds herself following hazmat regulations for cleaning up bodily fluids; maintaining composure when confronted with a splinter the size of a steak knife; and tending to the loquacious Miss Hiawatha, whose daily doctor visits are never billed. Most important, though, she comes to understand what her caring and patient father means to her close-knit community. With great humor and great tenderness, Heart in the Right Place shows that some of our biggest heroes are the ones living right beside us.

Who are my birthparents? Is it okay to think about them? Can I care about all of my parents at once? A Place in My Heart tells the simple story of Charlie, a chipmunk adopted by a family of squirrels, who starts to wonder about his birthparents. At first he is scared that this might upset his family but feels much better when he talks to his mother. The story reassures children that it is okay to ask questions about their birthparents without upsetting their “forever” (adoptive) parents. This fully illustrated picture book for adopted children aged 2-5 gives you an opportunity to discuss adoption, birthparents, and the fact that our hearts are big enough to hold everyone we care about.

Rural romance meets Blue Heelers in this cosy mystery about an outback cop, from the author of The Swallow's Fall series. Jaxine Brown has made a good life for herself in the Western Australian outback town of Mt Maria. But the homecoming of her teenage daughter, Frances, changes everything. At only seventeen, Jax was coerced to give up the baby to Frances's father and his wife. Finally, she has a chance to make it right, and hasn't got time to think about recently returned Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Maxwell, who inexplicably disappeared in the middle of their only date last year. But Jack's back in town to investigate suspicion of drug trafficking and the man he's watching works in the closest mine to town. He expects to have this case wrapped up in four weeks, and feels he can take his time, not only with the case but also with Jaxine Brown, the woman he hasn't been able to get out of his mind. When graffiti and vandalism escalate in an issue involving stolen animals, Jax and Frances are unwittingly drawn into a mystery connected to the same mine Jack has under surveillance. Can Jack get to the bottom of the furtive goings–on, and do whatever it takes to protect the would–be family that's wound its way into his heart? A new outback romance from the bestselling author of The Swallow's Fall series.

Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado's Yampa Valley amid the splendor of a high country June in 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt Kate's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land--even if a certain handsome foreman doubts her abilities. Just when she thinks she's getting a handle on the constant male attention from the cowhands and the catty barbs from some of the local young women, tragedy strikes the ranch. Crystal will have to tap all of her resolve to save the ranch from a greedy neighboring landowner. Can she rise to the challenge? Or will she head back to Georgia defeated? Book one in the Heart of the West series, No Place for a Lady is full of adventure, romance, and the indomitable human spirit. Readers will fall in love with the Colorado setting and the spunky Southern belle who wants to claim it as her own.

Celebrate feelings in all their shapes and sizes in this New York Times bestselling picture book from the Growing Hearts series! Happiness, sadness, bravery, anger, shyness . . . our hearts can feel so many feelings! Some make us feel as light as a balloon, others as heavy as an elephant. In My Heart explores a full range of emotions, describing how they feel physically, inside, with language that is lyrical but also direct to empower readers to practice articulating and identifying their own emotions. With whimsical illustrations and an irresistible die-cut heart that extends through each spread, this gorgeously packaged and unique feelings book is sure to become a storytime favorite.

This is a first-person account of growing up in rural, Central Arkansas during the 1950's, in an area that is now covered by Greer's Ferry Lake. The book gives a brief historical account of some of the pioneer families who migrated to the area in the mid- to late 1800's to homestead farms, when the entire area was completely untamed land and forests. The reader will meet some of the succeeding families who further carved out communities, through timber industry and family farms both on the hills and also in the river bottom land along the Little Red River. The author vividly describes the lifestyle and daily activities of those families -- everything from the work, to the school and church, as well as the play and fun. It's amazing to see such a close-knit community, even without telephones or internet. There was a very high level of community spirit and personal care for one another. It's also interesting to see that almost everything was recycled; there was no plastic used and very few machines. The reader will also get a glimpse of some of the emotional trauma that was experienced by some of the residents who were forced to relocate because of the construction of the dam and resulting lake. Overall, this book is both informative and entertaining as the author describes the people and activities in a bygone time and place.

A down on her luck pregnant teen finds herself living in a shopping center in this Oprah's Book Club selection that inspired the film starring Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman. Talk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change. But Novalee is about to discover hidden treasures in this small Southwest town–a group of down-to-earth, deeply caring people willing to help a homeless, jobless girl. From Bible-thumping blue-haired Sister Thelma Husband to eccentric librarian Forney Hull, they are about to take her–and you, too–on a moving, funny, and unforgettable journey.