The Grumpy Morning by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Illustrated by Darcia Labrosse. 25 p., Hyperion, 1998.

This story is more about day-to-day grumpiness than full-blown anger. One morning, all the farm animals ask to be fed, cuddled, or milked, in ways that have a strong resemblance to the voices of cranky toddlers. When the farmer wakes up, she greets them all cheerfully and gives them everything they need. Her calm response supports children's sense that that their irritability can be contained.

Ages: 2-4
Cultural Context: non-human

The Day We Met You by Phoebe Koehler

40 p., Bradbury Press, 1990.

When a mother and father receive a phone call saying it's time to adopt their baby, they lovingly assemble all the things a baby needs: a car seat, bottles, formula, diapers, pajamas, shirts, socks, pacifiers, a mobile, a teddy bear, a quilt, and a cradle. They decorate the baby's room with wind chimes and flowers. As the story ends, they fall instantly in love with the baby. An afterword discusses ways to talk with children about their adoption. This story offers very young children an understanding of adoption that emphasizes' parents love and caring.

Ages: 2-4
Cultural Context: European American

See You Soon, Moon by Donna Conrad.

Illustrated by Don Carter. 30 p., Knopf, 2001.

 This story is about taking a little part of home with us when we go away. One night, a boy and his parents leave for a trip to Grandma's house. The boy says goodbye to his room, his yard, his favorite toys (though he reconsiders saying goodbye to his blanket and takes it with him), and the moon. He's surprised to find that the moon comes along with them. This story shows kids that unfamiliar surroundings don't have to feel completely strange.

Ages: 1-3
Cultural Context: European American

The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland

Illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi. 32 p., Harcourt/Voyager, 1993.

A Vietnamese girl tells how her grandmother collected a lotus seed to remember the emperor's courage when he lost his throne. The grandmother marries, and her husband goes off to war. She keeps the seed, with her through many situations that require courage of her: from her husband's departure, bombings, flight to the United States in a boat, and the adjustment and hard work she faces in the new land. Eventually, the narrator's brother, curious, steals and plants the seed. Their grandmother is distraught at the loss of the seed - but it eventually grows and blooms, "the flower of life and hope." It produces new seeds, some of which the grandmother gives to her grandchildren, saving one to remember the emperor's courage. The narrator plans to plant her seed someday, and to give the seeds to the children she will have. This story shows children a way to make life-sustaining meaning in spite of devastation.

Ages: 5-8
Cultural Context: Asian American