Skip to main content

Five Faves: Picture Books About Resilience

Children are incredibly resilient for such small humans. We've seen them fall down and get back up countless times. But we've also seen then in the midst of profound struggles and want to help them grow their courage. Here are a few books about resilience that I love.

The Year We Learned to Fly
Written by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by Rafael Lopez
New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022. Picture Book.

A brother and sister learn how to use their imagination when their family is having a hard day. Their grandmother teaches them that their ancestors before them did the same thing when they faced years of oppression. The children learn to set themselves free by the way they think.

Gib-ber-ish
By Young Vo
Montclair: Levine Querido, 2022. Picture Book.

It's Dat's first day of school in a new country and everyone sounds like they're speaking gibberish. It makes him nervous and uncomfortable. But a girl in his class makes an effort to try and communicate with him in a different way. Dat learns that he's not alone in this new place.

Sometimes, All I Need is Me
By Juliana Perdomo
Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2022. Picture Book.

This young girl loves her home, except at night when it's cold and scary. But she learns how to create her own light so she can feel calm. This girl talks about all the things she does to feel okay and they all start with her own self.

The Magical Yet
Written by Angela DiTerlizzi
Illustrated by Lorena Alvarez
New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2020. Picture Book.

There are a lot of things this girl can't do...yet! The Magical Yet will remind you that although something may be hard, that doesn't mean it's impossible. This book teaches children how to be optimistic and persevere. 

Tilda Tries Again
By Tom Percival
New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2022. Picture Book.

One day, Tilda's world turns upside down and she doesn't know what to do. She gets so sad that she doesn't want to do anything--it's all too hard. But Tilda decides she can do hard things. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Fowl Play

  Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Review: Blood in the Water

Blood in the Water By Tiffany D. Jackson New York: Scholastic, 2025. Fiction. 255 pages. 12-year-old Kaylani McKinnon can't help but feel like a fish out of water. She's a Brooklyn girl spending her summer on Martha's Vineyard surrounded by wealthy family friends in their mansion. All she really wants is to stay home all summer where she her incarcerated father can easily reach her, and she can keep working to find ways to prove him innocent of fraud and embezzlement. Despite her protests, she finds herself on the island with the snooty granddaughters of her host. Soon after Kaylani's arrival, a popular teen boy is found murdered and she decides to conduct her own investigation. As she tries to discover what happened to Chadwick Cooper, Kaylani finds that not everything on Martha's Vineyard is as perfect as it appears. Thrillers for middle grade readers can be hard to find, but Tiffany D. Jackson succeeds in her first middle grade novel. A quick moving plot, tight d...

Review: Alice with a Why

Alice with a Why By Anna James New York: Penguin, 2026. Fiction. 240 pgs. In 1919, in the aftermath of the first World War, Alyce is living with her grandmother in the English countryside. Her grandmother, also named Alice, tells Alyce (with a y) stories from her childhood adventures in a wonderful land filled with white rabbits and mad hatters. Alyce doesn't really believe the silly stories, she just misses her father who was killed in the war. One day, Alyce receives a mysterious invitation to tea, and subsequently falls into a pond where she is transported to Wonderland. Her grandmother, of course, is that Alice. Alyce is prompted by the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, and March Hare to seek out the Time Being and put an end to the war between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon. Thus begins Alyce's adventure through Wonderland. I have a certain soft spot for the original story of Alice in Wonderland. It is one of my particular favorites and I often have a hard time reading new int...