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Ten Beautiful Things
CCBC Review:
Lily and her grandma are making the long drive to her grandma’s home, where Lily will now be living. As she and Gram leave in the still-dark of pre-dawn, the car tires hum. “Lily felt the vibration in her hollow chest.” When Gram suggests they look for ten beautiful things along the journey, skeptical Lily doesn’t think anything will ever be beautiful again. Then the sun breaks over the horizon. As they drive for hours through a largely rural landscape, they each find things to add to their list. A dramatic thunderstorm clears just as they finally arrive at Grandma’s home, where Lily sadly notes they’ve only found nine things. “We’re ten,” Gram reassures her. “None of this was easy. Maybe it would never be easy. But she belonged with Gram now. She belonged here now.” A picture book text that keenly conveys both Lily’s feelings and the physical landscape of her journey doesn’t offer an explanation for the change in Lily’s life, allowing readers and listeners to make sense of the situation in whatever way is meaningful to them. Digital and watercolor illustrations showing Lily and Gram as white strikingly capture the landscape of their journey and the ten beautiful things they find. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Maribel Lechuga
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 3-8
Age Range:
Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3)
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Change
Families
Feelings/Emotions
Grandmothers
Moving
Perspective/Point of View
Publisher:
Charlesbridge
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781580899369
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Griffin