Fences: Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins

Abuela stars in all of Mama's stories, but my only memory is a voice calling me "Angelita." We haven't seen my grandmother in five years. But today is La Posada Sin Frontiers, and we are taking a bus to the border to meet her.

Maria, her mom, and her little brother Juan board the bus to the Border Field State Park in San Diego. Mama is knitting the last few rows on a scarf for Abuela which Maria has been working on for weeks and little Juan clutches his gift for his grandmother, a drawing of Mary and Joseph at an inn with a sign that says "NO RUME." At the park they wait for the border officers as they allow small groups to enter the space between the two border fences between Mexico and the U.S. to meet their families on the other side.

At last it's their turn. She hears a voice calling her mother's name.

"Sylvia! Sylvia!

And then Maria hears a now familiar voice, her grandmother's!

"Juan! Maria Angelita!"

"I'm still her little angel," Maria thinks happily.

The openings in the fence are small, only big enough to touch each other with fingers, but their words travel back and forth quickly. But Maria's knitted scarf is not allowed through by a border officer who gives it back to her. Mama' promises to mail it to Abuela, but Maria is still sad. But what about her little brother's drawing? Maria thinks about that as priest leads a short Posado service and the officers tell them it's time to go. But Maria has an idea to get her brother's gift to Abuela.

"Abuela, esparate'! Wait!" she calls.

Sitting on the sand, Maria takes the knitting needles and yarn from her mother's bag and fashions a kite out of Juan's drawing, and on the third try, the little kite soars over the two fences as the crowd and border officials alike applaud. Mama' cuts the yarn and the kite wobbles and drops into the sand of Mexico, where Abuela picks it up and carries it carefully home.

In a touching story of family life at the border, Mitali Perkins' Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) show that love indeed knows no borders. In the skillful illustrations of Sara Palacios, the kite and yarn become apt symbols of the ties that bind families together despite closed borders and steel fences. A Christmas-themed story for young people that speaks volumes. "A story of family strength and unity overcoming fences along the Mexican/United States border. Another poignant piece to add to the current national discussion about the border. A must for any collection," says School Library Journal's starred review.

Hard Times Come: What Is Given From the Heart by Patricia McKissack

It was a rough few months for Mama and me. We were already poor, but we got poorer last April when Daddy went to sleep on the porch and never woke up. Come June, we lost the farm and moved to a run-down shotgun house in the Bottoms.

On Friday the 13th, everything flooded and Smitty, my dog, disappeared. "Misery loves company," said Mama, as she swept water out the front door. She shook her head. "Long as we got our health and strength, we are blessed, James Otis," she said.

Christmas came and there was one small gift for James Otis, but in February the Reverend Dennis told the congregation they were going to give love boxes, especially to Irene Temple and her little daughter Sarah, who had lost everything when their house burned down. James wondered what he could give that a little girl would want, but Mama tells him...

"What is given from the heart, reaches the heart."

James Otis looked through his stuff. His sparkly rock was, after all, just a rock. His crayons were broken and worn down, and two were missing. Then he notices Mama, sewing Mrs. Temple an apron out of her best tablecloth. James Otis gets busy with his crayons.

And on Love Box Sunday, James puts his gift in the Temple's box.

"A book about ME?" asked little Sarah. She giggled. "I want to read it myself!"

And there's a love box on his own porch when James Otis gets home, in Patricia McKissack's last story for children, What Is Given from the Heart (Schwartz and Wade, 2019), a posthumous gift to young readers, joining her Caldecott Medal book, Mirandy and Brother Wind and Newbery book, The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural from the many in her long career. "A treasure from a marvelous storyteller," writes School Library Journal's starred review, and Booklist adds "... a moving story that attests to life's most important values."

Sharing and Caring: Love Monster And the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright

Love Monster's mind is still on his vacation, sadly now over, as he approaches the door of his own cozy den.

BUT WAIT! WHAT WAS THIS?

A BOX OF CHOCOLATES!

JUST SITTING THERE!

Could one of his friends have left him a surprise welcome-home gift? They all know how much monsters love chocolates.

Love Monster considers the joys of a mixed assortment of chocolate-covered delights. Which flavors may be inside? Chocolate-covered peanut-butter brittle? Fizzy fruit sherbets? His favorite, berry swirls?

BUT THEN HE THOUGHT A THOUGHT THAT HE JUST COULDN'T UN-THINK!

He really should share this box of chocolates with his friends.

He should... but there are problems.

What if there are not enough pieces to go around? Or worse, what if they choose all his favorites?

And worst of all... what if the only piece left for him is one of those coffee-flavored thingies?

EEEEEUUWWWWWW!

It's a crisis of conscience for Love Monster. He weighs the question: To share or not to share?

I'M SORRY TO TELL YOU THAT LOVE MONSTER DECIDED IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR EVERYONE IF HE KEPT THE CHOCOLATES.

Decision made, he brews himself a cup of tea. He peers through the peephole to make sure the coast is clear and then sits down happily with the whole box of chocolates in his lap.

But just as he is ready to open the lid, he notices a queasy feeling inside... that feeling that means what he's about to do is not the right thing to do.

Love Monster is out the door, scurrying to find his friends with the still unopened box, feeling good about making the right choice.

But in Rachel Bright's latest Love Monster story, Love Monster and the Last Chocolate (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), there's a surprise waiting for our hero when, with his friends gathered around, he opens that box with a flourish, to find it empty--except for just one piece!

"SILLY MONSTER! WE SAVED THE LAST PIECE (YOUR FAVORITE) FOR YOU!"

There's just a touch of irony when author Bright's cute little fuzzy monster finds out that his friends are one step ahead of him all the way, in this sweet story of Valentine candy sharing, and readers will likely not be surprised to learn that the last piece left is not the coffee-flavored thingie. Bright offers up a savory moral but dips it in her sweet but insightful comic coating in illustrative storytelling that makes this one a treat for young readers. Pair this one with Mo Willem's equally empathetic Should I Share My Ice Cream? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (see my review here).

Rachel Bright's early books in this Valentine-approved series are Love Monster and Love Monster and the Perfect Present.

Up for It! Once Upon A Cloud by Claire Keane

CELESTE WANTED THE PERFECT GIFT FOR HER MOM.

SHE THOUGHT AND THOUGHT AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT SOME MORE.

JUST AS SHE WAS ABOUT TO FALL ASLEEP...

It's natural to want to give Mom just the right gift, but what should it be?

Celeste gets a little help from a wispy, bearded old wind spirit which lifts her right out the window and off for a fantastical voyage through the night. She passes pink castles rising from the clouds and is met by dancing stars which dress her like a princess, complete with golden gown and sparkly crown, and as the stars fade, she is bathed in warm sunlight as dawn breaks.

The celestial scene is all so amazing that Celeste forgets for a moment that what she really wished for was the perfect gift for her mother. But as the wind returns her home, she suddenly knows just what will make the best gift of all.

Outside her window she sees the grass is covered with beautiful flowers and she gathers them quickly, using her hair ribbon to tie them into a special bouquet.

Perfect!

Claire Keane's little dream fantasy swirls with muted pastel fancies in her Once Upon a Cloud (Penguin Group, 2015). Keane's artistic background with the Disney film Frozen are evident here in her flowing line and colors, and though her story line is as insubstantial as the celestial clouds that lift her character, little daughters will definitely get to urge to pick some spring flowers for their moms as well. "Done in dry pastel, the illustrations are undeniably gorgeous," says Booklist.

Gift from the Heart: Clark the Shark Takes Heart by Bruce Hale

IF YOU LIKE A GIRL AND IT'S ALMOST HER BIRTHDAY, WHAT DO YOU DO?" CLARK ASKED HIS BEST FRIEND, JOEY MACKEREL.

Clark the Shark is a guy who makes no small gestures. When his mentor in all things social suggests that he send his crush, Anna Angelfish, some candy and a card, to the ebullient Clark the tried-and-true girl-pleasing gift seems too dull.

"WHAT WOULD IMPRESS ANNA ANGELFISH THE MOST?" HE WORRIED. THEN HE HAD A SHARK-ARIFIC IDEA!"

He spots a sign, SWIM RACE TODAY," and Clark thinks that winning the race and dedicating his win to the birthday girl would really score with a speedy fish like Anna. Being the biggest fish in the inlet, he takes the lead easily, but when he looks back to see if Anna is impressed, he gets off course and crashes into the reef. Bummer!

Efforts to impress Anna by rescuing her from a stuck school sub-bus just make a mess of the bus, and Clark despairs of ever impressing Anna Angelfish.

"SOMETIMES," ADVISES JOEY, "GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES."

And the third time is the charm, as Clark finds just the right small gift to win Anna's favor, in Bruce Hale's latest Clark the Shark saga of mastering undersea social skills, in Clark the Shark Takes Heart (HarperCollins, 2015). Hale's deft narration helps readers understand that sometimes what appears to showing off is just a lack of more subtle interpersonal skills. And then, sometimes "Less is more," as Clark learns in a lesson in affairs of the heart at Theodore Roosterfish Elementary School. Illustrator Guy Frances again does a fine job of portraying personalities and interpersonal relations among denizens of the deep in charming style.

Other similarly themed Clark the Shark stories are Clark the Shark and Clark the Shark Dares to Share (See my reviews here.)