And What Comes After A Thousand by Anette Bley

Otto and Lisa are special friends. Otto may be old, but he can still spit cherry pits, make slingshots and grow delicious raspberries. He and Lisa share a fascination with numbers, tell stories of brave Native Americans, and gaze at the stars.
But when Otto becomes ill and then dies, Lisa struggles to understand. Her rage, confusion and mourning are reflected in the illustrations as she slowly comes to know that, while people die, memories last forever.
This picture book, translated from the original German, is a gift to any young child and caring adult struggling to make sense of loss, particularly the loss of a loved and aging parent, grandparent or other special person. The illustrations, by the author, are especially skillful in their depiction of Lisa keeping company with Otto as his life ebbs away.

Story of a Girl --a novel by Sara Zarr

This amazing first novel by author Sara Zarr begins like this:
"I was thirteen when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy's Buick, parked next to the old Chart House down in Montara at eleven o'clock on a Tuesday night. Tommy was seventeen and the supposed friend of my brother, Darren.
I didn't love him. I'm not sure I even liked him.

The car was cold and Tommy was stoned and we'd been doing pretty much the same thing a dozen times before, and I could smell the salt air from the beach, and in my head I wrote the story of a girl who surfed the cold green ocean, when one day she started paddling in the wrong direction and didn't know it until she looked back and couldn't see the shore."
In a brief moment, Deanna Lambert's life is changed forever, at home, at school, and in her own mind and heart. This is the powerful story of her longing and her exertions to escape a life that is defined by one past indiscretion.

This is definitely a book for older teens.

Ballerina Dreams: A True Story by Lauren Thompson

Once upon a time there were five little girls who shared a dream. They wanted to be ballerinas and dance onstage like their sisters and cousins and friends.

But it would be hard for these girls to make their dream come true. They had cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities, which meant their muscles didn't move the way they wanted them to. Some wore braces. Some girls used wheelchairs and walkers to get around.

But these girls were determined. And they had a dedicated teacher. Every week they practiced. They worked hard. And one day, they were ready.

Author Thompson intersperses the story of prepping, practicing and spiffing up the costumes, makeup and little girl decor with close-up photos of each girl, her role in the recital, and her specific challenges, seen or unseen. Most importantly, she and photographer James Estrin capture the joy of the girls and their families at their accomplishments. This book shares that joy with readers a in unique and personal way.

This true story will delight young children from ages 3 and up and their parents, particularly children who delight in performing and overcoming challenges.

Lenny's Space by Kate Banks

Nine-year old Lenny is quirky, intelligent and in love with the world. And he comments on what he notices, what he loves, what he intensely dislikes.
His difficulty is that he does not know when sharing all this information is wanted, needed, or appropriate.
Lenny is lonely, he yearns for a friend; and he is brushed aside by his mother, his teacher, his fellow students. No one really appreciates his uniqueness or his struggle to figure out his world until he meets Muriel, a savvy school counselor, and when he encounters his first friend, a boy named Van.
Writing with wisdom, humor and poignancy, the author shows us the strange, troubled, and fascinating daily life of a boy who might be labeled in many schools "impulsive," "willful" , or "clueless."
Grandma's Book Letter recommends this book for parents and counselors of middle school youth for insights about children who look,on the outside,like Lenny but whose thoughts and feelings are unique.

Why War is Never a Good Idea by Alice Walker

" Though War has a mind of its own, War never knows Who it is going to hit." When she wrote this picture book, Alice Walker set out to provide a vehicle to help adults talk to children about war and the realities of war. Her writing is poetic but not sentimental. And her emphasis is upon the effects of war on people and on our precious Earth, a favorite theme of Walker's.

She begins with several idyllic scenes in villages and moves on to describe the dark and destructive forces which make up warfare. Illustrator Stefano Vitale has created images which symbolize those forces and amplify the words, words like "Here War is munching on a village, its missiles taking chunks, big bites out of it." However, author and illustrator are careful not to glorify or even portray the death of human beings, the ultimate consequence of war. Adults guiding their children to try to understand war by using this book will have to explain about death for themselves.

Recommended for children 10 years and up, with adult guidance and discussion.

Alice Yazzie's Year by Ramona Maher

This unique picture book will appeal to many children who are ages 6-10. It offers gentle but persistent descriptions of daily life for Alice Ben Yazzie, in the months leading up to her twelfth birthday. Alice lives in Navajo country; the author intersperses her daily thoughts and activities with commentary on the condition of the land in Black Mountain country, the juxtaposition of old ways such as herding sheep, and the new ways, like learning computer drafting. Through this approach, she makes contemporary Navajo life more real and vivid for readers.

Aided by the soft colors and textures of Shanto Begay's drawings, readers will get an intimate look into Alice outdoors waiting for the yellow schoolbus, talking to a captive buffalo at the rodeo, and sleeping under her grandmother's picturesque woven rug. Begay dedicates his illustrations "to all the girls of the Navajo Nation who emobdy the spirit of Alice Yazzie. Grow into your holiness, into your lives. Sow and harvest compassion and strength."
Begay was born and raised in the Navajo Nation community of Shanto, Arizona. His artwork is famous and collected worldwide.

Beetle Bop by Denise Fleming

This oversize picture book, intended for children ages 1-6 but sure to be enjoyed by others, including adults, is dramatically illustrated in bold colors and sizes. Author and illustrator Fleming created many beetles, often larger than life, or even larger than a page, by pouring colored cotton fibers through hand cut stencils. The result: "Big beetles, small beetles, crawl-up-the-wall beetles." They are set against a background of a human hand,a light bulb,or a lizard with a flicking tongue, all objects that children can identify.
Overall, this is a great book for story time in a library or a classroom, due to the size of the image, the vibrancy of the colors, the large print, a minimum of words and a maximum of delightful pictures.