Parents all over the world—of all religions, cultures and economic situations—lived through the better part of 2020 with some degree of stress as they determine innovative ways of nurturing their families. Here are a few new books about parents and their children making the best of things in difficult times. 

Ava’s mother works six days a week, and Saturdays are the only days that she and Ava can spend together. Saturdays for the pair are splendid and special and priceless. So when plans for one extra-special Saturday go completely awry, there is no time for disappointment, and redeeming their special day turns out to be even more fun than what they had planned. Oge Mora has created Ava’s world in an exuberant and colorful urban collage—a short, sweet story of triumph over small setbacks.
Saturdays by Oge Mora (Little Brown and Company, 2019) Ages 3 – 7.

Patricia McKissack (Sarah, Plain and Tall) was a caring and perceptive children’s author who unfortunately passed away in 2017. Her stories remain and What Is Given from the Heart is a good one. No one knows poverty better than James Otis and his mother, especially after his father “went to sleep on the front porch and never woke up.” But when a call comes from their church to help a family who lost everything in a fire, James Otis digs deep into his heart to find something to give a child who has less than he has. April Harrison’s soft folk art illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to a story of rejoicing hearts.
What Is Given from the Heart by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by April Harrison (Schwartz and Wade Books, 2019) Ages 5 – 9.

Daisy Ramona, in My Papi Has a Motorcycle, lives in Corona, California. She is the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants who came to work the citrus groves of southern California. Now, the lemon trees are being replaced by housing developments, and Daisy’s father works hard supervising a crew of carpenters on site. But every day after work, he and Daisy hop on his motorcycle and tour the old and new parts of the city with its panaderias and raspado stands and “redblueorangegreenpink” buildings. This is a joyful celebration of family and a love letter to Isabel Quintero’s hometown.
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, illustrations by Zeke Peña, also published in Spanish as Mi Papi Tiene Una Moto (Penguin Random House, 2019) Ages 4 – 8.

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Anaana, Susan’s mother, keeps her only writing instrument in a wooden box of precious items tucked away in their family iglu. The stub of a pencil is taken out on rare occasions for important communications, and there will not be another pencil for a long time. But Anaana is away for the day, and after their father has exhausted all the entertainment in his repertoire, he pulls out the pencil and their last bit of paper, and the three siblings have an artistic field day. The Pencil is a gentle lesson in taking care of what we have.
The Pencil by Susan Avingaq and Maren Vsetula, illustrated by Charlene Chua (Inhabit Media, 2018) Ages 4 – 8.

Daniel’s overworked parents deal with stress in an imaginative way. When the babysitter cancels, and they have to bring Daniel along to their dreary office cleaning job, they make a game of it. In The Paper Kingdom, dragons may hide in the bathrooms and make messes in the kitchen. The king and his cohorts who sit at the long conference table toss paper on the floor because they forget to clean it up, not because they mean to be naughty. “Remember to be nice when you become king,” says Mama, in hopes of a better life for her son.
The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee, illustrated by Pascal Campion (Random House, 2020) Ages 4 – 7.

The girl in Just Because, by Mac Barnett, just does not want to go to sleep, and while her dad most likely has things to do on the other side of the bedroom door, he patiently answers her escalating questions as he subtly tries to edge out of the room. We have all experienced that precious but sometimes frustrating moment at the end of the day; it is, indeed, a special time. This dad is a poet who spins fantastical images for his daughter to dream about, because “there are some things we can only see with our eyes closed.”
Just Because by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Candlewick, 2019) Ages 3 – 6.