Two for gently explaining potentially-scary life events: moving, and waking in the night.
Hannah's Night
Komako Sakai (translated by Cathy Hirano)
ISBN: 9781877579547
Curiously-scratched and partially-effaced drawings (grease pencils? charcoals?) are startling and enticing.
Hannah has woken in the night, and her sister and parents are all still fast asleep. The translator uses British English (or perhaps New Zealander English?) instead of American English, which might give some people pause over phrasing or word-choice, but I thought was quaint and appealing. Hannah's nighttime prowling may also upset some who prefer kids to immediately find parents for advice, but I liked that the self-sufficient little girl (and one self-important tabby cat) are unphazed by the darkness and solitude, and take care of their own needs quite handily before heading back to bed (but not before borrowing the sleeping sister's prized possessions.
Arto's Big Move
Monica Arnaldo
ISBN: 9781771470667
Arto, from the cold North, is not thrilled when his parents move Southwest for a year. A friendly fellow-traveling girl helps him adapt to changes.
Arto quite likes his winter routine of dressing in layers of socks, pants, coat, gloves, and hat, before going outside into the cold. Now that he's in the hot, dry Southwest, his routine is not so useful, but he's having trouble giving it up. A friendly girl comes by and over time, slowly gets him to adapt his dressing routine (and his attitude) about the Southwest, just in time for him to move back North again, and see if perhaps his routine there can't be adapted also. Very sweet, and super useful for kids who are very attached to routines and consistent behavior patterns.
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