A 10-year-old budding artist navigates changes in her family over an eventful holiday break from school in the quietly powerful slice-of-life chapter book Poppy, written and illustrated by Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor recipient Kevin Henkes (Still Sal).
Youngest Miller sibling Poppy is "glowing inside... as if she had a firefly in her chest and it was pulsing with flashes of light": her big brother, Billy, a college freshman, is coming home for Thanksgiving. She wants the world to stay the way it was when Papa died five years ago and is excited to have a "regular" holiday. But so much keeps changing. Billy moved out, middle sibling Sal has turned into a defiant teen, and Mama suggested they turn Papa's garage art studio into a yoga room. Even Poppy's much-desired "normal" family holiday fails to materialize; Billy now wants to go by Bill, and Mama's boyfriend attends Thanksgiving dinner. Art and writing comfort Poppy while honest communication and family solidarity help her understand that change doesn't erase love.
Henkes is as much an artist with prose as he is with watercolor and ink. He writes the most dramatic plot points, such as a surprise visit from the man who caused the crash that killed Poppy's father, with a restraint that highlights and gentles the impact. Small drawings enliven the text: frilled ginkgo leaves, a vase bursting with chrysanthemums, a plump parade balloon that becomes a humorously deflated heap. Henkes's world of grace should spark a warm glow in the hearts of younger middle-grade readers. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Allen County Public Library