From board books to young adult novels, these gratitude-themed reads inspire kids of all ages to appreciate the people, pets and places that shape their world.
National Gratitude Month gives families a chance to recognize the people, creatures and things that enhance our lives. Teachers, doctors, farmers, musicians, pets, wildflowers and so many more warrant shout-outs throughout the year. What might we do to help or honor them? As the 35th President, John F. Kennedy put it: “We must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Tots – Age 7
Body Detective! Decode Your Sensory Signals
By Janet Krauthamer
Illustrated by Christiane Engel
Barefoot Books, 2024, $19.99
We might express gratitude for our amazing bodies—and learn more about them. This ingeniously designed, sturdy board book guides youngsters to identify certain body sensations and then to articulate and act on the needs they signal. The book helps reinforce learning by engaging multiple senses. Kids can look at and listen to it being read aloud (sight and sound), and they can pull tabs and lift flaps (touch) to determine next steps. For example, shivering muscles and chattering teeth signal cold. What to do? The child reader pulls a tab that reveals: “Time to put on my coat and gloves!” This greater awareness builds a child’s sense of agency and lessens reliance on adult interpretation and direction—healthy steps for the developing child.
Animals of the National Parks
By Fifty-Nine Parks
Tenspeed Press, 2024, $18.99
This vibrant alphabet book introduces animals found at the 63 national parks in the United States. “A” is for American bison, located in Yellowstone and Grand Teton and “the largest mammal in the parks.” Closer to Metropolitan DC, the Shenandoah National Park is home to Tufted titmice and Peregrine falcons. “Z” is for brightly patterned Zigzag salamanders in the Great Smoky Mountains. The animals are depicted in their native habitats, thus providing a peek at a variety of wild spaces: desert, river, canyon, prairie.
Sometimes Love
By Katrina Moore
Illustrated by Joy Hwang Ruiz
Dial, 2022, $17.99
Veterans Day gives us a chance to thank our veterans and military families. This tender story recognizes one of the many sacrifices they often make. Rhyming verse extols the bond between a little girl and her puppy as they sing, snuggle and grow together. When Mom is stationed overseas, though, the family must entrust their dog to a caring family in their absence. During the separation, the girl thinks often of her dog and shows photos to new friends. The final spread depicts their joyful reunion when she returns. An author’s note provides information on organizations that connect military families to quality pet care when they are deployed.
Preteens
Sound
By Olga Fadeeva
Translated by Lena Traer
Eerdmans, 2024, $18.99
Eerdmans is one of the very few American publishers to offer children’s books in translation. This one, from Russian to English, is graceful and stylish. The book encourages attention to and gratitude for the range of sounds in the world. Each beautifully illustrated spread explores some aspect of sound — what it is, how it is produced and heard, etc. How do animals and humans use sound to communicate? How has the sound of music changed since ancient times? The book addresses these and many other questions that curious kids (and adults) might ask.
Coach
By Jason Reynolds
Atheneum, 2025, $17.99
Jason Reynolds is a local literary icon, born and now living in Washington, DC. In his roles as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and award-winning author, he’s touched millions of kids’ lives, nationally and internationally. In this fifth novel in his Track series, Reynolds peels back the years and layers of a key secondary character. Coach Brody is the grown commonsensical mentor and guide to the Defenders track team. But this book focuses on his youth as a driven sprinter, at the age of the kids he now coaches. Readers will see the struggles and choices that helped create the man they know from the first four books. And that might spark curiosity about and better understanding of the caring adults and mentors in their own lives.
Teens
Pretty Girl County
By Lakita Wilson
Viking, 2025, $19.99
This lively novel about hopes, dreams and fraught teen friendships is set in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Raised and now residing there, Lakita Wilson writes with humor and nuance about a place she knows well. She alternates point of view between Sommer and Reya, two ex-BFFs who cautiously team up to fuel college ambitions. Wealth disparities dog them. Sommer is trying to earn extra money and compete for scholarships while rich-girl Reya seemingly gets everything she wants. Teens enmeshed in the drama and high-stakes choices of senior year will take this tale to their hearts.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, DC, and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently “Queen Elizabeth II,” an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for the Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. Fore more information, visit maryquattlebaum.com.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
