Because Amelia Smiled
Young Amelia grins as she and her parents splash through a city street. “And because Amelia smiled,” well, Mrs. Higgins, looking out her window, smiles, too. Happy, she sends cookies to her grandson teaching in Mexico, who shares them with his class. One of his students decides to teach dancing in the park, a video of it goes online, and a ballet club in England sees it and adds some new moves. They tour in Israel and . . . lots more happens after that until Amelia’s smile comes full circle. Stein, who won a Caldecott Honor for Interrupting Chicken (2010), uses a quite different style here. Realistic, heavily colored, and intensely detailed, the illustrations invite children to look closely and see the way people across the globe are connected: the smiles, the pets, the music. Certainly, there’s a lot to discuss here, and some adults may want kids to make connections with their own actions, but this is also just a lovely way to look at life. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ilene Cooper