New Releases by Molly Beth Griffin

Kids build amazing home forts from pillows and boxes, turning big feelings into wonder—and finding calm, courage, and resilience when life feels scary.

A sweet intergenerational picture book celebrating the beauty of downsizing, decluttering, and accepting change. This warm, thoughtful story makes space for what truly matters: family. A heartfelt tool for parents to teach their kids mindfulness, gratitude, and the gentle way of letting go of what no longer serves you. When Grandma announces she is moving from her big old house to a little new condo, she and her family realize she has too many things. They just won't fit in her new place! Luckily they have a solution: everyone will help Grandma downsize! But while they sort through, they realize that everyday items like art supplies, jewelry, and books possess unique memories and stories that they hold dear. The family finds the solution in creating three piles: Keep, Donate, and Throw Away. As each pile grows, Grandma realizes it will be okay, so long as she saves space in her new condo--and her heart--for those she loves most.

A picture book celebrating the beauty of nature, new experiences, and gaining perspective. Sometimes you have to go far, far away to appreciate the world around you. Excellent for fans of The Camping Trip and 3–7-year-olds with an interest in the outdoors will love the exploration of wildlife and its rewards. Mom and Mama are taking Rowan on his first camping trip far, far away from the city where they live. Rowan is excited to see all kinds of wildlife, possibly even a bear or a moose! But they are canoe camping, which means they carry all their supplies on their back and paddle from place to place. Before long, Rowan is tired and hungry, itchy from mosquito bites, and downright grumpy. In fact, he wants to go home. When night falls, Mom and Mama listen to his complaints, but when they show him the sky—full of stars like he's never seen before—Rowan realizes that though camping is hard work, it is worth it in the end. Young readers will have a better appreciation for the challenges and rewards that come with being in the outdoors, and will come back to Far, Far Away often to remind themselves of nature’s beauty.

How can it be the holidays if everyone isn't together? Relevant and relatable, Just Us will provide comfort and warm hearts at a time of the year when maybe it's needed most. What happens when a storm prevents all the relatives from coming in for the holidays? No Grandma, no aunts, no uncles, no cousins. No fun! The family will have to adapt their traditions to versions that can be done on a smaller scale--from a more manageable stew dinner, a hike in the snow, or a game of cards instead of rowdy charades. Navigating disappointment with mindfulness and gratitude, the family pieces together a holiday full of new traditions, while still acknowledging that it's okay to miss the old ones.

The girl wants a leaf pile to leap in. A big leaf pile, a huge leaf pile, an enormously enormous leaf pile! She rakes and rakes and rakes, but there are not enough leaves in her yard to make the leaf pile of her dreams. And she can't do it alone. She will need some help. And so it begins: one neighbor kid here, a couple of neighbor kids there, others from down the street. They all have leaves to contribute as they build a pile together in a nearby vacant lot. Beautiful leaves from so many trees: maple, oak, gingko, aspen, birch, locust, catalpa. Beautiful children from so many families, all in pursuit of a single goal. The result is a dream come true. And now what? These kids know just what to do. In The Big Leaf Leap, playful phrasing evokes fall's crisp air, warm sun, and rustling leaves. Energetic illustrations depict the satisfying effort of new friends working together to create something wonderful. A deep, soft, crunchy, springy leaf pile. A tall, wide leaf pile. A big, huge, enormously enormous leaf pile! And when all the work is done, it's time to play. To count down together. To leap.

A heartfelt story of changing perspectives, set in the Midwest. Ten Beautiful Things gently explores loss, a new home, and finding beauty wherever you are. Lily and her grandmother search for ten beautiful things as they take a long car ride to Iowa and Lily's new home with Gran. At first, Lily sees nothing beautiful in the April slush and cloudy sky. Soon though, Lily can see beauty in unexpected places, from the smell of spring mud to a cloud shaped like a swan to a dilapidated barn. A furious rainstorm mirrors Lily's anxiety, but as it clears Lily discovers the tenth beautiful thing: Lily and Gran and their love for each other. Ten Beautiful Things leaves the exact cause of Lily's move ambiguous, making it perfect for anyone helping a child navigate change, whether it be the loss of a parent, entering or leaving a foster home, or moving.

Nico the Toad is always a bit grumpy. But recently he's been grumpier than ever. Stella the Mouse, Delilah the Spider and Bo the Parakeet think the school trip to the art museum will cheer him up. But the animal friends have never left the school before. If they stick together nothing can go wrong, can it? Friendship takes centre stage in this early chapter book from the Classroom Critters series.

Field day arrives, and Stella the Mouse, Nico the Toad, Delilah the Spider, and Bo the Parakeet are excited to join in the fun. Stella wants everyone to be a team for the relays. But Bo says no. He just wants to sit under a tree with his book. Can they be a team without him? You will find the answer in this sweet story from the early-chapter book series School Sidekicks.

Stella the Mouse, Nico the Toad, Delilah the Spider, and Bo the Parakeet are animal best friends who live in a school. They are so excited to see the children arrive on the first day of school in the fall! But they notice that some children are smaller than the rest, and very nervous. Is it possible that these children are brand new to school? The animal friends must do everything they can to make the new children feel at home, and help them to love school as much as the friends do. They want to make sure that everybody is ready for a new year of fun!

Stella the Mouse, Delilah the Spider, and Bo the Parakeet try to cheer up Nico the Toad by agreeing to join him on a school field trip to the art museum.

Stella the Mouse, Nico the Toad, Delilah the Spider, and Bo the Parakeet are nervous about Testing week, but by working together they get ready to do their best.

Stella the Mouse, Nico the Toad, Delilah the Spider, and Bo the Parakeet are four animal friends that live in the school; Stella came in from the outside, Nico was a classroom pet (until he escaped), Delilah hatched in a corner of the teacher's lounge, and Bo goes home with his human (a teacher) on weekends--but they all love watching the students work and play, and at night they have each other.

The last week of school is party time for the students and teachers, but Stella the Mouse, Nico the Toad, Delilah the Spider, and Bo the Parakeet are a little concerned about what happens after the students leave for the summer--Bo will go home with his human, but the others are worried that they will be bored and hungry if the school shuts down.

Four animals friends, Stella the mouse, Nico the toad, Delilah the spider, and Bo the parakeet, live in a school and love to see the children every day, so they decide to do something nice for the kids to show their love--but the grownups do not appreciate their efforts, and quickly clean up what they see as a mess.

These poems find hope in connections-connections with people, creatures, and the wonder of the natural world-as the poet responds to personal struggles and to the turmoil our society faces today.

These poems look for and celebrate small moments of beauty amid the daily struggles of motherhood, particularly the parenting of a neurodiverse child. They encourage us to slow down and pay attention.

Growing up in the 1920s, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson watches the birds outside her window, admiring their freedom and beauty. Her mother, on the other hand, does not approve of Garnet climbing trees to peer into nests. She has Garnet's life all planned out: after finishing high school, she'll marry and tend to the home. When Garnet is sent away for the summer to stay with relatives in the lakeside resort town of Excelsior, Minnesota, she discovers a chance to spread her wings. There she finds herself under the supervision of oppressive guardians and her father's wealthy cousin. But an amusement park and roaring dance hall beckon, and her explorations land her where she least expects—enthralled with a beautiful and daring flapper, Isabella. Caught between her family's expectations and her own newfound passions, Garnet must decide whose dreams to follow. Tender and moving, Silhouette of a Sparrow is the tale of a young woman's discovery of the science of risk, the art of rebellion, and, of course, the power of unexpected love.

A baby loon, afraid that his mother will not return, sets out on his own to find his way across a stormy lake to their home in the great north woods.