Books like Little Beauty
By Anthony Browne
For the kid who's ever felt like the only one of their kind in the room, Gorilla's search for a friend lands somewhere tender and true. Quiet, tender, a little melancholy, ultimately warm.
An elderly man living alone decides what he needs is a cat to keep him company, and finds one in an old, comfortable companion named Tabby.
A boy finds a penguin at his door and rows it all the way to the South Pole to return it, only to discover the penguin was never lost — just lonely.
A zookeeper spends every day visiting his animal friends — racing the tortoise, sitting with the shy penguin, reading to the owl — until he wakes up too sick to come, and they decide to visit him instead.
A baby clown bounces off the circus train and lands in a lonely farmer's empty field, and the two unlikely companions spend a day together before the clown must find his way home.
A beloved zoo lion, adored daily by townspeople who greet him with treats and kind words, finds his door open and sets out to politely return the visits — with unexpected results.
A curious little penguin finds a lost pinecone in the snow and becomes fast friends, until Grandpa explains that pinecones belong in the warm forest, far from home.
An aging donkey, dog, cat, and rooster, each cast off by masters who no longer want them, set out together for Bremen-Town to become street musicians and find a robbers' cabin standing in their way.
A lion wanders into the library one day, and since there aren't any rules against lions, he stays — quiet-footed, story-hour pillow, rule-follower — until an emergency forces him to break the one rule that matters.
A friendly zookeeper who's always on time oversleeps and misses his bus, putting a surprise he planned for his animal friends in jeopardy — so they set out to help him.
A little beaver hears a sad voice across the pond and sets out to find the lonely stranger, not realizing the voice calling back is only his own echo.
A gentle dog in a circus family of daredevils and acrobats tries to be strong, graceful, and brave like the others — but none of it feels like her, and she wonders if she belongs at all.
A quiet boy nobody ever notices reaches out to welcome a new student to class, and their friendship gives him a chance to finally be seen.
