Books like Not Quite Narwhal
By Jessie Sima
For the kid who's always felt like the different one in the group, Kelp's story says that being unlike everyone around you doesn't mean you don't belong. Gentle, tender, and quietly hopeful, with an undersea hush that turns wondrous.
When a crocodile egg rolls into her nest, Mother Duck simply hatches it with the rest and raises the little crocodile as one of her own ducklings.
When her mother asks why she likes being little, a young girl answers back with a list of the small, particular joys of childhood that grown-ups tend to overlook.
A stray dog named Widget finds a home with a kind woman by pretending to be a cat like the six felines already living there — until his true dog nature saves the day.
A young transgender girl shares what it's like to have a girl's brain in a boy's body, from loving pink and mermaid costumes to helping her family understand who she really is.
A fisherman's son who spends his days alone with six cats finds a baby whale washed up after a storm and secretly brings it home to care for it — until it needs the sea again.
A bulldog puppy raised among poodle sisters works hard to sip, yip, and walk with grace — until a park meeting with a bulldog family reveals a baby mix-up, and everyone must decide what makes a family.
A toy bear waits on a department store shelf night after night, hoping someone will love him despite his missing button — until a little girl named Lisa decides he's exactly the bear she wants.
A Pakistani-American girl is chosen as flower girl for her Auntie Laila's wedding, where her Auntie Amina paints intricate henna designs on her hands — but Nadia worries what her classmates will think on Monday.
A gray cat named Charlie appears from the woods and settles into Elizabeth's and Sarah's nights, but disappears every day until a storm keeps him away and reveals his other home.
A young bunny tired of cooked carrots and his big ears decides to leave home and try life as a bear, a bird, or a pig instead — searching for where he really belongs.
A little bird named Choco longs for a mother and searches among all kinds of animals, none of whom look like him, before finding one in a warm, unexpected shape.
An American sailor falls for a young Japanese woman, and each one secretly practices eating the other's way — chopsticks or fork and knife — determined not to embarrass themselves.
