Elizabeth Lilly

When Geraldine the giraffe moves from Giraffe City into a town where she is the only giraffe. She obviously doesn't fit in, and her moniker becomes "Giraffe Girl, she feels terribly lonely.

Meeting Cassie, also an outcast because she dresses much differently and has obsessive compulsive traits and is made fun of, changes Geraldine.

Geraldine learns she doesn't need an entire school to like her, one good friend who is also unique is wonderful.

Highly recommended to parents who search for ways to help a child transition to a new atmosphere. The wonderful illustrations carry the story.… (mere)

Once a year, the young narrator's family packs into their car and drives for hours, from the city where they live to rural West Virginia, where Mawmaw and Pawpaw - her father's parents - live. The girl notices the decorations inside the house, the landscape outside the house, and the similarities between her father and his father. After three days, they pack into the car again and drive until they get to Florida, where her mother's parents live. Again, the girl - and the reader - notices the different climate, food, music, and family customs. Finally, the family returns home, where their inherited traditions blend and create new ones.… (mere)