A lesson to teach

“A family prepares for a big move from San Diego to Massachusetts. Their four year old boy is not sure what to expect. The kid leaves their familiar home and friends behind, but packs all of their things and gets to customize their new bedroom, gets to meet new friends and discover a new fun place.”

Suggested heroA child as the hero

“Because this is a rehearsal for a real move, a stand-in named Sam does the packing and the worrying — close enough for a child to recognise, far enough that the bravery is safe to try on.”

This book stars Sam, an original hero.

The storyline we picked

A gentle, funny moving-day book for a boy on the edge of a big move. We follow a four-year-old named Sam as he packs his room in San Diego, says goodbye to his best friend Ana, and rides across the whole country to a brand new house in Massachusetts. Along the way he worries about who he'll play with and whether snow is as cold as it looks. But when he gets to pick the color of his new room and finds a maple tree perfect for climbing right outside his window, he starts to see that new doesn't mean scary, it just means more to discover. A warm, reassuring story for any child on the edge of a big change.

On the finished book

12 illustrated pages · Gouache Golden Hour · narrated by The Fireside Voice