Sarabeth’s Garage

Sarabeth loves “the way engines sometimes roared like lions and other times purred like kittens,” writes Florence (The One About the Blackbird) in this humane story about navigating ill-fitting norms. The child is fully at home in the garage owned by her adored father, around whom the “comforting smell of motor oil” lingers. Alam (Many Things at Once) captures the space with warm, accessible pencil and digital illustrations that bring to life its comfortable collegiality. But Sarabeth’s scowling grandmother disapproves of her granddaughter’s interests, asserting in a series of observations that “in my day,” girls played with dolls, wore dresses rather than coveralls, and more. Without intervening, Sarabeth’s parents make it clear that they trust their daughter’s talents and path—trust that is validated when Grandma’s car begins sounding like “an unhappy walrus” and Sarabeth returns it to purring status in a snap. “In my day, girls can do anything they want,” Sarabeth declares, and Grandma happily embraces this new reality—a final image finds her in coveralls enjoying lunch at the garage, suggesting that even stalled relationships can be jump-started with understanding. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)