Zoe in Wonderland

Zoe, an eleven-year-old African American girl, is shy around others, but her spunky and inquisitive narrative voice tells readers another story. She is fascinated with plants (her horticulturalist father owns a shop called Doc Reindeer's Exotic Plant Wonderland), and has a big imagination. In her head, she has created an older version of herself who can do anything -- from being great at sports to creating apps that make people or problems disappear -- but since she's the middle child between a popular and pretty older sister and a super-smart younger brother, in real life Zoe doesn't think she's anything special. She faces further challenges when her best friend has to move away because his mother (to whom Zoe is close) has cancer. She must confront the age-old question of why bad things happen to good people while also worrying about making new friends at school. When a Madagascan astronomer comes to her father's shop one day in search of a baobab tree, it touches off events that lead her to understand that she is special, which helps her to grow out of her shyness and realize that, like the baobab tree, she's slightly unusual, and that's okay. Throughout the book, Woods balances serious issues with humor. Zoe's character is consistently relatable and encouraging to those who might not feel very special and who are trying, like Zoe, to understand themselves and the world around them. morgan butler

African American eleven-year-old Zoe is shy around others but has a big imagination. A Madagascan astronomer comes to her father's exotic plant shop, touching off events that help her grow out of her shyness. Woods balances serious issues with humor; Zoe's character is relatable and encouraging to those who are trying, like Zoe, to understand themselves and the world around them.