Even though he brings exotic gifts home when he returns, a young girl misses her father, who travels around the world as a photojournalist.

Missing her mother who has returned to Turkey to resolve an immigration problem, sixth-grader Sila welcomes a very large distraction in her life when she helps a surprising new friend rescue a circus elephant.

Neighbors and best friends Mia and Ben love nothing more than making planes and flying them together, but when Ben moves away, both wonder if they can remain friends.--

"A little girl who misses her father because he's away in prison shares how his absence affects different parts of her life. Her greatest excitement is the days when she gets to visit her beloved father. With gorgeous illustrations, this book depicts a little girl's love for her father from whom she is separated because of incarceration." -- Provided by publisher

"In this gorgeously illustrated, deeply moving picture book, a young girl learns about the practice of sitting shiva after her mother dies."--

During a dry time, Mama leaves Little One alone while she climbs the highest mountain to ask the skies for rain, but she promises that her love will remain all around.

Suzy spends her year in first grade waiting for her father, who is serving in Vietnam, and when the postcards stop coming she worries that he will never make it home.

Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit.

"Quentin never asked to be the Heartbreak Messenger. It just kind of happened, and he can't let a golden opportunity pass him by. The valuable communication service he offers is simple: He delivers breakup messages. For a small fee, he will deliver that message to your soon-to-be ex. ... At first Quentin's entrepreneurial brain-child is surprisingly successful, which is great, because he suspects his mom, who works as a car mechanic, is worried about...

After Mama takes a job in Chicago during World War II, Ada Ruth stays with Grandma but misses her mother who loves her more than rain and snow. As winter sets in, Ada Ruth and her grandma keep up their daily routine, missing Mama all the time. They find strength in each other, and a stray kitten even arrives one day to keep them company, but nothing can fill the hole Mama left. Every day they wait, watching for the letter that says Mama will be coming...