Age: Kindergarten-2nd grade
Tough Issue: Poverty

The cartoon style will visually pull in a large audience while exposing children to a subject all too relevant in our society but not much talked about. Maddi and Sofia are best friends and love playing at the playground. Sofia is so thirsty one day that she races a reluctant Maddi to Maddi's house. When Sofia opens up the fridge without asking, she finds that Maddi only has one carton of milk--and that's for her little brother. In the end, Sofia tells her mom and they buy groceries for Maddi's family. Although the message encourages compassion and kindness, it feels very presumptuous of Sofia's family to up and buy groceries for someone else. Also, the stories repetitive features may be grating for the older readers that are able to understand poverty and issues dealing with money.