Life Is Beautiful

Every Saturday, Granny Dee, who lives “in the heart of Harlem,” takes three trains and one bus across the city to visit her granddaughter. “You don’t live that far, Missy,” she says about the trip, citing the travel to “my favorite grandbaby” as “a reason to get out. A reason to live life. And life is beautiful.” Each week, writes Bingham (The Walk) in tender, action-oriented prose, the two enjoy activities including painting nails, slurping “Spritey-Kool-Aid” through elaborately swirled straws, and “eating our way through the city.” When Granny Dee doesn’t arrive one weekend, Missy persuades Momma to take the “one train and one bus and two more trains” themselves, reversing the journey—and the moments of care—until Granny Dee “lets her last breath escape into the air.” Radiant digital art from Mendoza (Jovita Wore Pants) highlights the importance of enjoying every moment in this emotionally buoyant testament to enduring intergenerational love. A final spread exhibits the way Granny Dee’s beliefs remain in the world after her homegoing services, as Missy and Momma find a way to employ Granny Dee’s mode of enjoying life. Ages up to 8. (Oct.)