MICHELE SIUDA JACQUES (Copy Editor, Detroit Free Press)

“Good-Bye, Baby Max by Diane Cantrell with illustrations by Heather Castles (Bridgeway Books, $16.95) is a tender story about death, a tough topic for young children. Kindergarteners eagerly await spring and the hatching of the class’ three chick eggs. But one chick, Max, dies. What ensues is a gentle exploration of grief and its many expressions — from tears to songs to artwork. At the end, the surviving chicks’ peeps encourage the children to embrace the living without forgetting the dead.”