Shy Lily needs time to get used to all the new faces and people she is meeting at Shalom House, an assisted-living facility where her mother does volunteer work. Although Mrs. Seidel compliments Lily on her new shoes and Dr. Berman encourages her to smile, Lily is not quite ready to say “hello” the way her mother suggests. Mrs. Rosenbaum, Lily’s former neighbor and friend who has just moved into Shalom House, tells everyone, “She’ll be ready when she’s ready.” Several visits later, Lily is more than ready not only to say “hello” but to share in the activities and even celebrate a special day with her newfound friends. Pencil-and-gouache illustrations brightly delineate an elder community of kind, thoughtful faces opposite one curious and eager-to-please little girl who learns to temper her shyness while she welcomes a new set of friends into her young life. A gentle and satisfying introduction to a senior residential situation that is becoming ever more typical; that this is a Jewish facility in no way compromises the book's relevance to all audiences. (Picture book. 4-6)
