IT TAKES A FAMILY TO SERVE

Family members left at home keenly feel their deployed relatives’ absence.

Detailing the ways that families miss and support their service members, Wheeler introduces five military households. An Air Force mom’s family runs the farm without her: “There’s always work to do. / Though Mom is in the service, her family’s serving too.” Wholesome watercolor and gouache vignettes of the children hauling water on the farm concretely demonstrates the integral role they play. Thoughtfully inclusive, the book depicts a racially diverse cast, lists male and female service members, encompasses a variety of family constellations, and names five military branches. Wheeler also introduces elements of deployment that may not occur to young readers—a grandfather raising his toddler grandchild, a dad returning home as a wheelchair user. The author offers useful suggestions of ways families can help serve—providing pet care, sending care packages, or simply “looking up to ‘share the moon.’” Though the sentiments are earnest, the verse is somewhat characterless, with phrasing that feels like filler to uphold the rhyme scheme. Still, Soman’s billowy soft illustrations are an excellent counterpoint for the heavy-handed poem. Loving families and old-school aesthetics of red pickup trucks and fireworks on sprawling full-bleed spreads are appealingly poignant.

Heartfelt.