Tom T's Hat Rack

An elementary school student and an elderly neighbor band together to help their community in this feel-good children’s story about the benefits of giving back to one’s community.

At the end of fourth grade, with her classmates going on vacation, Shelby Summers looks forward to spending the summer with her elderly neighbors, Tom and Kim Tucker—Mr. and Mrs. T, as she calls them—a retired couple who’ve been like surrogate grandparents to her. A sprightly only child, she yearns for adventures of any kind. Since her father works as a doctor and her mother as a nurse, the elderly Tuckers have often played the role of Shelby’s baby sitters. She’s particularly close with Mr. T, who starts the summer off by including Shelby in a special, secret project. Without knowing exactly what they’re making, Shelby dedicates herself to the task at hand, helping Mr. T buy wood and then sand, measure and paint. Mr. T, it turns out, had cancer the previous year, and Shelby’s father was his doctor. Toward the end of summer, Mr. T will have a very important checkup visit, which adds some suspense to this sweet but otherwise straightforward story about the need to selflessly help others. When Shelby and Mr. T get to the last steps of their project, Shelby realizes their final product will directly benefit other patients at the cancer center where her father works and where Mr. T will shortly return. He tells Shelby, “You always look at things and think….What can I do to help rather than asking what’s in it for me?” Though the book’s unfailingly positive message can sometimes seem too straight-laced—no one ever gets cranky or tired here—it’s hard not to appreciate the moral about the importance of dedication and compassion. Older elementary school students should also find it very readable.

An endearingly optimistic tale for young do-gooders.