Zola and the Long Way Home
Notice the way there, and you can find the way back.
Zola notices everything. So when Dad takes her up Tall Pine, a mountain with clouds on its crown, she notices it all on the way: a mossy boulder that looks like a sleeping bear, a creek that sings, a wind-crooked pine that points to the top, a woodpecker's KNOCK-KNOCK and a patch of wild mint.
Then a fog rises and swallows the mountain. The trail markers vanish, the phone has no signal, and Dad kneels in the gray to tell her the truth: he has lost the way. Zola feels the worry fizz, so she closes her eyes, breathes slow and asks herself, “What do I know?” It turns out she knows a lot. One landmark at a time, she leads Dad all the way home.
This one's for the child who…
- stops on every walk for a funny-shaped rock, a bird call or a smell
- worries when a plan goes wrong or a place feels unfamiliar
- loves big outdoor days with a grown-up who lets them lead
Ages 3–7 · 49 pages · full color
Warm, gentle illustrations, a warm rhyming story, and one repeatable coping tool — plus five “Draw It Yourself” activity pages in the paperback.
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