Author
David Small
6 books here
So You Want to Be President?
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 620L · 2000
A Caldecott winner that makes U.S. history genuinely funny — kids laugh at the absurdity while absorbing real facts about presidents in a format that's pure delight to reread.
One Cool Friend
Picture book · ages 4–8 · 520L
A genuinely funny friendship story where the absurdity (smuggling a penguin into the city) is the vehicle for asking what makes someone a friend, not the point itself.
Stitches: A Memoir
Graphic novel · age 13+ · 800L · 2010
A profound graphic memoir about deafness, family violence, and survival—too mature for under 12, but a rare book that teaches empathy through unflinching honesty rather than sentiment.
Home After Dark
Graphic novel · ages 10–14 · 420L · 2018
A genuinely suspenseful graphic novel that treats middle-school social fear and bullying seriously without being preachy — Small's artwork makes the night-time creepiness real, and the mystery unfolds through the protagonist's growing backbone.
The Gardener
Picture book · ages 4–8
A nearly wordless masterpiece about a girl bringing life to a depressed family through a rooftop garden; David Small's ink-and-watercolor art does all the emotional lifting and will gut you quietly.
Stitches
Graphic novel · ages 13–18 · 580L · 2009
A Caldecott winner and the rare YA graphic memoir that doesn't sentimentalize or soften its trauma—powerful for teens processing their own silencing or identity suppression.