Morning Glory Monday — Arlene Alda

Life in a tenement during the 1930s is difficult for anyone. No wonder Mama is homesick for the sunny south of Italy, where flowers bloom and the sky is always blue. Her little daughter tries everything to cheer her up, from hand stands and jokes to a trip to Coney Island. Nothing seems to work. But at Coney Island, the child wins a packet of seeds. Although it isn't the stuffed toy she wanted, it turns out to hold a treasure. When the seeds are planted, they become morning glories. Their beauty reaches Mama, and everyone else who sees them.

Based on a true episode in New York's Lower East Side, where the residents of 97 Orchard Street cheered up their bleak homes with morning glories, this is a story with universal appeal. By introducing simple beauty into our daily lives, even the grayest of places, and hearts, can be transformed.

Arlene Alda's lyrical text is perfectly complemented by Maryann Kovalski's marvelous art, which evokes the great illustrators of the 1930s.