My Little Car — Gary Soto

Teresa was so excited when her grandpa gave her a fantastic little carrito for her birthday. Everyone admired it when she rode down the sidewalk and it won Best Car at the playground hands down. Over time, though, she stops taking care of it and it practically falls apart. But when it helps her escape from a neighborhood dog, she is reminded of how much she loves it. And her grandpa is just the person to help her fix it up. After all, he's old, too, but he's still fun to play with.

A funny, touching story with zippy illustrations, this is a painless way to show kids that it's important to take care of the things (and people) you love.