Picture books can do anything. Today they take on subjects that were largely ignored during my childhood, such as socioemotional awareness. When I was young, we had Alexander and his “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day,” which made many readers want to move to Australia (where, the protagonist imagines, no one has bad days). Of course our shelves held books about more than just the bad luck of a bad day, but now we see picture books that address in sensitive and nuanced ways nearly every emotion under the sun. Here are four that pay tribute to those who seek alone time.

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Persons: Alexander Locations: Australia