After relocating from Detroit to Chesapeake, Virginia, to care for her parents, both of whom had Alzheimer’s, Pulitzer-nominated journalist Desiree Cooper was determined to make time to write.
She just never expected to write a children’s book, let alone one named a New York Public Library Top 10 Children’s Book of 2022.
Told through the eyes of a little boy named Jax, “Nothing Special” explores the 6-year-old city kid’s disappointment that his grandparents don’t want to go to the movies or get cheeseburgers. Instead, he and his PopPop go crabbing, fly kites, and husk corn. By the time they cuddle up on the porch to count fireflies, Jax wishes for nothing more than “nothing special.”
