Growing up female Book

From the illustrations, it is apparent that this is set in the southwest. Sophie confides to her Nana that she does not like the wind. It blew away her cowboy hat and rolled her wagon out into the street. Nana tells Sophie that the wind is a tough old lady, just like her, and is just doing her job. She promises that she will help Sophie build a blow-away-soon the next day. On the way to build the blow-away-soon, Nana explains that the wind blows the grass and the grass shakes off its seeds. That is how next year's grass gets planted. Soon Sophie has sand in her shoes, and she finds a blue feather that she gives to Nana. She finds a shell, and Nana explains that where they are standing now was once an ocean. Soon they reach the top of a hill where they pile rocks into a blow-away-soon. They offer the wind a stalk of grass, some sand from Sophie's shoes, and the blue feather. When Sophie has difficulty parting with the shell, Nana tells her "Some things are to let go of, but others are to keep for a good long time." It's a lovely lesson on nature and loss. The softly-colored illustrations bring to life the country's southwestern deserts and its inhabitants.