Tough Turning Ten

Turning ten is supposed to be AMAZING... right?

Mabel has been dreaming about her tenth birthday for what feels like forever. Double digits! She's practically grown up now, and she has some pretty big ideas about what the perfect birthday should look like.

At first, everything seems to be going exactly according to plan.

Then Mabel starts opening her presents.

One gift after another isn't quite what she imagined, and with every disappointment, it gets harder to smile and pretend she's grateful. When one last surprise comes with an unexpected reminder that she might be ten but she's still a kid, all those big feelings finally become too much.

Maybe turning ten isn't so great after all.

Tough Turning Ten by multi-award-winning children's book author Ruthie Godfrey is a relatable and heartfelt picture book about the sometimes-messy space between wanting to grow up and still learning how to handle disappointment. Through Mabel's birthday experience, young readers can explore expectations, gratitude, emotional regulation, responsibility, and what it really means to become more mature.

Perfect for families, elementary classrooms, homeschool lessons, school counselors, and libraries, this engaging story opens meaningful conversations about unmet expectations, birthday disappointment, managing big emotions, gratitude, growing up, and handling the responsibilities that come with greater independence. A wonderful reminder that getting older doesn't mean getting everything we want—it means learning and growing through the moments when we don't.

Also check out other fan favorites from best-selling author Ruthie Godfrey. Great for bedtime reading, anytime reading, classroom lessons, homeschool lessons, school library collections, and more!