Download high-resolution image
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio play button
0:00
0:00

Something Beautiful

Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio play button
0:00
0:00
Audiobook Download
On sale May 10, 2022 | 7 Minutes | 9780593633502

See Additional Formats
For readers of Newbery Winner Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña.

Everyday a young girl is disheartened by the things in her neighborhood: the trash on the streets, the graffiti on the walls, and the homeless woman that sleeps in a box. When she learns the word "beautiful" at school, she sets out to find "something beautiful" in her surroundings. In her search, this little girl learns to see beyond the barren ugliness of her environment to find beauty in her friendships, her family, and herself.
When I look through my window, I see a brick wall.  There is trash in the courtyard and a broken bottle that looks like fallen stars.

There is writing in the halls of my building.  On the front door, someone wrote the word Die.


The teacher taught me the word in school.  I wrote it in my book. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.  Beautiful!  I think it means something that when you have it, your heart is happy.
  • WINNER | 2000
    Arkansas Charlie May Simon Master List
  • WINNER | 2000
    Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Master List
Sharon Dennis Wyeth is a children’s author, poet, and memoirist with over fifty books published. Among her titles are the classic Something Beautiful, a Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year; Always My Dad, a Reading Rainbow Book; the American Girl book Evette: The River and Me, recipient of the 2021 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award; and the Step Into Reading leveled reader Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom. Wyeth’s memoir piece “I’m a Dancer” was featured in the award-winning anthology The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth.

Wyeth is a recipient of the Stephen Crane Literary Award, an NAACP Education Award, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Award, and a Cave Canem Fellowship for African American poets. Additional book honors include citations from the Children's Book Council, LAMDA Literary Awards, and the New York Public Library. 

Wyeth is a cum laude graduate of Harvard University, with an MFA in creative writing and memoir from Hunter College, where she received the prestigious Shuster Award. She is a visiting Associate Professor of creative writing in the Children’s Literature Department at Hollins University. Learn more about her work at sharondenniswyeth.com. View titles by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

About

For readers of Newbery Winner Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña.

Everyday a young girl is disheartened by the things in her neighborhood: the trash on the streets, the graffiti on the walls, and the homeless woman that sleeps in a box. When she learns the word "beautiful" at school, she sets out to find "something beautiful" in her surroundings. In her search, this little girl learns to see beyond the barren ugliness of her environment to find beauty in her friendships, her family, and herself.

Excerpt

When I look through my window, I see a brick wall.  There is trash in the courtyard and a broken bottle that looks like fallen stars.

There is writing in the halls of my building.  On the front door, someone wrote the word Die.


The teacher taught me the word in school.  I wrote it in my book. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.  Beautiful!  I think it means something that when you have it, your heart is happy.

Awards

  • WINNER | 2000
    Arkansas Charlie May Simon Master List
  • WINNER | 2000
    Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Master List

Author

Sharon Dennis Wyeth is a children’s author, poet, and memoirist with over fifty books published. Among her titles are the classic Something Beautiful, a Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year; Always My Dad, a Reading Rainbow Book; the American Girl book Evette: The River and Me, recipient of the 2021 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award; and the Step Into Reading leveled reader Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom. Wyeth’s memoir piece “I’m a Dancer” was featured in the award-winning anthology The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth.

Wyeth is a recipient of the Stephen Crane Literary Award, an NAACP Education Award, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Award, and a Cave Canem Fellowship for African American poets. Additional book honors include citations from the Children's Book Council, LAMDA Literary Awards, and the New York Public Library. 

Wyeth is a cum laude graduate of Harvard University, with an MFA in creative writing and memoir from Hunter College, where she received the prestigious Shuster Award. She is a visiting Associate Professor of creative writing in the Children’s Literature Department at Hollins University. Learn more about her work at sharondenniswyeth.com. View titles by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more