In person at Brookline Booksmith! Join us for an all-ages storytime to celebrate A Century for Caroline with author Kaija Langley.
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A Century for Caroline
A great-grandmother imparts the wisdom gained over her one hundred years to an eager little girl in this tender picture book tribute to family and living a long, purposeful, beautiful life, perfect for fans of When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree.
Baby girl Jasmine heads south with her dad to join the family in celebrating Great Grandma Caroline’s 100th birthday. Jasmine knows one hundred years is a very long time. It’s longer than a goldfish lives, or a hamster, or even a dog! When she gets to Great Grandma Caroline’s house, she asks: How did she get to be so old?
According to Caroline, living such a long, hearty life takes a heap of patience, a dollop of determination, and a whole lot of faith—just like learning to skip stones on the lake. And the most important thing is surrounding yourself with family and those who love you.
Kaija Langley was born and raised in Northern NJ and has been writing since she discovered the power of words at age seven. She’s a proud alumna of Morgan State University, a historically black college and university in Baltimore, Maryland, and received her MFA in fiction from St. Mary’s College of California.
Her debut picture book, When Langston Dances, received a Black Caucus ALA Youth Literary Award and was a finalist for the New England Book Award and NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children.
Kaija has always been a voracious reader and champion for the arts – books, theater, music, and visual art – but didn’t see herself or her family in a book until she was nearly a teenager. She believes diversity in art is critical for developing empathy in readers of all ages, but especially in young readers.
When she isn’t raising money and volunteering for non-profits with local and global impact, she reads and writes picture books and novels for young readers. Her debut middle grade novel, The Order of Things, about chosen family, grief, and compassion, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and has received three starred reviews. Her second picture book, A Century for Caroline, with Denene Millner Books, is scheduled for publication on May 6, 2025.
Kaija has called many places home over the years—New Jersey, Maryland, DC, California, Louisiana—and currently lives, writes, and plays in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her two bonsai and her Beloved. For the latest on book news and upcoming events, follow her on Instagram and BlueSky @mizzkalwrites71.
