Book Series · 4 Books

Bea Garcia Books

In order from My Life in Pictures to The Tree and Me.

Bea Garcia is an imaginative elementary-school artist who uses her pencil to understand the world around her. Four highly illustrated chapter books follow her through changing friendships, classroom challenges, a missing dog, and a campaign to save a beloved tree.

Reviewed by the Bookroo Editors Updated August 13, 2026

Reading order

How to Read the Bea Garcia Books

Penguin Random House numbers the series from My Life in Pictures through The Tree and Me. Reading in that order gives children the clearest introduction to Bea, her family, her classmates, and the friendships that continue across the four books.

Sources: Penguin Random House: Bea Garcia series.

For parents

What Parents Should Know

These are short chapter books filled with Bea's doodles and pictures, a useful format for readers ready for longer stories but still helped by frequent art. Bea works through recognizable feelings about a best friend moving away, making new friends, schoolwork, and speaking up for something she values.

The third book centers on Bea's worry after her dog goes missing, and the series includes arguments, teasing, and frustration with a difficult neighbor. The emotional stakes are real but age-appropriate, and the stories emphasize creativity, persistence, empathy, and repair.

Where the story begins

First Book in the Series

Sale price

$759

Book #1 · Chapter Book · Ages 6–9 · 2016

My Life in Pictures

By Deborah Zemke

A young girl navigates the challenges of growing up and making friends after her best friend moves away and a new neighbor, who she thinks is a monster, moves in next door.

144 pages· 5,628 words· Est. 1 hour read

$7.99Save 5%

Paperback

Summary: Bea Garcia, a passionate artist, finds solace in her notebook. But when her best friend Yvonne moves to Australia, Bea's world turns upside down. Her new neighbor is loud and nothing like Yvonne, making her feel even more alone. Can Bea's creativity and doodles help her navigate this change and perhaps find friendship in unexpected places? Dive into Bea's world where imagination might just be the key to new beginnings.

In reading order

Bea Garcia Series

4 books · Published 2016–2019

#1 in Series

Sale price

$759

My Life in Pictures

Chapter Book · Ages 6–9 · 2016

A young girl navigates the challenges of growing up and making friends after her best friend moves away and a new neighbor, who she thinks is a monster, moves in next door.

#2 in Series

Sale price

$1498