Each Kindness

By Jacqueline Woodson, E.B. Lewis (illustrator),

Book cover of Each Kindness

Book description

WINNER OF A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR AND THE JANE ADDAMS PEACE AWARD!

Each kindness makes the world a little better

This unforgettable book is written and illustrated by the award-winning team that created The Other Side and the Caldecott Honor winner Coming On Home Soon. With its powerful anti-bullyingā€¦

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Why read it?

4 authors picked Each Kindness as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

ā€œMommy, do I have to sit by her?ā€

My kid can be a real jerk. He picks a genre of child and decides theyā€™re terrible. Heā€™s been horrified by the existence of girls, boys, toddlers, big kids, and human babies. Itā€™s straight-up bigotry, and itā€™s not okay with me. Iā€™ve preached and preached on sharing space and being nice. Each Kindness doesnā€™t preach. We stand in the main characterā€™s shoes as she decides who deserves kindness and who doesnā€™t. We feel the consequences.

Each Kindness, for me, is a modern take of the Eleanor Estes classic childrenā€™s story, The Hundred Dresses. In Each Kindness, a new girl comes to school, and no one--especially the protagonist Chloe--makes any effort to befriend her. Instead, Chloe and her friends actively snub her. Chloe learns an important lesson about ā€œā€¦each kindness--done and not done.ā€ This story can generate thoughtful conversations in the classroom and at home.

From Trudy's list on picture books that address bullying.

This is another book that is in my top 5 for picture books. I think the true theme of this book is ā€œMissed Opportunityā€. When a new girl shows up at the school, a girl and her friends refused to let her into their circle. But when the student never returned, the girl wished she had been kinder. I love this book. I read it weekly just to remind myself that not all picture books have a happy ending. Jacqueline Woodson is the queen of tackling difficult topics in childrenā€™s books. And EB Lewis consistently leaves things off the page.ā€¦

From Winsome's list on children being unapologetic.

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Book cover of Boy Underground

Boy Underground by Isabelle Marinov,

Boy Underground is a powerful adventure story about Hugo, an autistic boy who decides to go all the way into the Paris underground to find a place where he belongs.

For Hugo, the world can be too loud and bright. He likes the quiet. He likes the dark. And heā€¦

Activism can be private and personal, too. In this heart-wrenching book, a young girl narrates the story of a new kid, obviously poor, joining her class. Not much outright bullying happens, but the narratorā€”and all the other kidsā€”simply ignore the new kid. Day after day. Until she moves away. But the narratorā€™s point of view shifts. She feels regret and wishes she could take back each unkindness. Itā€™s a book about how a moment of failure can inspire us to change. The dreamy watercolors invite introspection. I always close the book determined to do better and be better.

If you love Each Kindness...

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Book cover of Boy Underground

Boy Underground by Isabelle Marinov,

Boy Underground is a powerful adventure story about Hugo, an autistic boy who decides to go all the way into the Paris underground to find a place where he belongs.

For Hugo, the world can be too loud and bright. He likes the quiet. He likes the dark. And heā€¦

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