Be Kind

by Pat Zietlow Miller, Jen Hill (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

What even is kindness? It's one thing to think about it, it's another thing to see it, and that's what Be Kind does — it's a tangible exploration of what it really means to be kind.

A New York Times bestseller!

“These days, it seems more important than ever for books to show young people how to act with thoughtfulness, civility, and kindness.” —The New York Times Book Review

When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better, wondering: What does it mean to be kind?

From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference—or at least help a friend.

With a gentle text from the award-winning author of Sophie's Squash, Pat Zietlow Miller, and irresistible art from Jen Hill, Be Kind is an unforgettable story about how two simple words can change the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250304605
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Series:	Be Kind , #1
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Pat Zietlow Miller is the creative force behind the blog Read, Write, Repeat, where she reviews books for young readers. Her picture books include Sophie's Squash, Sophie's Squash Go To School, Wherever You Go, Sharing the Bread, and The Quickest Kid in Clarksville. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, two daughters, and two pampered cats.

Jen Hill is the illustrator of several picture books, including Diana's White House Garden by Elisa Carbone, Spring for Sophie by Yael Werber, and Doing Her Bit by Erin Hagar; and is also the author and illustrator of Percy and Tumtum: A Tale of Two Dogs. She is a graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and her intern, Little Bee, who is very helpful for a cat.

Pat Zietlow Miller knew she wanted to be a writer ever since her seventh-grade English teacher read her paper about square-dancing skirts out loud in class and said: “This is the first time anything a student has written has given me chills.” (Thanks, Mrs. Mueller! You rock!) Pat started out as a newspaper reporter before she joined an insurance company as an editor. Now, she writes insurance information by day and children’s books by night. Her first book, SOPHIE’S SQUASH, won the Golden Kite Award, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor and a Charlotte Zolotow honor. Her second book, WHEREVER YOU GO, won a Crystal Kite award. Pat has one wonderful husband, two delightful daughters and two pampered cats. She doesn’t watch much TV, but she does love “Chopped.”

Editorial Reviews

…the combination of Pat Zietlow Miller's earnest text and Jen Hill's attractive images is likely to find a receptive audience among adults wanting to spark a conversation with children.

The New York Times Book Review - Linda Sue Park

These days, it seems more important than ever for books to show young people how to act with thoughtfulness, civility, and kindness.” —The New York Times Book Review

“[A] lovely exploration of empathy and thoughtfulness.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The precisely worded, hopeful text offers ideas to ponder, while the artwork places them within kidfriendly contexts, such as a multiracial classroom and a neighborhood park. Nicely designed for drawing out children’s ideas and opening a discussion on kindness, this picture book works well one-on-one or read aloud in a classroom, for the expressive pictures are still effective from a distance. A thoughtful picture book.” —Booklist

“This picture book champions interpersonal kindness both globally and in a young child's town . . . The story gives children many concrete ideas of actionable kind deeds.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The book presents the powerful message that small acts of kindness matter, and that they can build with other acts of kindness to make a difference . . . A valuable addition on this topic [that] will promote conversation about what it means to be kind.” —School Library Journal

Sophie's Squash:

A Golden Kite Award Winner

A Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book

An Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book

The Juvenile Literature Award Winner

A Crystal Kite Award Book for the Midwest Region

"[T]his tale will be cherished by children, and their parents will be happy to read it to them often." —School Library Journal, starred review

Wherever You Go:

A Crystal Kite Award Book for the Midwest Region

“Miller's verse, infused with musical momentum, communicates the emotional arch of a journey with beautiful brevity.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This lovely offering [has] appeal both as an inspirational gift book and as a bedtime tale.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Sophie's Squash Go to School:

“While in many picture books problems are solved quickly, Miller makes clear that it takes time, as well as reflection and effort, for Sophie to decide that she wants friends. . . . Many children will relate to [this].” —Booklist, starred review

“By book’s end, most readers will be willing to side with Sophie’s parents, who remind her that it’s good to have friends: ‘Especially human ones.’” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville:

“Sweet and inspiring.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An engaging, lively story.” —Horn Book

From the Publisher

2017-11-13
This picture book champions interpersonal kindness both globally and in a young child's town.The unnamed white narrator wants to make a black girl named Tanisha feel better after spilling grape juice on herself in front of her multiracial classmates. "What does it mean to be kind anyway?" thinks the narrator. Next comes a catalog of easy, simple good deeds, such as "throwing away a wrapper or recycling a bottle," before the book moves on to ruminations about how kindness can be hard. The narrator wonders how "my small things might join small things other people do," combining with others' small good deeds to somehow "travel across the country… / and go all the way… / around the world." The illustrations are engaging and inventive, with lots of detail and an attractive use of color. The story gives children many concrete ideas of actionable kind deeds but without the difficult edges of how kindness can (or can't) be transformative or when kindness isn't enough to enact real change. The pictures show racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, among others, without explicitly addressing these categories in the text; some will appreciate this quiet inclusion, while others might wish for more help discussing these subjects with children. The white narrator comes to an open-ended conclusion while Tanisha is presented as a subject of pity, with no opportunity to speak for herself.Lovely illustrations work with a somewhat heavy-handed message; effective more as instruction than story. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews