The You Kind of Kind

by Nina West, Hayden Evans (Illustrator)

Overview

Queerty Award Nominee for “Best Read”

Go Big!

Be Kind!

Be You!

Welcome to a magical adventure to discover kindness in the world—especially the kind inside you.

In this heartfelt and joyous story, little Nina embarks on a boisterous day of exploration, a colorful day where she sets out to find, well, Kind. With a backpack full of her favorite things, Nina guides readers through the neighborhood to identify kindness in the wild. Along the way she shines a light on the importance of loving yourself as well as others, revealing that sharing your unique form of kindness—the you kind of Kind—is the most wonderful gift of all.

Readers of any age will have a WUZZFASTIC time reading this linguistically luscious book out loud and will delight in its empowering message of kindness, community, love, and inclusion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616899943
Publisher:	Princeton Architectural Press
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	73,021
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nina West is the stage name of Andrew Levitt, an American drag queen, activist, singer-songwriter, and proud founder of the Nina West Foundation, which supports charities across the country. For two decades, she's brought her one-of-a kind mix of fabulousness and playfulness to audiences around the world. She hosts Storytime with Nina, an online book reading series for kids.  Andrew lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his two pups Edgar and Felicity.

Hayden Evans is an illustrator and designer with a flair for depicting "movie scenes, Halloweens, drag queens, and everything in-betweens!" The You Kind of Kind marks his debut as a picture book illustrator. Originally from Rexburg, Idaho, he now resides in Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

10/31/2022

What does kindness look like? This boisterous picture book by West (the stage name of activist, drag queen, and singer-songwriter Andrew Levitt, founder of the Nina West Foundation) aims to clarify. A light-skinned youth with bright red hair, large eyes, and an enormous grin directly addresses readers: “Nina here.... your lead adventurer” in a search for “kindness in the wild.” After slipping into a multihued outfit that makes the narrator feel “remarkabus and wonder-filled,” Nina encourages readers to observe the different ways people exhibit kindness, for example when they say hello (“the Salutation Exclamation”) and make one another laugh (“the Perpetual Jokester”). And when a bullying situation arises, Nina transforms into a shimmering entity to diffuse the situation with a strident “Be Kind!” Shifting type sizes, made-up words, and Evans’s bold and visually busy digital artwork, which portrays individuals with varying body types and skin tones, fittingly align with the book’s laudable advice to “GO BIG!” and “BE YOU!” Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Well, to quote some lines in a song I wrote, I always say: ‘Whatever you are, be that. Whatever you do, do that. Anything else is just an act. Whoever you are, be that, be that. Whatever you are, be that.’ Nina West’s The You Kind of Kind teaches the same lesson—just be yourself!"
– Dolly Parton

"A charming message about the power of kindness through text packed with bolded and capitalized made-up words that beg to be read aloud. Evans’s colorful illustrations brim with manic energy. It’s this very lively and engaging presentation that keeps the book from becoming preachy. A timely message delivered with verve."
– Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-06-08
Nina, an exuberant redhead with a big, gap-toothed smile, invites readers to go on an adventure to “looook for kindness in the wild!”

Before the outing can start, Nina must put on adventure gear. Readers are asked if they “have an outfit that makes you feel remarkabus and wonder-filled?” Irrepressible Nina does, and everything from rainbow leggings to a purple dress to the content of the expedition backpack is uniquely Nina. Readers soon discover that “being ourselves is the greatest kind of Kind.” Out on the street, Nina remarks on the power of saying hello, of joking and laughing, of smelling the flowers in the park. West—the stage name of Andrew Levitt, a drag queen, activist, singer/songwriter, and founder of the Nina West Foundation—offers a charming message about the power of kindness through text packed with bolded and capitalized made-up words that beg to be read aloud. Evans’ colorful illustrations brim with manic energy. It’s this very lively and engaging presentation that keeps the book from becoming preachy. Though Nina is light-skinned, the other characters vary in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A timely message delivered with verve. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews