I Am Kind

January 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-This title's stated intent is to teach "kids and parents alike the power of positive affirmations and how to incorporate them into their daily lives." It features a young girl who sees kindness around her and acts in kind ways herself. The book begins with the child observing her mother, "the kindest person I know." Her mom is shown helping Grandma and then, along with her daughter, serving food at a community center. Other vignettes include the girl helping in the garden of a neighbor who has a broken arm, making friends with a new girl at school, being patient with her baby brother, being kind to friends as well as to the Earth on a scout hike, and creating a garden for the whole community. Throughout, variants on the phrase "I am kind" are repeated, with a prompt on the last page for readers to think of ways to be kind. Big-eyed, slightly cartoon-style, mostly white characters are featured in the colorful illustrations. While there are several examples of ways to be kind in this book, there is not much of a story here, resulting in a somewhat generic tale. VERDICT A purposeful title for sparking discussions in families or in the classroom, but not really a solid choice to draw in new readers.-Jenny Berggren, Longfellow Middle School, Berkeley, CA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017
Preschool-K This entry in the Positive Power series, which looks at positive themes in a beginning reader format, encourages children to choose kindness. The pig-tailed narrator notices the kindness of her motherhow she helps family and strangers. With that example, the girl helps her neighbor, who hurt his arm, take care of his garden; she makes a new girl at her school feel at home; and she is kind to her little brother, even though it's not always easy! A final project brings happiness to the whole neighborhood. Throughout, the word kind is repeated, emphasizing the intended message. The google-eyed characters and backgrounds are brightly colored but have a static, generic look. There's not much nuance in either text or art. But the message here, and in the simultaneously published companion book, I Am Thankful (2017), is a good one and may encourage younger children to think about how to make their world a better place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)