30 Days of Diverse Picture Books - Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

It's Day 30 of our 30 Days of Diverse Picture Books. Wha?? Did that month pass quickly for anyone else?? I can't believe we're at the end of this year's series already. I hope you've enjoyed all the picks we've shared as much as we've enjoyed reading them. When I started the series this month, my husband remarked that he hoped I'd have enough picks to make it -- and I'm pleased to say that there are several I didn't even get to, so look forward to more titles to come! (But maybe a break first. . . )

So, onto today's pick -- Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. I originally had planned to share this one earlier in the series, but decided to wait, as this seemed like the perfect title to end with. Wilson's story centers around Chloe, who finds it hard to reach out to the new girl in her class. Maya doesn't have as much as some of the other girls, who laugh and make fun of her, and Chloe goes along. Even though Maya desperately wants to a friend, the girls rebuff her - and then Maya is gone from their school, and Chloe's left thinking about kindness, and what might have happened if she'd reached out to this girl who was all alone.

The theme of Each Kindness is a powerful one, one that I feel we all need to read and internalize. It's especially moving for me to read this one now with Sprout, and talk about the importance of understanding others, of walking a mile in their shoes, of demonstrating empathy even if we find it hard to agree. E. B. Lewis did the illustrations, and they are very moving. In particular we like the one that accompanies Chloe's teacher's explanation of kindness, like a ripple moving through a pool of water. It's an image that makes you stop and think in the same way Woodson's text does - quite a message, this.

I encourage you to read Each Kindness yourself, and to your kiddos, and think of it in light of our world today. If you reach out in kindness, to someone unlike yourself, you'll never know how far that kindness can go.

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, published by Nancy Paulsen Books

Candy Shop by Jan Wahl

Tolerance. It's a quality that often seems in short supply in our modern world. As we hear about events playing out on a national and international scale, it frequently feels like there's a lot more hate in the world than there is tolerance, doesn't it? One reason we elected not to have cable in our home during Sprout's early years is that we don't especially want his impression of the world to be colored by the types of events that make the news. You know what I mean here, because when was the last time a story about kindness or friendship was the most prominent story on everyone's mind?

And to be honest, I'm not sure that tolerance is an instinctive human reaction. We all know babies are selfish, and that's not a bad thing; in order to learn about the world, they must first experience it, and that's done through the lens of their own perspective. So as parents, teachers, friends and loved ones, it's up to us to help kids learn about acceptance through our own actions first, as well as the stories and examples with which we surround them.

A terrific book I recently stumbled across seems like a natural for any classroom or library needing some titles about tolerance. Jan Wahl's Candy Shop is perfect because it's never preachy or didactic. Take a look at that cover - does that scream "Heavy-duty lesson ahead?" No way. Instead it looks like exactly what it is, a fun story about a spunky little cowboy who just happens to run across an opportunity to show love to someone who desperately needs it. And there's your tolerance lesson, all wrapped up in a cute picture book. Sneaky, right?

Daniel, our narrator, is the cowboy in question, and he's excited to be heading to the Mrs Chu's candy shop with his Aunt Thelma. Early in the story we discover that Daniel lives in a somewhat depressed urban area; though his street is well-manicured, that's not the case for the whole neighborhood. Daniel and Aunt Thelma head off to get some candy, but first they have a number of stops to make. Daniel bears most of this good-naturedly, with only a bit of the expected little-boy grumbling. Soon enough they make their way to Mrs. Chu's, only to see a huge crowd gathered outside. Daniel discovers that someone has written a nasty word on the pavement, something hurtful about Mrs. Chu, who is from Taiwan. And right then and there our little cowboy decides he's going to show Mrs. Chu just what a great friend she is, and takes it on himself to clean up the graffiti and shoo away the gawkers. A brave boy indeed!

Kids will love this one for the candy and for the familiar emotions of being dragged along on errands with an adult. But scratch the surface and we'll see the real message, about standing up in the face of prejudice and not remaining silent when someone you love is hurt in a very unjust fashion. Nicole Wong illustrates Candy Shop, and she does a remarkable job of capturing Daniel's emotions, not just on his face but in his body language too. The spread of Daniel scrubbing the pavement while Aunt Thelma hustles away the onlookers is a powerful one, and it demonstrates that tolerance is more than a silent emotion - instead, tolerance is action, putting feet on your feelings for someone and standing up even when it's hard.

If you're looking for a way to start talking about prejudice and tolerance with your little ones, Candy Shop is the perfect book to do so. And as you read it, begin to think about the ways you can show your kids how critical acceptance is. Because, as the saying goes, we all can be the change in someone's reality, right now.

Candy Shop by Jan Wahl, published by Charlesbridge Press
Ages 3-6
Source: Library
Sample: "On the sidewalk a lot of people are gatherine. Do they all want candy, I wonder? No -- they stare at something written on the sidewalk. / I can't see it but it makes Miz Chu cry."
Recommended

30 Days of Picture Books - The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

It's Day 3 of Picture Book Month, and what's on my mind today is story. Sure, picture books are all about illustrations, but the story's pretty important too, right? Word choice had better be spot on in a picture book, nothing out of place because you're communicating a narrative all in the scantest of lines. I don't know about you, but if there are more than a few paragraphs on each page, I'm sure to have a restless little one on my hands, and then we're off to find another choice. So the first credo of picture book writers would seem to be choose your words carefully.

But what if you decide not to choose your words at all? I'm speaking, of course, about wordless picture books, something that might not immediately seem strong in narrative, but which have a hidden strength that goes beyond the written word. You see what's so great about wordless books is that you get to tell the story any way you want to. Kids love this - it's what they do, after all, as pre-readers when they sit down to "read" a book to their stuffies. And with the wordless picture book, adults get to experience that phenomenon too. The book's creator gives us the framework within which we can emphasize whatever aspects and nuance seem most significant to us.

In our home library, one wordless book in particular stands out, and for good reason - it's easily one of the best examples of the genre out there. I'm speaking of Jerry Pinkney's The Lion & the Mouse, a Caldecott Award Winner and all-around gorgeous piece of graphic storytelling.

The plot is of course based on the fable by Aesop, wherein a tiny mouse is captured by a lion who then, for whatever reason, lets the mouse go. And soon the lion finds himself in trouble, as he is ensnared by hunters - but the little mouse and his friends come to the rescue, chewing through the net that holds the lion and setting the mighty king of the jungle free. As in all fables, we have a lesson to take away: always perform an act of kindness when you have the opportunity, for you never know when you will need kindness in return.

In Pinkney's skilled control, the narrative becomes so much more. Honestly, if you're looking for visual splendor you couldn't do better. Even the end pages are a feast for the eyes, as we're taken immediately into the landscape of Eastern Africa, where Pinkney's version is set. Young readers will love poring over the detail of each page, noticing the curls in the lion's mane or the spiderweb clinging to a strand of grass. And they'll revel in the chance to tell you a story, if you let them - one time through is all most kids are likely to need before they want to relate the tale in their own words, a recounting that's never the same twice.

Linger over the experience of The Lion & the Mouse together, for it really is the kind of book you want to visit again and again.

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney, published by Little, Brown