Every Little Kindness
When a young woman is searching for her lost dog, she demonstrates an act of kindness that passes from person to person within her community. Within muted illustrations, a splash of red highlights the thread of good deeds that weaves through the community and connects strangers in unexpected ways. Whether it is opening a door, inviting someone to play, offering a seat, or returning a lost pet to its loving owner, every little kindness has an impact and the potential to ripple far beyond what we imagine.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
The use of the color red to highlight caring actions provides an opportunity for children to predict what might happen next. Children will enjoy identifying the red items and then thinking about what the next helpful act might be. They also might like to create drawings of themselves doing something nice for another, and using the color red to highlight their action. Brainstorm with children a list of small acts of kindness that they can do for others at home and in the classroom community, and if possible, put some into action within the community, such as providing water bottles for delivery personnel, or painting encouraging messages or pictures on rocks and placing them in a public space.
When reading a wordless book with children, adults can choose to provide narrative on some pages, and they can also choose to offer a few moments of quiet for children to observe and interpret what they see. Children can take the lead in turning pages so that adults can follow their pace and pose questions when something causes their child to pause. Adults can point out the different ways that people in the story are demonstrating kindness, and connect the story to their child’s daily routine. Thinking about your child’s day, were there ways that someone provided a simple act of kindness for them? Was there an opportunity where they provided kindness to another?