Woodson, J. (2012). Each Kindness. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.
There is a new girl in Chole's class. She has older worn clothes. Chloe and her friends act rudely towards here not inviting her to play with them and ignoring her attempts at initiating a friendship. Pretty soon the new girl Maya just plays by herself. Then one day she doesn't show up to school. Chloe's teacher teaches a lesson on kindness and Chloe realizes she has been less then nice to the new student. She waits to make it up to Maya but she never returns and the teacher later informs them that Maya's family has moved. Chloe realizes she will never get a chance to make it up to Maya.
This book is told from the first person point of view. Young readers will be able to identify with the narrator having regrets about her behavior. Most children have done something to someone that they wish they could take back. Some young people may identify with the other character Maya because they were once a new person in a class. Even though we don't get to see Maya's thoughts we can sympathize with someone being rejected by others. This would be a good book to read aloud during Kindness week at elementary schools. Counselors could find it useful when teaching lessons on how to make friends or how to be a good friend.
This was an Coretta Scott King Author Honor book. Ms Woodson tells a important story in a way that children can understand. The pictures are pretty also. The cover shows a girl standing by herself. She looks alone and sad. The readers can tell this won't be a happy story. Using the title and cover, teachers can have a good discussion on predictions. "Why is the girl alone? What does it mean by Each Kindness? Was someone unkind to the girl on the cover?" Some illustrations are a two page spread but there isn't a lot going on in the picture. I think this helps narrow the readers focus on the subject. For instance on the page where Maya is jump roping, she is the only thing on the two pages. This exemplifies that she was really alone. No one was playing with her. The last page as well has one character in a scene spread over a double page spread. Chloe is small compared to the whole scene of the pond and trees around her. This helps the reader understand how lonely she feels while remembers how unkind she treated Maya. I thinks it shows her in a state of self reflection and that she is not happy with herself.
There is a new girl in Chole's class. She has older worn clothes. Chloe and her friends act rudely towards here not inviting her to play with them and ignoring her attempts at initiating a friendship. Pretty soon the new girl Maya just plays by herself. Then one day she doesn't show up to school. Chloe's teacher teaches a lesson on kindness and Chloe realizes she has been less then nice to the new student. She waits to make it up to Maya but she never returns and the teacher later informs them that Maya's family has moved. Chloe realizes she will never get a chance to make it up to Maya.
This book is told from the first person point of view. Young readers will be able to identify with the narrator having regrets about her behavior. Most children have done something to someone that they wish they could take back. Some young people may identify with the other character Maya because they were once a new person in a class. Even though we don't get to see Maya's thoughts we can sympathize with someone being rejected by others. This would be a good book to read aloud during Kindness week at elementary schools. Counselors could find it useful when teaching lessons on how to make friends or how to be a good friend.
This was an Coretta Scott King Author Honor book. Ms Woodson tells a important story in a way that children can understand. The pictures are pretty also. The cover shows a girl standing by herself. She looks alone and sad. The readers can tell this won't be a happy story. Using the title and cover, teachers can have a good discussion on predictions. "Why is the girl alone? What does it mean by Each Kindness? Was someone unkind to the girl on the cover?" Some illustrations are a two page spread but there isn't a lot going on in the picture. I think this helps narrow the readers focus on the subject. For instance on the page where Maya is jump roping, she is the only thing on the two pages. This exemplifies that she was really alone. No one was playing with her. The last page as well has one character in a scene spread over a double page spread. Chloe is small compared to the whole scene of the pond and trees around her. This helps the reader understand how lonely she feels while remembers how unkind she treated Maya. I thinks it shows her in a state of self reflection and that she is not happy with herself.
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