‘Each Kindness,’ by Jacqueline Woodson, and More
"It can help us put aside hate": from "The Forgiveness Garden."
By EMILY BAZELON
Can a picture book actually teach children about kindness? Sure, the goal is worthy. Yet pushing a moral too hard takes the life out of a story and the energy out of an audience. In time for National Anti-Bullying Awareness Month, three new books nonetheless venture onto this tricky terrain.
EACH KINDNESS
By Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrated by E. B. Lewis
32 pp. Nancy Paulsen Books. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9)
BECAUSE AMELIA SMILED
Written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein
40 pp. Candlewick Press. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6)
THE FORGIVENESS GARDEN
By Lauren Thompson
Illustrated by Christy Hale
32 pp. Feiwel & Friends. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9)
Related
Times Topic: Children's Books Reviews
The new girl: from "Each Kindness."
Spreading joy in "Because Amelia Smiled."
“Each Kindness,” by the Newbery Honor-winning author Jacqueline Woodson (“After Tupac and D Foster,” “Feathers,” “Show Way”), has beautiful watercolors and prose, strong characters and a plot that pricks the conscience. Maya, the new girl in Chloe’s class, wants to be friends but she wears old dresses and eats odd food. “On that first day, Maya turned to me and smiled,” Chloe tells us. “But I didn’t smile back.” Chloe’s coldness persists as Maya tries to woo her over the weeks that follow, with offerings like jacks, a deck of cards, pick-up sticks and a tattered doll. Each time, Chloe and her friends refuse to play, giving Maya the nickname Never New for her secondhand clothes, and laughing while she jumps rope alone.