As parents, teachers and caregivers, we spend a lot of time trying to do the best we can to help the children in our lives grow up to love learning and to be successful. Research has shown that children must feel safe and comfortable before they can best learn. We can help to support this by putting a focus on kindness in homes and classrooms and by carving out time to have meaningful discussions. Picture books are a wonderful way to introduce a variety of concepts, both academically and socially.

Picture books allow children to see themselves and others in a story and then talk about it. I wrote The Kindness Machine to help promote kindness to others and to ourselves in classrooms and homes around the world. When a teacher, parent or caregiver carefully selects a book, they explore it first on their own. Then, when sharing to children before bedtime or in a classroom, the adult can help facilitate a conversation by asking questions and pausing to allow the child to ask questions. When a child is able to empathize with or problem solve for a character based on what they would do, the story goes beyond the pages and into their own lives. Ideally, when a child is faced with a similar situation, they can pull from the story and use a strategy they learned. 

Children are naturally very curious. The beauty of picture books is that they allow children to experience different situations, cultures and abilities from the comfort of their own home or classroom. This exposure helps celebrate our differences and builds kindness, empathy and compassion. We can teach children that our differences should be celebrated and that each person is unique. How boring would it be if we were all the same? I invite you to be mindful in the picture books you share with the children in your life to help lay the positive foundation for kindness, empathy and compassion. 

 

Nella’s Kindness Kicks - NelliRose Farella 

Recess Magic - Bonny Spence Dieterich 

Kindness Wins - Marguerite Locke

What Kind of World Would it Be? - Angelina Schafer Gauthier 

Kindness is a Kite String - Michelle Schaub 


Happy Book Birthday to The Kindness Machine! Don't own it yet? Get it today!