How to be kind in kindergarten A book for your backpack

PreS-K--Digital art, bright colors, and a cast of cartoon characters with features and skin tones that present ethnic and racial diversity join with rhyming verse to remind readers of the importance of kindness to others, all in a kindergarten setting. Each scenario offers reminders on how to show care: opening doors for a child using a wheelchair, reaching out to help a fallen friend, inviting a shy child to join in, sharing at lunch with others, taking turns, making cards for sick friends, or welcoming newcomers. VERDICT A suggested general purchase for libraries, this creates numerous examples and opportunity for discussion while providing understanding and encouragement of kindness toward all.--Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX

Kindergarteners get a crash course on practicing kindness. The text is addressed to child readers, who are told that their "great big heart[s]" and "great big mind[s]" make them able to be kind. Readers are then treated to a tour of the settings a kindergartener will experience at school, including the hallway, the classroom, lunchtime, recess. In each setting, there are moments when other children who are depicted might need a touch of kindness: a helping hand, an invitation to play, a turn with a toy, an apology. Readers are reminded of kind gestures that can make situations better. The spare illustrations are full of joyful energy, showing a diverse classroom of expressive kids with an array of different skin tones and hair textures, a hijab-wearing girl, and a child in a wheelchair. The text is upbeat and enthusiastic, with rhyming verses set to a loose rhythm that is easy to read aloud. Adults and children will have fun reading this primer together, as both preparation for and reminder of the social situations children will face. The positioning of readers as the book's subject enables thoughtful discussion and mental role-playing for effective social-emotional learning. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A helpful addition to any kindergarten shelf. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.