Big Ideas for Little Philosophers: Kindness with Confucius

by Duane Armitage, Maureen McQuerry, Robin Rosenthal (Illustrator)

Overview

Explore the importance of kindness with the youngest readers in a wonderfully accessible way.

Even little children have big questions about life. Confucius believed always treating people with kindness can make us wise, and Kindness with Confucius brings his philosophy to the youngest thinkers. He believed we should use our own feelings as a guide to how to treat others. We feel good when people are kind to us and should want to make others feel that way. Emphasizing the importance of being in touch with your own emotions in order to be kind to others, this book will lead to inspiring conversations about human dynamics between people of all ages.

Look for all six Big Ideas for Little Philosophers board books: Equality with Simone de Beauvoir, Happiness with Aristotle, Imagination with René Descartes, Kindness with Confucius, Love with Plato, and Truth with Socrates.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593322963
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	07/20/2021
Series:	Big Ideas for Little Philosophers , #5
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	20
Lexile:	AD630L (what's this?)
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Dr. Duane Armitage is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The University of Scranton. He is the author of several books on European philosophy, and a popular lecturer who challenges students to think deeply about life's big questions. He believes that conversations about the nature of wisdom and how to live rightly are essential for people of all ages. He lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Maureen McQuerry is an award-winning children's author, poet, and teacher. She is a former middle and high school teacher with a specialty in gifted education and also has a Master's Degree in early education. In 2000 she was awarded the McAuliffe Teaching Fellowship for Washington State. Maureen currently supervises student teachers for Washington State University.

Robin Rosenthal is an illustrator and art director. She grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter. You can see more of her work at robinrosenthal.com.

Editorial Reviews

A sweet approach to encouraging meaningful discussions. . . Children are encouraged to use their own feelings as a guide to ‘help others feel the way we like to feel.’. . The authors have managed to distill these teachings on kindness in a simple and accessible manner for child readers. . . and the colorful, friendly, attractive illustrations underscore this idea.“ —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-10-27
Using the teachings of Confucius, this book presents young children with ways to practice kindness.

The Big Ideas for Little Philosophers series uses the reflections of well-known philosophers as a guide to encourage more thoughtful and positive attitudes in young children. It sounds like an overly ambitious and perhaps not age-appropriate vehicle, and yet the authors have managed to distill these teachings on kindness in a simple and accessible manner for child readers. This entry begins by introducing young readers to Confucius and the Confucian virtue of “ren” which denotes humaneness. Children are encouraged to use their own feelings as a guide to “help others feel the way we like to feel.” Delightfully, some questions invite reflection without providing pat answers—such as, “If someone leaves you out of a game, how does that make you feel?” and “How can you be helpful today?” We read that all people deserve kindness, and the colorful, friendly, attractive illustrations underscore this idea by depicting racially diverse people of all ages as well as differently abled children. A companion volume, Love With Plato, deals with ideas that are more abstract and, therefore, more complex, inviting children to think rather than act. We read that we can love things we can see but that “Plato said it is most important to love ideas, like GOODNESS, TRUTH, AND BEAUTY.” Text and illustrations depict examples of all three followed by a prompt that asks readers to consider what is important in their own lives.

A sweet approach to encouraging meaningful discussions. (Board book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews