Try a Little Kindness: A Guide to Being Better

by Henry Cole, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Overview

Bestselling illustrator Henry Cole puts animals in sweet and humorous situations to demonstrate the importance of being kind!

In this funny picture book, bestselling illustrator Henry Cole shows kids different ways to be kind with his hysterical cartoon animal characters.Each page features a different way to be a good person, like using proper manners, telling someone they are special, or sharing a treat! The text is accompanied by two or three related vignettes of different animals giving examples of ways to be good. And in one illustration out of each set, one animal (like a cat peering into a fishbowl!) may not be doing the best job of being kind!The animal characters and simple text will help readers learn the importance of kindness in a fun way with lots of kid appeal. Our animal friends will show youExactly how it is doneMake sure to look closelyKindness can be very FUN!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338256413
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	10/30/2018
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	268,102
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Henry Cole was an adored elementary-school science teacher for sixteen years. He has since illustrated over 150 popular books (some of which he has also authored), including his wordless Forever Home, award-winning picture book Unspoken, which was named an ALA Notable Children’s Book and a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book, and his book One Little Bag, which was also named an ALA Notable Book, and received three starred reviews. He lives in Florida. To find out more about Henry, go to henrycole.net.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Try a Little Kindness:"In a world where kindness and empathy are lacking, this string of actionable advice is enough to get the wheels turning." — Kirkus

From the Publisher

2018-07-16
Kids are encouraged to engage in small but mighty acts of kindness throughout the day."A smile to greet the morning / A hug to greet each day / A ‘thank you' and a ‘yes, please' / Are things that you should say." Vignettes depicting various scenarios and glossed with bold red statements of ways to be kind make up the majority of the work, but similar snatches of narratorial verse are also mixed in to hold the moments together. Standard advice applies: "Write thank-you notes!" or "Share your toy." Other suggestions, such as "Hold the door for a friend," or "Tell someone they are special," seem perfectly polite on the surface, but Cole's watercolor art conceals some devious possibilities within that both provoke thought and help to keep the book from feeling too syrupy. A cat holding the bird-cage door open, for instance, might not be as kind as one might think. But the art is full of unlikely groupings (a wolf helps three pigs build a brick house), and readers can only hope differences have been set aside for the sake of neighborliness (and enjoyment in spotting them). In a world where kindness and empathy are lacking, this string of actionable advice is enough to get the wheels turning.The story will hopefully create similar compassion in readers—or it might just make them giggle. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews