Book Review: BE KIND by Pat Zietlow Miller

Miller, Pat Zietlow. 2018. Be Kind. Ill. by Jen Hill New York: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 978-1-62672-321-4

Tanisha, a young girl in grade school, accidentally spills juice all over her dress which causes her classmates to poke fun at her. She feels embarrassed about what has happened, all the while one of her classmates tries to ease the situation by being kind. The classmate begins to think what it truly means to be kind and comes up with all sorts of ideas. Whether being kind is picking up trash, spending time with loved ones, helping out, or simply saying hi, could possibly lead to a revolving door of kindness.

Author Pat Z. Miller touches base on a characteristic trait children often learn about at a young age, being kind. The theme of the story is a kind gesture big or small can go a long way. Miller provides the readers with characters and a setting we can relate to at one point in our lives or another. Whether we were the ones spilling juice on ourselves, the classmates laughing, or the kind classmate.

The illustrations by Jen Hill help the reader feel different types of emotions. At one point you feel sorry for Tanisha, at another upset at the classmates for laughing at her, and then relief/ satisfaction at the end of the story where she accepts the kind gesture from the narrator.

A New York Times best seller

Starred review by Publishers Weekly: “[A] lovely exploration of empathy and thoughtfulness.”

School Library Journal Review:  “The book presents the powerful message that small acts of kindness matter, and that they can build with other acts of kindness to make a difference . . . A valuable addition on this topic [that] will promote conversation about what it means to be kind.”

Be Kind could be a conversation starter for children with their parents at home or students with their teacher in school about acts of kindness.

This book could be combined with the following:

Kerascoet. 2018. I Walk With Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 978-1-52476-955-0

Woodson, J. 2019. The Day You Begin. Ill. by Rafael Lopez. Toronto: CNIB. ISBN 978-0-39924-653-1