Be Kind

Description: "When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better, wondering: What does it mean to be kind? From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference -- or at least help a friend."--

Brief description: Pat Zietlow Miller is a children's book lover and one of the creative forces behind the blog Picture Book Builders where she reviews books for young readers. Her picture books include Be Kind, When You are Brave, Remarkably You, Wherever You Go, Sophie's Squash and The Quickest Kid in Clarksville. Pat lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, two daughters and two pampered cats.

Review Quotes:

"These days, it seems more important than ever for books to show young people how to act with thoughtfulness, civility, and kindness." --The New York Times Book Review

"[A] lovely exploration of empathy and thoughtfulness." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The precisely worded, hopeful text offers ideas to ponder, while the artwork places them within kidfriendly contexts, such as a multiracial classroom and a neighborhood park. Nicely designed for drawing out children's ideas and opening a discussion on kindness, this picture book works well one-on-one or read aloud in a classroom, for the expressive pictures are still effective from a distance. A thoughtful picture book." --Booklist

"This picture book champions interpersonal kindness both globally and in a young child's town . . . The story gives children many concrete ideas of actionable kind deeds." --Kirkus Reviews

"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." --School Library Journal

Sophie's Squash:

A Golden Kite Award Winner
A Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book
An Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book
The Juvenile Literature Award Winner
A Crystal Kite Award Book for the Midwest Region

"[T]his tale will be cherished by children, and their parents will be happy to read it to them often." --School Library Journal, starred review

Wherever You Go:

A Crystal Kite Award Book for the Midwest Region

"Miller's verse, infused with musical momentum, communicates the emotional arch of a journey with beautiful brevity." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This lovely offering [has] appeal both as an inspirational gift book and as a bedtime tale." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Sophie's Squash Go to School:

"While in many picture books problems are solved quickly, Miller makes clear that it takes time, as well as reflection and effort, for Sophie to decide that she wants friends. . . . Many children will relate to [this]." --Booklist, starred review

"By book's end, most readers will be willing to side with Sophie's parents, who remind her that it's good to have friends: 'Especially human ones.'" --Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville:

"Sweet and inspiring." --Kirkus Reviews

"An engaging, lively story." --Horn Book