Now more than ever, a message of hope, compassion, empathy, and understanding is needed.
Now more than ever, children need to see themselves reflected in the pages of the books they read. Readers of all ages need to be able to “read their world” to both see themselves, and those are who different, whether by culture, religion, sexual orientation, special needs, or ethnicity.
Now more than ever, we need to come together as a nation of beautifully diverse people.
These profound thoughts were on the introduction page of one of the very first free Downloadable Kits that the MCBD Team ever created. The Multicultural Children’s Book Day Classroom Kindness Kit and Diverse Booklist were created back in 2018, even after a handful of years, and this message has not changed one bit.
So in honor of the Number One in a series of free downloadable classroom kits our team has created over the years, here is a sneak peek at five of the books from our Read Your World Booklist on Kindness.
- Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Honor and the Jane Addams Peace Award, Each Kindness brings to mind that the smallest act of kindness can change the world.
Chloe and her friends refuse to let the new girl at school, Maya play with them. Each time Maya tries to play with Chloe and her friends she is rejected and turned away. Because of the unkindness, Maya stops coming to school altogether. Chloe’s teacher gives impactful lessons on how little things matter. Chloe realizes what she has done and feels regretful for the unkindness and lost opportunity of friendship with Maya.
- The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The Hundred Dresses won the Newbery Honor award in 1945 and has never been out of print. Wanda Petronski is a polish girl who goes to a Connecticut school. She is made fun of and ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day.
Wanda claims that she has 100 dresses at home but everyone knows she doesn’t. Wanda becomes the focus of intense bullying. Her classmates realize they have gone too far when Wanda is pulled out of school. Too late for apologies, one of Wanda’s classmates makes the decision that she will never stand by and NOT say anything again.
- Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Wonder is the book that inspired the Choose Kind movement.
August Pullman is a boy who was born with a facial deformity that has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting in 5th grade, however, all of that changed and he found himself at Beecher Prep. His greatest wish in life is to be treated like a normal kid. His new classmates can’t get past his extraordinary face. Written from a variety of perspectives Wonder deals with a community’s struggle with empath, compassion, and acceptance.
- What Does It Mean to Be Kind? by Rana DiOrio
A girl in a red hat finds the courage to be kind to the new student in her class. Her kindness spreads, kind act by kind act until her whole community experiences the magical shift that happens when everyone understands—and acts on—what it means to be kind.
- Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
It was the perfect summer. That is until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy!
In this funny yet endearing story, one little boy learns an effective recipe for turning your best enemy into your best friend. Accompanied by charming illustrations, Enemy Pie serves up a sweet lesson in the difficulties and ultimate rewards of making new friends.
Kindness Activities
All of our free downloadable Classroom Kits include easy activities that will help to emphasize the chosen topic and complement the books on our booklist. Here’s a sample.
The Kindness Jar: Take a tall canning jar or any tall jar. As each person in the classroom or school community witnesses an act of kindness, they write it down on a slip of paper and place it in the kindness jar. At the end of each week read how much kindness has been generated in your classroom.
The MCBD Team invites you to grab your free Classroom (and Home!) Kindness Kit HERE.
Our FREE Kindness Classroom Kit containing:
- Diverse Kindness Book List for ages 4 -12
- Classroom Kindness Activities
- “Be a Hero Be Kind” Kindness Poster
- Multicultural Children’s Book Day Poster
Sign up is quick, easy, and FREE. Go HERE to grab your Kindness Classroom Kit and together we can Be a Hero, Be Kind.
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use their official hashtag #ReadYourWorld
