Welcome to the monthly children’s book review feature with a focus
on diverse books here at Bird Meets Worm! My team of reviewers—Cara Chow, Denise Holmes, Joan Charles, Sharon Calle—and I are so excited to be championing books celebrating everything from gender diversity, people of color, the
LGBTQ community to ethnic, cultural and religious minorities, people with
disabilities and developmental challenges to controversial topics, unique
family situations and anything and everything I did not include. It is to say
we take a rightfully board view of diversity! We aim to shine a light on books
that bring both familiar experiences to those who do not often see themselves
represented in books and new experiences to those looking to expand their
worldview. Here at Bird Meets Worm we believe in the power of story to build
empathy and thus a better world for you and me and everyone. Look for a new review on the second Wednesday of every month.
EACH KINDNESS
By Jacqueline Woodson
• Illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Picture book (ages 5-8)
• 32 pages
Published by Nancy
Paulsen Books • 2012
ISBN 978-0399246524
Maya is the new girl at Chloe’s school. Unlike Chloe and her
classmates, Maya wears second hand clothes. Her lunches look different than
everyone else’s. No matter how hard Maya tries to befriend Chloe, Chloe shuns
her, as does everyone else in her class.
Then one day, Maya doesn’t come to school. The teacher
tosses a pebble into a bowl of water, demonstrating how the kindness you give
ripples out into the world. Each student is asked to drop a pebble in the water
and share a kindness he or she has done. As Chloe holds her pebble, she looks
back on how she treated Maya and wants to make a different choice.
Woodson’s prose is poignant and powerful. Her story breaks
form with most children’s stories, which have happy endings, showing the real
life consequences of poor choices. Some readers may find the ending a little
hard to digest. Nonetheless, Each
Kindness is still redemptive, as Chloe faces her mistakes and is
transformed. E.B. Lewis does a beautiful job with his watercolor illustrations,
exquisitely depicting each character’s expression and
body language. This book is definitely deserving of the Coretta Scott King
Honor and the Jane Addams Peace Award.
Buy this book:
Reviewed by: Cara Chow