My Bag of Kindness

A child’s bag of kindness is full of simple ways to give and show gratitude. In this board book shaped like a backpack, each item in the book reminds a child about an act of kindness or a moment of gratitude. The book’s irregular trim is designed such that it appears as if each item peeks out from the top of the backpack. There’s a pair of clean and dry socks a teacher gives the child after soggy puddle-play (“YOU ARE THE BEST!” the child tells the teacher in response); books that the child’s grandmother buys as a gift and shares; and a note from the child’s mother with a reminder to “spread…kindness far and wide!” The book’s shape and its cutout designs are visually appealing and will draw little readers in. The text is adequate; the rhymes do not consistently roll off the tongue when read aloud. The colorful illustrations feature geometric shapes: All of the faces have perfect circles for eyes and cheeks and triangular noses. The protagonist has brown skin, as do the brother and grandmother. The book’s theme is certainly a well-visited one, and this story does not provide a fresh take. That said, the concept of a “bag of kindness” works as a way to make an abstract concept approachable and digestible for a young child. Predictable but worth sharing. (Board book. 2-4)–Kirkus